Shelf standard makes superior step-and-repeat drilling jig

For attractive adjustable shelving, I prefer to drill individual holes for shelf pins rather than attach unsightly standards that were once so common. However, I kept one standard around to serve as a spacing guide for drilling the shelf pin holes. Here's how it works. Mount the shelf standard to the edge of a straight board that acts as a drill press fence, and clamp the fence to the table at the desired spacing from the bit. Next, make an index pin by driving an 8d finish nail into the edge of your workpiece. Cut off the nail, leaving about 1/8" of the shank protruding.

This index pin now fits into the slots on the shelf standard. If you want shelf pin holes every inch, put the workpiece against the fence with the index pin in one of the standard's slots. Drill the first hole, move the index pin down two slots, drill the next hole, and repeat. With this special-use fence, I no longer have to measure every hole and I can rapidly and accurately drill hundreds of holes for adjustable shelves.

-- Marshall Pearlman, Laguna Hills, Calif.