I have progressed beyond the caresses and face frames and now need a good jig for mounting the hinges or rather drilling the cups for the 35mm euro hinges. I have been looking for a jig to perform this with repeatable results and really the only thing I have come across is a set sold by Rockler. It looks like a relatively easy jig to work with, but details are sparse, so needless to say I am now asking the group for advice/direction/preferences on hinge jigs.
As this is my first complete set of cabinets, the learning curve, materials and additional tool purchases are beginning to take its toll in the pocketbook. So while I am interested in all opinions and suggestions, keeping it in the ballpark of the Rockler jig is my goal. If it turns out not to be all realistic, so be it.
At the same time, what jigs is everybody using for draw slides installations?
Thanking you in advance for your suggestions/comments.
Do you have a drill press? Much quicker and easier than any kind of jig, IME. Set a fence the required distance from the edge of the hole, make a reference mark for each end of the door on the fence, and once set up you can drill both hinge holes in a door in less than 30 seconds.
For frameless cabinets I've used the Rockler jig, it's OK, but slow, IMO, and I basically never taken it out of the shop after the first kitchen a few years back.
I much prefer old fashioned spacers that reference either the cabinet floor, the floor/dust frame of a drawer opening itself, or the spacer and the previous set of slides in frameless box ... just something that you can rest the slide on while pilot holing, with a vix bit, the first two holes in one of the oversized screw slots for ease of adjustment before you crank things down.
Quicker, and much more accurate for the way I work.
Second that. I did my last set on my peewee sized bench drill press and it was a snap, doing just that. The oversized table was built from scrap, and bolted onto the drill press table, and fine tuned for placement with wing nuts mounted on the bolts that held it to the drill press table.
No jig needed. Depending on the size of the drawers and slides, you will probably have to add a spacer to the back of the cabinet before mounting the socket for the slide if you are going typical carcass style.
After building the fronts, I take a piece of soft 1X4 and press it against the inside of the stiles, marking both sides of the drawer openings with a pencil. These marks will show the the exact width of the opening on your spacer (1X4) in the correct spacing needed. (Pretty slick, eh?) If you don't have the tops on, this just takes a minute or two.
Attach the sockets (remember, carcass style) to the ledger, with a single screw in each. Attach the ledger to the back of the cabinet, oriented properly and at the right height.
Put the hardware on the drawers and slip the outside piece of the drawer into the socket and attach to the drawer stile.
Slide the drawer in. It may require a slight adjustment, but that's why you only put in one screw.
Doing it this way, you can install the slides on a couple of drawers in about 15 minutes if all goes well.
I have been using these:
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sure you click on the PDF on the right hand side of the page. The PDF show you the installation socket, which you will need for carcass style construction. But you can also use these as side mounts as well.
(When side mounting, I do as Swing does. I cut a large spacer and rest the slide on the spacer while attaching.)
These are nice slides, and finished well with epoxy finish. I buy them in white, and they look great installed. They are easy to adjust to just about perfect. The more you load them they better they roll, too. Mounting >under< the edges of the drawer, they are a snap to get together with no spacers needed. The drawer side of the slide simply attaches to the bottom of the drawer - no measuring.
The KV 1805 slides are about $6 or so a pair, and the sockets are about $2.50.
A word about the sockets for these slides. They are about two inches long, so they are very adjustable. In putting a 1X4 ledger across the cabinet backs, it gives me about 1 1/4" insertion into the socket, and leaves plenty of room for any wall bulges or valleys in an installed cabinet back wall that could screw up a more precise installation.
If you have a drill press, you need no jig, use a fence and stop block to drill the hinge holes. I cannot say that I have ever used a jig for drawer slides either. Use a piece of ply wood as a spacer/ height gauge.
I used a cheap drill press for many years before I got a professional boring and inserting machine. You can do well if you clamp/bolt a wide plywood table to the drill press table and put a fence along the back. Repeatable results, and easy to use. Buy a 35 mm boring bit from the cabinet shop supply that will make a flat bottom hole.
I used a cheap drill press for many years before I got a professional boring and inserting machine. You can do well if you clamp/bolt a wide plywood table to the drill press table and put a fence along the back. Repeatable results, and easy to use. Buy a 35 mm boring bit from the cabinet shop supply that will make a flat bottom hole. .
Or, buy a 1-3/8" bit and probably save some money.
It's in every home center and hardware store I've ever been in--- most often in a pack with the little green plastic drill guide. But I've also seen them in the drill bit section, with the other Forstner bits. I think the rule of thumb is, if your store is inclusive enough to have regular Forstner bits. it will have the 35mm.
In fact, I might be led to believe that the European hinge has become so common, that a store would have a 35mm Forstner bit before it would have other Forstner bits. You'd probably find it at Walmart with those same hinges.
Well back 20 years ago when I first started using the Euro hinges the 35 mm was available, for $42 or so. I passed, as my 1 3/8 bit did fine. My 25+ year old set of Forstner bits have no metric bits included. I finally bought a 35 mm bit last year as my they are more common and Rockler had carbide 35 mm ones on sale for $15.
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