Apparatus and method for alignment of drilling holes and assembly of cabinets

A number of drill guides are provided for quickly setting up to drill construction holes, door handle holes, hinge holes, and drawer front panel attachment holes for construction of cabinets without excessive jigging setup time. Several tools are described for quickly squaring up cabinet panels and clamping them together while glue dries.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to various tools and techniques to facilitate 
economical manufacture of cabinets without elaborate, expensive jigging 
setups. 
Economical manufacture of cabinets, such as typical cabinets for 
residential and business applications, requires extensive use of "mass 
production" techniques. Large, expensive "jig" setups and dedicated tools 
must be used to perform tasks including accurate alignment and drilling of 
construction holes for vertical and horizontal cabinet parts. The 
construction holes include those for edges of cabinet doors and cabinet 
housings for hinges, latches, handles, and knobs, drilling of precisely 
located holes in edges of various panels used in construction of a cabinet 
for receiving glue and construction dowels, shelf pins, and the like, and 
drilling of holes in drawer boxes for attachment of drawer front panels 
thereto, and alignment and drilling of threaded inserts in the back 
surfaces of drawer front panels. While large volume cabinet manufacturers 
can amortize the high cost of such jig setups and the factory floor space 
required therefor over a large number of cabinets, most small cabinet 
shops that specialize in custom or semi-custom cabinet manufacture cannot 
provide permanent jig setups. Instead, smaller shops must orient their 
manufacturing activities toward relatively small lots. Consequently, 
frequent jig setups and repetitive measurement of location of construction 
holes, shelf pin holes, etc. are necessary. Such frequent setups and 
repetitive measurements are very time consuming and therefore costly. 
Furthermore, the likelihood of costly errors and consequent discarding of 
partially constructed units and material is greatly increased. 
There is a presently unmet need for a group of alignment tools and 
techniques for drilling the above mentioned construction holes for 
assembly of cabinets to enable a relatively small cabinet shop to be able 
to avoid the need for frequent complex, costly jig setups and repetitive, 
time consuming measurements for alignment of construction holes in the 
manufacture of cabinets. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved 
apparatus and method for alignment and drilling of construction holes for 
assembly of cabinets. 
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved technique for 
construction of cabinets. 
Briefly described, and in accordance with one embodiment thereof, the 
invention provides a jigging apparatus for providing rapid setup to drill 
construction holes, door handle holes, hinge holes, and drawer front panel 
attachment holes in construction of cabinets and the like without 
excessive jigging setup time. Several tools are described for quickly 
squaring up cabinet panels and clamping them together while the glue 
dries. In the described embodiment of the invention, each jigging device 
includes a rectangular block having opposed major surfaces and four edge 
surfaces, at least one elongated cylindrical rod extending from an edge 
surface parallel to the major surface and an adjustable stop disposed on 
the rod for aligning the rectangular block to an edge of a board used in 
construction of a cabinet. A plurality of drill guide bushings are 
disposed in and extend through the major faces of the rectangular block. A 
set screw or the like is provided for locking the stop in fixed 
relationship to the rectangular block carrying the drill guide bushings, 
and another stop is provided for aligning the rectangular block to a 
second edge of the board mutually perpendicular to the first edge. In one 
embodiment, the rectangular block is elongated, and a plurality of pairs 
of parallel cylindrical rods extend from opposite edge surfaces of the 
block. An adjustable stop is provided on each pair of such rods, 
respectively. This embodiment is useful in alignment and drilling of 
construction holes in an edge of a board. In another embodiment, the 
rectangular block has a generally square major surface. A single 
cylindrical rod extends slidably through a hole in the rectangular block, 
and the stop is attached to the end of the block. A pair of pegs 
perpendicular to the major surfaces of the rectangular block function as a 
stop that aligns a pair of guide bushings carried by the rectangular block 
with respect to a major face of a board used in construction of a cabinet. 
