Shelf Pin Jig

I like drilling shelf pin holes in the top, bottom, and sides of a box so that it can be used vertically or horizontally. But that means the holes must be perfectly aligned if I want the shelves to be level regardless of how I set up the box. To get this kind of uniform spacing, I like to use a simple layout jig to mark my hole locations before I drill.

I made my jig out of ¾"-thick scrap material. The L-shape design lets me slide the jig flush along the edge of the board while I mark holes with a nail. Plus, the indentation left by the nail makes a nice starter hole for my drill bit. 

Start by marking the position of the first set of holes. Then simply slide the jig down the board and mark the next pair of holes. If you start your jig at the same place on every board, all shelf pin holes will be perfectly aligned.

Quick Drawer Slides

Some of the older wooden drawers in my house just don't slide in and out like they should. They bind and catch in the drawer slides, especially in the more humid months of the year. Here's a quick fix I discovered that will have your sticky drawers gliding smoothly across the slides.

Try inserting metal thumb tacks on the bottom of the drawer and on the front of the drawer opening, see below. I use two on the cabinet front rail and two on the drawer bottom at the back.

Overhead Storage Shelf

Finding extra storage space is always a problem, especially for seasonal items that don't get used that often. Here's an easy-to-build overhead shelf perfect for a garage or storage room.

I made my shelf from a standard hollow-core interior door cut in half (you can make two shelves out of one door). If you don't have a spare door, you can buy one for about $20.

You'll need to support the veneer skin of the door along the cut edge (it's a hollow door), so I screwed a filler block along the inside edge of the door, as shown in the drawing. To hang the shelf, simply attach it to a cleat that's lag screwed to the wall (see detail a). 

You'll need to support the front edge of the shelf, too. I used a pair of brackets made out of ½" electrical conduit for this (see detail b). You can crimp the ends in a vise, then screw one end to the shelf and attach the other end to a wall stud.

Louvered Doors

If you've ever attempted to build a cabinet with louvered doors, you know that cutting the slots for the louvers can be complicated and tedious. You could build a router jig to help with the task, but this still means more work just to build the jig. So I came up with a different method that allows me to quickly cut the slots on a table saw.

First I cut a groove in the door stile, as shown in the drawing below. Then, using my table saw and miter gauge, I make a louver strip that contains a series of angled kerfs, spaced to fit the louvers I'll be installing in the door later. To prevent tear-out, I use an auxiliary fence attached to the face of the miter gauge while cutting the kerfs. 

After all the kerfs are cut, I rip the louver strip to fit the groove I cut in the door stile. Then I glue it in place. When making the louvers, I just make sure to size the thickness of the louvers to match the width of the kerfs I cut in my louver strip.

Loose Panel Fix

I often have trouble with raised-panel doors and cabinets during the winter. Dry weather causes the panels to contract, leaving them loose and rattling in the frames. To prevent this from happening, I now put small dots of silicone near the corners of the frame before assembling the door.

Apply a small dot at each corner and let the silicone dry overnight. Then install the panel as normal. The silicone acts as a shock absorber, cushioning the panel inside the frame.

Mounting Full-Overlay Doors

Sometimes it takes a lot of fiddling around to get an even gap between two full-overlay doors. So I use a simple technique to establish a consistent gap.

First attach the hinges to the doors. Then roughly position the doors on the cabinet frame. Next slip a steel rule (mine is 3/32" thick) between the doors and clamp them together, see drawing. The steel rule keeps a perfect gap between the two doors while you position them on the cabinet frame. When everything is aligned, simply screw the hinges to the cabinet frame.

Note: To raise the pipe clamps above the rule (and to protect the doors), I added an over-sized clamp pad to each jaw. It’s just a scrap with a hole to fit the pipe.

Two Tips for Installing Hinges

Installing a door on its hinges can be one of the trickiest parts of building a cabinet. Here are two tips I've used in the past to make the job easier.

Temporary Steel Woodscrews

I usually take a door on and off a few times before I get the right fit. In the process, I often strip or break the brass screws that come with the hinge.

To prevent this problem, I temporarily substitute steel screws while I'm positioning the hinge. Plus, I put only one screw in each leaf while adjusting the fit. And when it's time to add the other screws, I run steel screws in and out of the pilot holes first. This creates a ready-made hole for decorative brass screws.

Thin Shims

If a hinge mortise is cut too deep, there may not be enough of a gap between the door and the cabinet. A quick fix for this is to add a paper or thin cardboard shim below the hinge. 

A shim also comes in handy if the gap between the door and the cabinet tapers from top to bottom. Use the shim at the top or the bottom hinge only to correct the taper.

Corner Cabinet Kickstand

When I was making a corner cabinet a few months ago, I discovered that the most difficult part of the project wasn’t cutting the miters or even clamping the cabinet together. It was supporting the cabinet on my workbench while working on the face frame.

The solution I arrived at couldn’t be simpler. I just attached a couple of clamps to each end of the cabinet, see drawing. Each clamps works like a kickstand on a bicycle, holding the cabinet upright and preventing it from tipping over while I attach the face frame.

Attaching Glass Stops

When attaching glass stops in a frame or door, I like to drill a starter hole for the brads or screws. Problem is, with the glass in place there's not enough clearance for me to position my drill bit where it needs to be, just above the plate of glass. So I came up with a way to drill the holes just before I install the glass.

The trick is to temporarily use a narrow strip of glass to position the stop. Now I can maneuver my drill where it needs to be to make the hole. After I've drilled all the holes, I put the final glass in place and tack or screw the stops in place.