Holes in a row
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Shop estimate. Measure your stock and cut a test on scrap.
How to use it
- Measure the cabinet side from the bottom edge you will reference.
- Set the first hole up from that edge. 37 mm is a common place to start. 32 mm lands on the same grid if your bottom rail is happy with it.
- Leave the pitch at 32 mm unless you are matching an existing line.
- Set the front setback, usually 37 mm, and add a second row if you want one. The row gap is how far behind the first row the next one sits.
- Drill from the same bottom edge. The last hole is the highest one that still clears the top margin.
The formula
Next hole = previous hole + pitch, while the hole is at or below side height − top clearance.
- 32 mm. The system pitch. Hinges, slides, and shelf pins share it when the line is bored for them.
- 37 mm. A common distance from the front edge to the first row, and a common first hole up from the bottom. It is a habit, not a law.
- Rows. Each extra row is one row-gap farther from the front edge.
Worked example
A 720 mm side, first hole 37 mm up, top clearance 37 mm, and a 32 mm pitch, gets 21 holes. The first is at 37 mm and the last is at 677 mm. The next step would pass the top clearance, so it is not drilled.
Two rows, the first 37 mm from the front and the second 32 mm behind it, sit at 37 mm and 69 mm from the front edge.
What it will not decide
- It does not check hinge cups, slide holes, or collisions between them.
- It does not say how much a shelf on those pins can hold.
- A pitch other than 32 mm is allowed, and it is no longer the system. Label the jig.
Questions
Why not the equal-spacing page?
That page divides a span into equal gaps or equal centers between two margins. This one starts at a fixed hole and walks a fixed pitch until it runs out of side. The gaps are the pitch, not a fresh division of the height.
Is 37 mm required?
No. It is the figure most system boring jigs are built around. If the case is already built to a different setback, type that. The pins will not forgive a mix of the two.
Where is the top hole?
The highest position that is still at or below the side height minus the top clearance. If that lands in a rail, raise the clearance until it does not.