The end stop aligns the guide bushings relative to a frame defining a 
cabinet door opening. This embodiment of the invention is useful in 
rapidly aligning and drilling holes for cabinet door hinges in an edge of 
a board framing the opening for the cabinet doors. Another embodiment of 
the invention is useful for drilling screw holes for knobs or handles on 
cabinet drawers and drawer fronts, and includes a first pair of parallel 
cylindrical rods extending from one edge surface of the rectangular block 
and the second pair of parallel rods perpendicular to the first pair 
extending from another edge of the rectangular block. Slidable first and 
second stops are disposed on the two pairs of cylindrical rods, 
respectively. A slidable block is also disposed on one pair of rods, 
carrying another drill guide bushing. Another similar embodiment of the 
invention provides a pair of limit stops on each cylindrical rod between 
which the adjustable stops can be moved and locked into position for the 
purpose of aligning and drilling holes in both a rectangular drawer box 
and insert holes in a larger rectangular drawer front. A squaring device 
including a stationary base with a pair of mutually perpendicular clamp 
faces and a moveable member with a pair of mutually perpendicular clamp 
faces and a rotatable handle connected to a jackscrew is utilized to 
square up a partially constructed cabinet housing. A clamping device 
includes a pair of end clamp plates and an elastic band adjustably 
connecting the clamp plates. This device is used instead of a conventional 
jackscrew-type of clamp.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, drill guide 1 includes an elongated, 
rectangular aluminum member 2 having a number of eight millimeter drill 
bushings 3 press fit into corresponding holes in member 2. Each of the 
drill bushings 3 has an 8 millimeter hole therein extending therethrough. 
The axis of each bushing hole 13 is perpendicular to the plane of the 
major parallel opposite surfaces of member 2. 
A plurality of pairs of equally spaced steel rods 4 extend through member 2 
parallel to its opposed front and rear surfaces, perpendicular to the left 
and right faces of member 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and perpendicular to the 
vertical longitudinal axis of member 2. Each of the rods 4 is one fourth 
of an inch in diameter. A cylindrical steel rod 5 extends from the top 
surface of member 2 parallel to the vertical axis of member 2. 
Two side stops 6 are slideably mounted on each pair of cylindrical rods 4. 
Each side stop 6 includes a rectangular body having two holes 10 therein 
perpendicular to the major opposed surfaces of the body, so each side stop 
6 can slide away from or toward member 2 on the rods 4. A pair of knobs 9 
is provided on the front edge of each of the side stops 6. Each knob 9 has 
a knurled handle and is attached to a threaded stud, designated by numeral 
16 in FIGS. 3 and 4, which mates with a corresponding threaded hole 
extending into the front edge of the body of that stop all the way to the 
rods 4 in the respective holes 10. Tightening of each knob 19 locks the 
side stop 6 into a fixed position on its rods 4. 
A pair of plastic bumpers 7 is attached to the inner rear edge surface of 
each stop 6, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. Each stop extends three 
sixteenths of an inch beyond the inner surface of the body of that stop. 
Similarly, a square top stop 8 having a hole 21 centered in and 
perpendicular to the opposed upper and lower surfaces thereof slides on 
rod 8. A knob 11 similar to knobs 9 allows top stop 8 to be locked into 
position after it has been moved in the direction of arrows 22. Top stop 8 
has a plastic bumper 23 similar to bumper 7 on its lower major surface 
along the edge opposite to knob 11, as shown in FIG. 2. 
As shown in FIG. 3, each of the drill bushings 3 has a tapered mouth to 
facilitate insertion of a close fitting bit of an electric drill, extends 
through member 2, and is flush with the back surface thereof. Each of the 
bushings 3 is three fourths of an inch long. The width of member 2 is one 
inch, and its thickness is three eighths of an inch. Member 2 and the side 
and top stops can be anodized aluminum. The rods 4 and 5 can be stainless 
steel. 
As indicated in FIG. 2, member 2 can include an upper section 2A and lower 
section 2B which can be separated or can be connected together by a 
precision fit of two cylindrical pins 14 extending into corresponding 
holes 15, as illustrated. 
