As a cabinet maker and installation company, we use many different tools in pursuit of our goal to provide speed, efficiency, and precision to every job we work on. We’ve found that True Position Tools is a company dedicated to producing tools that will elevate your workflow game. It already makes the industry-leading cabinet-hardware installation jig, so when I heard about the release of its Cabinet Plumbing Jig, I could not wait to get my hands on one.

The True Position cabinet jig comes with a padded, zippered storage bag.
The True Position cabinet jig comes with a padded, zippered storage bag.

Upon receiving the jig, I was impressed by its zippered and padded bag with hold-down straps that secure it during transport. It also came with a full-color, step-by-step instruction booklet. It’s an indication of the quality of a tool when a company puts this kind of effort into creating a storage bag and ensuring you use the tool correctly.

Before using the jig, we first mark a level line on the wall at the sink cabinet’s height and lay out its centerline. We then line up the jig’s center mark with the centerline on the wall and place two fasteners on either side of the line to hold the top bar of the jig level and steady. Next, we line up the jig’s arms (it has three) above each of the plumbing pipes coming out of the wall and tighten the arms using the jig’s stainless-steel knobs.

The next step is to mark a centerline on the back of the sink cabinet and line it up with the jig’s center mark, using the stops to keep it in place. Then we trace along the red marking edge of the V-shaped fixed head at the end of each arm to create marks for lining up the edges of a hole saw. It is that simple to mark precise plumbing locations on the back of the cabinet with this jig.

With the Cabinet Plumbing Jig leveled and centered on the cabinet layout, a worker aligns the arms with the pipes (right). After tightening the arms in place, he moves the jig to the back of the cabinet to mark out the pipe locations (above).
With the Cabinet Plumbing Jig leveled and centered on the cabinet layout, a worker aligns the arms with the pipes (right). After tightening the arms in place, he moves the jig to the back of the cabinet to mark out the pipe locations (above).

The saying “Time is money” is so true in the trades. While there are many different ways to mark plumbing on a cabinet, one of my preferred methods is to use a torpedo level and mark lines that represent the top and sides of all the pipes. I then measure the location of these lines based upon the level line and center point created in the layout process. Over the past three months, this process averaged 10 minutes for a set of three pipes. When we used this new jig, that task took only two minutes. Not only does the jig increase speed, but it also improves accuracy.

Kitchen sink cabinets also often have an outlet for under-the-cabinet electrical needs, like a garbage disposal. The Cabinet Plumbing Jig comes with a swivel head to mark the location of electrical boxes. True Position Tools has done its homework in creating this jig. If you mark one or two cabinets a year, this tool may not be for you. If you are marking cabinets professionally on a daily basis, however, this tool is a must for your bag of “tricks of the trade.” It costs $300 at truepositiontools.com.