Hardware Jig for Use with Drill Press

[TomInNC]

It seems like all of the hardware install jigs that I have come across are designed for use with a handheld drill. For those of you that use a drill press for installing knobs, pulls, and the like, how do you go about it? I've made a drill guide out of scrap before, but it seems like there must be some tricks (or a jig) for laying out the holes that would be faster.

[Tom King]

I just use a big plywood table clamped to the drill press table with a stationary fence on it.  I mark the hole centers if just a couple of doors and hit the center by eye using the fence to establish the correct distance from the door edge.  If there are a bunch of the same size doors, I'll set stops.

Knobs and pull holes are marked and drilled after the doors and drawers are in final place.  I don't trust predrilling pulls on double doors.

I just use a combination square, tape measure, and sharp pencil.  A small level is used for the second pull on double doors.

I never bought a jig for doing such, but I never made but one house full of cabinets a year.

[BillyJack]

Just simple jigs..

 

[TomInNC]

Thanks. Seems like I was moving in the right direction on this one. 

[Tom King]

My jigs for shelf holes are two strips of plywood with holes drilled that a TIG welding tungsten is a tight slide fit in.  I remember marking the locations of the holes to drill in the strips with a divider. 

https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Ground-Tungsten-Sharpened-Electrodes-Thoriated/dp/B07KWG2PLD/ref=asc_df_B07KWG2PLD/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=647190725649&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9741288627756261210&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009786&hvtargid=pla-2066328321800&psc=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvrOpBhBdEiwAR58-3FGNux5gjVobyBs1IVR0yYYF0Et8LgOUt88I6s2HBGhLV0caO226uBoCO7EQAvD_BwE

I lay them on the edges of the cabinet sides, and punch small holes with the tungsten that has a very sharp centered point on it like they need for welding.  Once those marking holes are punched, the holes are drilled on a drill press with a large table and fence by eye with a brad point bit.  On each side of that drill press table are roller stands set just above the table so the cabinet part is easy to roll so it's easy to slide from one hole to the next.

When I first tried that system in the early 1980's, I wasn't sure that the holes would be accurately drilled enough.  They worked fine, and even though I'm still using the same strips of plywood for my once a year cabinet making, I have never produced a rocking shelf.

Before then, I always used the metal tracks with snap in shelf supports, but I thought I'd try one without using the metal tracks and never went back.  Unless one is going in the business, I see no need to buy anything.

edited to add:  I found pictures of my old plywood strips.  The holes are kind of dirty from some number of hundreds of uses.  I do have some more with different hole spacing, but I don't think I have pictures of them.  I forget why I even took these pictures.  I think the one to the left is the oldest, and was made to use a finish nail.  That one is probably from 1981, which if I'm remembering correctly was the first time I used wooden pegs instead of the metal tracks.

 

[TomInNC]

Pretty impressive longevity there! 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

I've used pegboard for a template for shelf pins. Not really on topic but it works well. 

[BillyJack]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:26 PM, D W C said:

I've used pegboard for a template for shelf pins. Not really on topic but it works well. 

You can use it if you have a piece around, but it will depend on what you are using peg size and your drilling tool..

 

I bought a Vix bit 20 years ago , yet I never use it..

 

[curlyoak]

I have a woodpecker table for my drill press. https://www.amazon.com/Woodpeckers-WPDPPACK1-Drill-Press-Clamps/dp/B0013KJNPO/ref=asc_df_B0013KJNPO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309735728871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5413645430856535549&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012445&hvtargid=pla-570692178701&th=1 

Makes big difference.