FIGS. 5-7 show several different ways of utilizing the drill guide 1. In 
FIG. 5, the side stops on the right hand pairs of rods 4 have been 
removed. Top stop 8 has been positioned to align the guide bushings 3 a 
desired distance from the top edge of panel 18. The left hand side stop 6 
have been positioned on their corresponding rods 9 and locked into place 
by means of knobs 9 so that the guide bushings 3 are precisely positioned 
a selected distance from the left hand vertical edge of panel 18. An 
electric drill 17 having a 5 millimeter size drill bit then can quickly 
and precisely drill suitable holes into the front face of panel 18. The 
drilled holes could be, for example, shelf pin holes. FIG. 7 shows how 
corresponding rear shelf pin holes could be drilled a precisely measured 
distance from the right hand edge of panel 18 by performing the same 
operation, except the left hand stops 6 have been removed from the right 
hand rods 4, and the left hand stops have been appropriately locked into 
place on the corresponding right hand rods 4. 
FIG. 6 shows how intermediate holes could be positioned selected distances 
from the top edge of panel 18 by removing both the left and front edge 
stops. 
FIG. 8 shows how the drill guide 1 can be utilized to drill precisely 
aligned and spaced construction holes in the edge of panel 18. In this 
case, both the left hand side stops 6 and the right hand side stops 6 
remain on the corresponding right bars 4 and left bars 4. The length of 
bumpers 7 is such that when side stops 6 are pressed against the side 
edges of member 2, drill guide 1 fits precisely against the vertical edge 
of panel 18, with the bumpers 7 touching the opposite major faces of panel 
18 so the holes drilled through guide bushings 3 are precisely centered in 
the vertical edge of panel 18. The panel 18 is five eighths of an inch 
thick. 
Referring next to FIGS. 15-17, another similar drill guide 25 is specially 
adapted for drilling holes such as 38 for fastening hinges to the inner 
edge 37 of a frame member 36 of a frame type cabinet, so that a cabinet 
door can be attached thereto. Two pairs of hinge holes 38 must be provided 
equally distant from the bottom and top frame members 39 and 40 on the 
inner edge 38. 
Drill guide 25 includes a square anodized aluminum body member 27 having a 
pair of guide bushings 28 therein, each extending through member 26 so 
that it is flush with the opposite major faces thereof, as best seen in 
FIG. 17. A guide hole 29 through each guide bushing 28 typically is 7/64 
of an inch or 5 millimeters in diameter. A pair of steel cylindrical pegs 
27 extends perpendicularly to the main opposed major faces of member 26, 
as indicated in FIG. 17. Each peg 27 extends five sixteenths of an inch 
beyond the corresponding major surface of member 26. The distance between 
pegs 27 and the centers of guide bushings 28 is such that when the pegs 27 
press against a major inner or outer face of frame member 36 the drill 
guide holes 29 are precisely centered between the opposite parallel major 
faces of frame member 36. 
An end stop 31 is attached to the upper end of a cylindrical steel rod 30 
which extends through a hole 41 passing through member 26. 
Locking knobs 33 each having a threaded stud can be extended into a 
threaded hole in the left edge of member 26 to lock member 26 in place on 
rod 30 after member 26 has been moved, in the direction of one of arrows 
31 to a selected distance from the upper surface 42 of end stop 31. Then, 
the lower pair of hinge holes 38 and a corresponding upper pair can be 
drilled in edge 37 by first positioning the drill guide 25 in the manner 
shown in the lower portion of FIG. 15, inserting the drill guide 25, 
positioning it as shown in FIG. 15, and drilling the upper pair of hinge 
holes. 
Next, another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 23-26, wherein 
drill guide 47 is specially adapted to drill holes for cabinet door 
handles and knobs. Drill guide 47 includes a bottom stop 48 slideably 
mounted on a pair of vertical cylindrical steel rods 49. The position of 
bottom stop 48 on rods 49 can be adjusted in the direction of arrows 55. 
Bottom stop 48 can be locked in place by tightening lock knobs 51. Two 
horizontal bars 50 are attached to the ends of rectangular bottom stop 48 
to engage the bottom edge of a cabinet door 64, as shown in FIG. 24. 
