Shelf-pin hole layout
Enter the panel height, the setbacks, and the jig's spacing. This gives the hole count and every mark down the panel, plus a true-size pitch gauge below to check a jig against.
Advanced settings3" top · 3" bottom setback
Drill
20holes
Marks from the top
- Hole 1
- 3"
- Hole 2
- 4 1/4"
- Hole 3
- 5 1/2"
- Hole 4
- 6 3/4"
- Hole 5
- 8 1/16"
- Hole 6
- 9 5/16"
- Hole 7
- 10 9/16"
- Hole 8
- 11 13/16"
- Hole 9
- 13 1/16"
- Hole 10
- 14 5/16"
- Hole 11
- 15 5/8"
- Hole 12
- 16 7/8"
- Hole 13
- 18 1/8"
- Hole 14
- 19 3/8"
- Hole 15
- 20 5/8"
- Hole 16
- 21 7/8"
- Hole 17
- 23 3/16"
- Hole 18
- 24 7/16"
- Hole 19
- 25 11/16"
- Hole 20
- 26 15/16"
Measured from the top of the panel, every one from the same end — stepping a rule down the panel repeatedly compounds whatever you round off each time.
Pitch gauge, at true size
Not the whole panel — a jig fixes this spacing, so the one thing worth printing is the spacing itself, to check a jig's actual pitch or to step off by hand. Print at 100%, check the ruler, then compare it to a hole-spacing jig before you trust it for 20 holes.
Put a tape on the printed ruler. If it does not read exactly 6 inches, the print was scaled — set the print dialog to 100% or “Actual size” and print it again. Do not cut wood from a template that failed this.
Exactly 1 1/4" between centers. Lay this against a jig's own pins to check it before drilling, or step it off by hand from each hole to the next.
Printing this properly
In the print dialog, set the scale to 100% or “Actual size” and turn off “Fit to page”. Measure the printed ruler with a tape first — a pitch that is a sixteenth off compounds over 20 holes into a shelf that rocks.
Worked example: a 30" panel
A 30" cabinet side with 3" clear at the top and 3" at the bottom, drilled on the 32mm system (1.26" centres), takes 20 shelf-pin holes.
The first hole is 3" from the top and the last, hole 20, is 26 15/16". Every mark is measured from the top, so rounding never compounds down the panel.
- Holes
- 20
- Hole spacing
- 32mm system
- Hole 1
- 3"
- Hole 20
- 26 15/16"
These are the figures the calculator above opens on. Change any field and it works the same problem for your numbers.
About shelf-pin holes
- What is the 32mm system?
- A European cabinetmaking standard where every hole — shelf pins, hinge plates, drawer slides — lines up on a 32mm grid, so hardware from different makers still lands in the same holes. It is what almost every commercial shelf-pin jig is built around, which is why it is the default here even on an otherwise inch-based site.
- Why not just space holes every inch?
- You can, and plenty of shop-built jigs do — it is a simpler number to work with by hand and the shelf adjustment is fine enough for most cabinets. The 32mm system mostly matters when your hardware (European hinges, some slide systems) is already drilled to that grid and you want the shelf pins to match it.
- How far should the first hole be from the top?
- Far enough to clear whatever is above it — a face frame rail, a stretcher, or the top of the carcass itself. 3" is a common default that clears most face-frame construction; a frameless cabinet with no rail can often go tighter.
- Do I need two rows of holes?
- For anything wider than a narrow cabinet, yes — one row toward the front and one toward the back, so a shelf is supported on both edges rather than teetering on four pins in a single line. Drill both end panels identically and only once, then use one as a template for the rest.