Finish for Jigs / Fixtures


Fxguy

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I'll admit that I haven't gotten past the sanding stage for most projects. Until now I haven't had descent tools to produce good results, but now that I have I must tackle finishing. So I'd like to ask in general, what finish / how do you finish different jigs that you have built? 

 

Currently I have a Router Fence made out of Maple that needs to be finished as well as a larger table for my bandsaw thats built out of MDF. Could someone help me figure out how to finish these? 

 

Thanks! 

 

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My firm suggestion is to use each shop jig, piece of shop furniture, tool rack, etc as a place to experiment and learn different finishing systems. After all, if you screw the pooch, who cares??

 

Want to learn to spray conv varnish, makes a great durable fence finish... Want to learn wipe-on polys, a cherry chisel rack is perfect, etc, etc...

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I just use up finish that is getting old or not finish at all if the jig will not see heavy use. You can extend the life of an MDF jigs edges by wiping it with glue and sanding after it's dry. This hardens the edge quite a bit. Epoxy works even better if the edge will get a lot of wear.

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Thanks for the advice guys, So for something like MDF, which I used as the base for the table, what could I do to put a finish on it that will let wood slide across it pretty smoothly? Right now with it dry, it slides, but not very nice. 

 

Same question for a maple fence. 

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i used MDF for the base of my crosscut  sled and the base of my splined miter jig.  On one i applied a couple coats of wipe-on poly.  It soaked the coats up immediately, but feels the same as the uncoated one.  Both slide great on the cast iron top.  I'm not so sure it was worth coating the first jig, but perhaps time will prove otherwise.  I'd say to experiment and try whatever you have on hand - if it doesn't work well then you can just hit it with the sander.  Just remember.. if you coat one side, you have to coat the other side or humidity will be more likely to cause it to warp.

 

One more tidbit is that I've heard several suggestions to not put too much finish on the top of the jig as this can make it harder to keep the workpiece from sliding during a cut.  

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<only exception might be on a fence where you want things to slide nicely.  In that case, I use paste wax>

I still experiment with different finishing systems, but add wax over the finish as needed. I also use shop furniture, jigs, etc to experiment with toning, glazing, etc... For a while, my shop fixtures looked like some sort of Richthofen's flying circus...

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  • 1 month later...

I am actually in the process of building myself a router table, adjustable fence and some other jigs specific to the project they will be used for... I'm going with MDF for its stability and covering it in melamine so my routers can slide cleanly across the surface. A little finishing wax treatment and you're off. 

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I typically apply no finish at all to jigs and fixtures.   Often, I want a grippy surface, so the stock stays in position while I work on it, and films are slippery.  

 

Things like sled floors, stop blocks, shooting boards, bench hooks...   are BAD when slippery.   I never understood why people waxed drill press tables, either...

 

I also tend to build jigs as needed, so I'm not waiting for no steenkin' finish to dry...  :lol:

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I've used pencil as a finish.  (Here's where I start, there's where I'm supposed to stop, there's where I blame the tool for going to far, and there's the mark where I say "oops, the board's ruined, need to run to the store and buy another.")

 

The only time I've applied anything to a jig was wax, because I didn't want the router base to get stuck on the 1x2 I was using.  Should have instead invested in a straight edge and a bushing.... Lesson learned.

 

As for MDF, I've got a bench top that I hit with three coats (thin) of wax.  Held up well for two years, ok for a year, and not so well this past year.  (Racoons don't seem to want to follow shop rules about cleaning up after themselves.)  I wouldn't bother with anything else.  Not because it won't be a better finish, but because it's just MDF.  Sure, it's heavy and not cheap and comes in annoying large forms and leaves a lot of dust in the air while you are cutting it.... but beside those good points, I consider it pretty much disposable.  If I'm making a jig out of MDF, I'm not expecting it to last long, so I won't bother finishing it.  

 

(Then again, I think it's pretty safe to say I don't think like most people.)

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