A rectangular anodized aluminum member 52 is slideably disposed on vertical 
rods 49, adjustable in the directions indicated by arrows 56. Member 52 
can be locked in place on rods 49 by means of locking knob 54. A guide 
bushing 53 is perpendicular to the parallel front and rear surfaces of 
member 52 and is flush therewith, as indicated in FIG. 25. The upper ends 
of vertical rods 49 are rigidly attached to a lower edge of a rectangular 
corner member 57, which carries three spaced guide bushings 58, 59, and 
60. The diameters and locations of guide bushings 58, 59, and 60 
correspond to the spacings and diameters needed for conventional cabinet 
handles. 
A pair of horizontal rods 61 are rigidly attached to the right edge of 
corner member 57, and a side stop 62 similar to bottom stop 48 is 
slideably positioned on horizontal rod 61. 
One way of using drill guide 47 is shown in FIG. 24, wherein the locations 
of stops 62 and 48 are selected to position member 57 and/or member 48 so 
that holes can be drilled to attach a single knob or a conventional handle 
to the front surface of cabinet door 64. A way of using drill guide 47 to 
accurately drill handle holes in a drawer front is to set the position of 
stop 48 to center corner block 57 relative to the side edges of the drawer 
front and to set the position of stop 62 to center corner block 57 
relative to the top and bottom edges. Then bushing 59 can be used to drill 
a single guide hole for a knob, or bushings 58 and 60 can be used to drill 
holes for a two screw handle. 
Next, a simple clamping system is described with reference to FIGS. 9-11 to 
temporarily clamp panels of a cabinet together until the glue dries. FIGS. 
12-14 illustrate an adjustable cabinet squaring device which can be 
utilized in conjunction with the strap clamps of FIGS. 9-11. 
Referring now to FIGS. 9-11, clamp strap 70 (FIG. 11) includes an elastic 
strap 71 stretched between two clamp members 72 to effectively force two 
end panels 74 against the edges of a top panel 73 to provide a tight 
clamping action until glue dries during assembly of a cabinet. Thus, the 
clamping device 70 performs the function of prior jackscrew-type 
mechanical clamps or the like. 
As best shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, each clamp member 72 includes a steel 
plate 73 having a top section 73A with a slot 74 in its inner end. Clamp 
member 72 also has a handle aperture 75 for accommodating the fingers of a 
person who grips handle 76. Handle 76 is formed by a back-folded portion 
73B of plate 73, through which handle opening 75 extends. A conventional 
rubberized layer 79 is formed over and around handle 76. The steel plate 
72 also includes a folded down portion 73C having an aperture 78 therein 
and a rubberized layer 80 thereon to avoid damage to the left surface of 
end panel 74. Strap 71 extends along the upper surface of top panel 73, 
protecting it from the contact with the lower surface of clamp member 72, 
passes through hole 78, handle hole 75, and then passes back along the 
upper surface of plate 73, through slot 74 and underneath the inner end 
portion 73C to thereby prevent slippage of strap 71 when it is tightly 
stretched to provide the clamping function. The device 70 is easily 
adjustable to any suitable length, and is more easily utilized and stored 
than conventional cabinet clamps. 
FIGS. 12-14 illustrate a squaring device that can be used in conjunction 
with the clamping system of FIGS. 9-11. Squaring device 120 has a 
rotatable handle 121 having an axial shaft 22 extending through a 
clearance hole 23 of a vertical plate 24A of a stationary clamp member 
124. Stationary member 124 has a flat bottom section 124B attached to the 
bottom edge of plate 124A and a pair of vertical clamp plates 124C spaced 
from each other. Bottom plate 124B and vertical clamp plates 124C are 
mutually perpendicular. 
Rod 122 also extends through a clearance hole in a vertical rear plate 126A 
of a moveable clamp member 126 having a bottom plate 126B. Two collars 125 
attached to shaft 122 on either side of plate 126A and cause moveable 
clamp element 126 to move in the direction of arrows 129 relative to 
stationary clamp member 124 as handle 121 is rotated, because the right 
end of shaft 122 is threaded into a stationary nut 128 supported in fixed 
relationship to stationary bottom plate 124B by a bracket 127. A bracket 
126D attached to the bottom plate 126B keeps moveable clamp member 126 
properly aligned with stationary clamp member 124. Spaced plates 126C are 
attached to bottom plate and are mutually perpendicular with each other 
end bottom plate 126B. 
