If you’ve ever had a project that incorporated adjustable shelves, then you know how important it is that the holes for the shelf pins be positioned accurately. Even a little deviation can result in shelves that tilt or wobble. That’s why the cash spent on the Kreg Shelf Pin Jig is a good investment. The jig makes quick work of drilling uniformly spaced and level shelfpin holes. Best of all, it doesn’t require a lot of effort to master.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
A quick survey of the contents shows the sturdy construction we’ve come to expect from
Kreg
. The impactresistant, signature blue plastic jig and fence will hold up well in the shop or at the jobsite. The 1⁄4"dia. drill-guide holes are spaced at 32 millimeters on center, the European standard adopted by most cabinetmakers. The guides are hardened steel, so you don’t have to worry about how they’ll hold up under years of use
Kreg
(includes a lifetime warranty on the guides). Also included are a 1⁄4"-dia. drill bit and depth collar, an Allen wrench, and a locating pin to extend the range of the jig (more on that later).
STOP COLLAR. Before you begin setting up the the jig, the first step is to set the stop collar on the drill bit to prevent drilling through the cabinet side. The jig provides a handy way to do this. Just flip it over and slide the bit and the collar into the slot. Now all you need to do is tighten the set screw using the [Allen wrench](https://www.woodsmith.com/review/allen-wrench/) (Photo 1 in the section below).
POSITIONING THE JIG. The most important function of any shelf pin jig is to keep the holes aligned horizontally and also parallel to a reference edge (vertical). To register the starting position of the jig, the best thing to do is cut a spacer board you can use on both cabinet sides (Photo 2).
The Kreg jig’s clever design allows you to register the jig against the edge of a cabinet using a fence. You can attach the fence to either edge of the jig. One side spaces the holes 1" in from the edge, the other 2", as in Photo 3.
START DRILLING. Now you’re ready to get going. With the jig clamped in position, drilling the holes goes very quickly. If you need more holes than the jig provides, you have a couple of options. First, if you only need a few cabinets drilled, it’s easy to move the jig and reposition it using the locating pin. Just place the pin through the last hole in the jig and into the top hole in the cabinet and clamp it again. Now you can drill another set of holes and have them perfectly spaced.
For larger jobs and taller cabinets, it might be worth buying an additional jig. Kreg has made it easy to connect two jigs using the included jig extender (photo above). It’s just a connector strip that screws in place on the edge of the jig body.
Whether you need shelves in one cabinet or a whole kitchen’s worth, the Kreg jig makes drilling the shelf pin holes a breeze.
How-To: Use the Shelf Pin Jig
1. Set the Stop Collar. The handy drill bit storage compartment also positions the stop collar for the correct drilling depth.
2. Spacing. One easy and reliable way to maintain uniform spacing from the bottom is to register the jig on a spacer board.
3. Set the Fence. The fence snaps into slots on either edge of the jig. You can control the offset of the holes from the front edge of the cabinet by changing the position of the fence. The built-in spacing using the fence can be either 1" or 2".
4. Drilling the Holes. With everything set up and the jig clamped in position, drilling the holes is quick and easy.
5. More Holes. To add a longer row of holes, place the locating pin in the bottom hole of the jig and the top hole of the last row.
