The domino shelf pin jig is a total waste of money

I keep seeing everyone rave about those expensive metal domino shelf pin jigs, but I tried one on a job in Phoenix last month and it was a headache. The spacing was off by half a millimeter on the third row, and I spent an hour shimming the whole thing. I went back to my old method of using a plywood template I made from scrap and a self-centering drill bit. It took me maybe 20 minutes to cut 60 holes across four cabinet sides, and every single pin lined up perfect. I think people get sucked into the fancy tool hype without testing the simple stuff first. Has anyone else had a better experience with a basic homemade jig?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_shane2d ago

I was dead set against homemade jigs until I tried a project in Tucson last year where my fancy metal setup gave me the same issue with row spacing being off. Your plywood template idea actually makes a ton of sense to me now because a self-centering bit and a jig that's dialed in once will give you repeatable results every time without that finicky metal hardware. Half a millimeter might not sound like much but when you're stacking six shelves it turns into a wobble that drives you crazy. I spent way too long thinking the price tag meant better accuracy when really it just meant I was paying for hype. Your point about testing the simple stuff first is exactly right, sometimes the $5 solution beats the $80 one.

bailey.xena1d ago

Wait, are you actually losing sleep over a half millimeter of wobble on a shelf that's probably gonna hold like, some books and a plant? Feels like we're getting a little carried away here lol.