The utilization of the squaring tool 120 is illustrated in FIG. 14, wherein 
dashed lines 130 designate an edge of a cabinet panel which is to be 
attached in perpendicular relationship to another panel 131. By rotating 
handle 121, the moveable clamp member 126 can be tightened against the 
inner faces of the panels 130 and 131, clamping panel 130 into 
perpendicular relationship with panel 131. 
Referring next to FIGS. 18-22, another drill guide is shown which is 
especially adapted to attaching front panels to drawers used in making of 
cabinets. Before describing this drill guide, it will be helpful to refer 
to FIGS. 18 and 19 to understand its purpose. Numeral 90 designates a 
typical drawer box having a front wall 91. A drawer front panel 93 is to 
be attached to front wall 91 of drawer box 90. The height and width of 
front panel 93 is greater than that of front wall 91, so front panel 93 
should be attached so that it is symmetrically positioned on front wall 
91. To this end, screw holes 92 need to be precisely aligned with threaded 
inserts 94 that are press fit into shallow predrilled holes 95 in the 
inner face of drawer front panel 93, as shown in FIG. 19. Then the front 
panel 93 can be attached by simply inserting screws 96 through holes 92 
and screwing them into threaded holes in inserts 94. The problem is how to 
quickly position and drill the holes 92 and 95. The drill guide 100 of 
FIGS. 20-22 enables this to be done quickly and easily. 
Drill guide 100 includes a corner block 101 having a cylindrical hole 102 
one inch in diameter for receiving either a guide bushing 118 having a 
precisely centered hole 118A three sixteenths of an inch in diameter for 
the purpose of drilling screw holes 92 or a bushing 119 having therein a 
20 millimeter inch diameter hole 119A for the purpose of drilling the 
insert holes 95. A lock screw 103 engages the flat of either bushing 104 
or 105 to securely lock it in place in block 101. 
A pair of parallel horizontal cylindrical rods 104 extend vertically 
outward from the left hand edge of rectangular block 101. A pair of 
cylindrical adjustable stops 105 are disposed on rods 104 and are locked 
into place by means of the illustrated set screws. The side stop 109 very 
similar to the side stops previously described in FIG. 1 herein is 
slideably disposed on rods 104, and can be locked into a selected position 
either against cylindrical stops 105 or 106. Cylindrical stops 106 are 
positioned on rods 104 to the left of side stop 109. Similarly, a pair of 
parallel vertical rods 112 extend from the bottom edge of rectangular 
block 101. A slideable bottom stop 116, which can be locked into place by 
means of knobs 115, is disposed between two stationary pairs of 
cylindrical stops 113 and 114. 
The cylindrical stops 105, 106, 113, and 114 are positioned and locked so 
that when side stop 109 abuts cylindrical stops 105 and bottom stop 116 
abuts cylindrical stops 114, and guide bushing 118 is secured into hole 
102 by locking knob 103, screw holes 92 can be drilled by abutting the 
inner and upper faces of stops 109 and 116 against the side and bottom 
edges, respectively, of front wall 91 of door box 90. Then, to drill 
insert holes 95 in the back surface of drawer front panel 93, guide 
bushing 118 is removed and replaced by guide bushing 119. Side stop 109 is 
moved against cylindrical stops 106, and bottom stop 116 is positioned 
against cylindrical stops 113. When the inner faces of stops 109 and 116 
are then abutted to the side and bottom edges of drawer front panel 93, 
the two shallow insert holes 95 can be accurately drilled. 
The above described collection of alignment tools, the clamping tool and 
the scoring tool provide a collection of tools that make it possible for a 
small cabinet shop to quickly manufacture a small "lot" of cabinets 
without an excessive amount of measuring and remeasuring of the locations 
of construction holes and the like, without use of large amount of jig 
equipment, floor space, and facilitates to effectuate rapid manufacture 
and assembly of predrilled panels and the like. 
While the invention has been described with reference to a particular 
embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various 
modifications to the described embodiments without departing from the true 
spirit and scope thereof.