really, I like festool products….but..
I’m building 3 closet systems and I need to drill a motherload of shelf pin holes. if you’ve ever stood there and drilled a bzillion shelf pin holes you know the pain
festool makes a system with a plunge router and rail and several other pieces that cost nearly $900 by the time your done
got me thinking, why can’t I make up something that works just as well. I did and it took about an hour to do it. then I made a few more at different lenths
all I did was bore 1/2″holes at 1 inch increments through a 6 inch strip of MDF abot six feet long. then with a 1/2″ follower and a 1/4″ bit in a plunge router I can fly along faster than the guy in the video at the festool website
theres no tear out like with a brad point bit and I can controll the depth much better
saved myself $900
Replies
Sure you saved $900, but you don't have a cool plastic box to put your mdf template in.
See you still do need them....don't up yers them so fast...
He also doesn't have the excellent router or the fence. I also wonder about the accuracy of trying to drill a large number of holes exactly 1" apart that need to match another column of holes. I've tried that several times over the years and have never been really happy with my results.
I have five very good routers, but I would give up three of them for the Festool.
The holes don't have to be exactly 1" apart.They just need to be the same on each column.That is why a jig works so well..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
I understand.
A drill press set up with stops would give you evenly spaced holes for any jig.
I understand the method. I have just found that it is hard to achieve the results that I see on commercial shelving, for instance. You have to get everything set up just so, and then you have to hold the material just so. When you do an operation a number of times, it is hard to get the repeatability of some commercial jigs.
Dovetails are a good example. They have been made by hand for centuries. Some of them are hard to distinguish in quality from what a good jig will produce. But, if you look at many old dovetail drawers, which are still holding up by the way, you will see that the cuts are not that perfect.
I guess it depends on your standards and how much time and skill you are willing to expend to make a jig each time vs spending money on a high-quality commercial product so that you have more time and energy to expend on the other aspects of building a nice shelf or whatever.
I understand where you're coming from.
Sometimes I make my own jigs; sometimes I buy them.
If I have the time to make an accurate jig, I'll do that. But when I'm pressed for time, or sometimes just lazy, I'll buy it.
And it depends on the type of jig, of course. I'd never consider making a dovetail jig, for example.
I guess I could start the FT-EZ debacle again but won't. Not sure Dino ever finished the project for that operation. I was going to drill holes every 1" in the rail and make a spring-ball detent thing for the router slide (SRK). Then use the plunge like you did. I did a bunch of the holes and used the Rockler device. But I only had 1/2 a bzillion to do.
I have the rockler jig for small quantities of holes.and I have a friend with a 23 spindle boring machine for mass quantity perforation...
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"After the laws of Physics, everything else is opinion" -Neil deGrasse Tyson
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If Pasta and Antipasta meet is it the end of the Universe???
" mass quantity perforation"Shouldn't that be posted in the tavern?.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
I also use 5.66mm shelf pins and This:http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Machine-Guns/GE_XM214_Minigun.htm
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"After the laws of Physics, everything else is opinion" -Neil deGrasse Tyson
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If Pasta and Antipasta meet is it the end of the Universe???
I like some of the festool stuff, and have some but about 1/2 of it is over priced and can be done with something else for MUCH less and many times quicker and with the same quality.
My shelf pin jig was modeled after this. Aluminum is harder to find and expensive so I did mine out of 3/8 lexan. I think it works better because if I do screw up I don't damage a router bit and you can also see through it which is nice at times. The lexan comes with that protective paper on each side, so I laid out all my holes and drilled them with a drill press. I finished it in an hour or so. I got the lexan from a friend for free but even if I bought it, it would be $30 maybe depending on what size you want to make. You can do the same thing with 1/2 or 3/8" plywood or any material.
The router is by far the best method since the depths are all perfect and the hole is perfectly straight. I would be set up, drill all my holes and moving on before the festool set up was half way. It's nice but not as good as this set up and the cost and the time is better with my set up.
http://megproducts.com/shelfpinholes.html
I'm not big on the 1/4" shelf pin holes. I use a 5mm carbide drill bit and pins from Lee Valley ( approx 3/16ths).
I drill a 3" strip of disposable MDF at whatever spacings I require and drill my shelf pin holes after the cabinetry is installed, varnished or painted.
I drill a hole through the center of a 3/4" square strip and cut it to length for a depth stop.
"Perfect is the enemy of Good." Morrison
Is it my imagination, or did this thread have a different title yesterday?
If voting could really change things, it would be illegal.
no, you caught it too.
its the nicey-nice police. he moved it to anuther category too.
was in general discussion, myself I never look at the tool threads. I have so many tools I tell people when I retire I'm gonna open a rental center