Shelf pin Jig ??

[JerrySats]

I bought the jig the other day and tried it out on both finish grade plywood and hardwood , in both materials I'm getting tare out on the top .   If this is normal I can't have this in my cabinets . What's the problem ?

 Thanks

 Jerry

[John Schaben]

tear out is tough with anything. Could be; dull bit, to high feed rate, to high bit speed. Is it a brad point bit? Feed slowly until the wings have a chance to cut the surface veneer. Might try a router jig with a downcut spiral. The strong point of the Kreg jig the ability to do the holes post assembly though.

[JerrySats]

The bit and jig is brand new and yes it's a brad point bit . I bought the Kreg jig for speed and easy of use .

[Ken Darga]

The drill needs to be up to ''full-speed", before engaging the drill bit into the material.

[JerrySats]

Thanks Ken I'll give that a try .

[Jay Boutwell]

Hi Jerry, I been drilling pin holes for years in different types of cabinet materials.  I have on occassions found some that are very hard to drill without tear out mainly at the very top on thin veneered plywoods.  Although I use a very sharp brad point bit and a high speed drill I often find the tear out. 

In some cabinets that I build,  especially cabinets that are exposed to open view like china hutches, entertainment centers  or book cases, I will drill out the holes at 9/32" and use the 1/4" shelf pin sleeves.  They are pushed into the 9/32 Inch holes using a punch type installing tool.  They have a rolled over top that will hide the tear out. 

If I have trouble with drilling out 1/4 inch pin holes because of tear out or chipping at the top I will ream out the holes to 9/32" and fix them this way.  Of course you will need to do all of the holes if you want the project to look correct but it will cure the undesirable look of snaggy pin holes.  It is time consuming but will save the look of your project and sometimes expensive especially if you have the cabinet built and are adding pin holes.

In the high end cabinets you are actually improving the looks of the cabinet by using these.  They come in assorted colors from brass, nickel, chrome, white, black to name a few and have matching shelf pins.  They are also available in 5MM size as well.

 

[Carlos]

I use the jig, to prevent tear out, I place a 1/4" plywood piece in between the jig and the project, then re-adjust the stop collar to desired depth.  :O)