bushwacked Posted September 25, 2014 Report Share Posted September 25, 2014 I am curious if you would say any certain type of jigs would almost be a necessity for every shop? I know most jigs come from not having certain equipment or doing something unique ... but I was just sitting here drawing out some jigs I am going to create this weekend and it got me to thinking about everyone else. I am going to make a straight edge, router, and a 45 degree inlay jig ... I know the last would not be a necessity in every shop but I think the first 2 would be very helpful. Plus I am also assuming most people dont have a jointer/planer as well .. like myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Okay I'll bite whats a 45 deg inlay jig? I'm sure you know what it is but, I've never heard of one I tried to look it up but didn't have any luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted September 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Going to be something along those lines but more for what I need ... It's out of a fine wood working magazine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eric. Posted September 26, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 I make jigs on an as-needed basis, and more often than not they get used once for a specific job and thrown away. If you're really dying to build jigs, I'd think about the ones that get used so often they have common names...table saw crosscut sled, shooting board, maybe a dado or spline jig. I'd rather spend my time building real projects than building jigs I may or may not need...cross those bridges when you get to them. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Ah a spline jig 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted September 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Ah a spline jig Haha oh is that what this thing is actually called? Ok so ya making a spline jig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Crosscut sled and a taper/straight edge jig are always handy. Otherwise I'm the same as above, I make them as I need them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ResidentEvil Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 I'm of the same opinion as the others, build the jig when you have a need for it....though I do tend to keep them as opposed to tossing them. I'm a hobbyist still in the early stages of learning, but so far I've built (in order of how valuable/useful): 1. cross-cut sled: in my opinion a must have for just about any shop. I use mine on nearly every project 2. Circular Saw Guide: Basically a straight edge screwed down to a piece of MDF, the saw base runs along the straight edge. Saves me lots of time setting up when breaking down sheet goods. Line the edge of the guide up with the cut line and go. 3. Miter sled: I've been making a lot of picture frames, and its been a life saver. Mitered corners come out perfect every time with no set up time. 1000% improvement over trying to do it on my CMS. 4. Tapering Jig: Made it to cut tapers on some legs for an entry way table I'm building 5. Router Mortise jig: Used it a couple times, but am not really happy with the design. Plus I've realized I can do the same thing quicker (set up wise) on the router table instead of free hand Next up is probably going to be a spline jig so I can start incorporating splines into my picture frame corners. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 I had a thread here somewhere where I remade most of my shop jigs you can go look at.. Wasn't all that long ago, few months maybe. I have about 5 that I use fairly often in the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I noticed that nobody mentioned the box joint jig. I've made hundreds of them over the years. I've always thought I'd one day make a permanent one. But I never can seem to get around to it. Instead I end up knocking out a quick temporary one and tossing it when the drawers are finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I noticed that nobody mentioned the box joint jig. I've made hundreds of them over the years. I've always thought I'd one day make a permanent one. But I never can seem to get around to it. Instead I end up knocking out a quick temporary one and tossing it when the drawers are finished. I made one and then never got to a project to use it.. Been so long now, I hope I can find it when I need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I have some jigs I made for doing certain tasks when building guitars, However the jig that gets the most use is my table saw cross cut sled. For cleaning up edges and doing quick repeatable cuts nothing is more perfect for this task. If you wanna make it even more versatile, make the sled have the ability to make certain angled cuts. I used my Incra Miter 5000 sled for making angle blocks to do 11.25, 15, 18 degree cuts for segmented ring pieces for when I'm gonna turn something segmented. Another useful jig would be my centering jig which is nothing more than a piece of MDF with a lazy susan spinner with another piece on top, with a straight stick to point in one spot to help locate my rings so they are as balanced and centered as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefmagnus@grics.net Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I have to say a router sled or router flattening sled and rails. I have two 6' pieces of corian counter top material that I use as rails and a 54" router sled made from 1" MDF(All I had at the time). I know that most projects only need a faction of the width but I have it available should I ever need to flatten a big 5" thick live edge table top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinb Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I picked a Craftsman Universal Jig at an auction for like $2. Quite useful, especially for tenons. But the threaded lock-downs are time-consuming. I'm going to replace them with toggle clamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted November 15, 2014 Report Share Posted November 15, 2014 A piece of 1/4" MDF and an exact 1" thick scrap of wood the height of your fence. Very handy to keep double angled rip cuts from slipping under the fence. I just set the rip 1" over the desired size and crank the blade up through the 1/4" base. Great for ripping laminate as well. Either drill holes to bolt it to your fence or use some clamps above the thickness of the part being ripped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Yep, crosscut sled is a must... and even that gets remade every so often for me. The only other shop made jig that I have kept is a tennon cutting jig that straddles my fence. All other jigs are one-offs and get torn down or repurposed when the project is finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 He last jigs I made were for half lap miters, it took 5 hours to build the jigs and 5 minutes to cut the half laps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 He last jigs I made were for half lap miters, it took 5 hours to build the jigs and 5 minutes to cut the half laps... Those are jigs you keep...lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 Those are jigs you keep...lolthats no kidding, I'll probably never use them again but I just can't bring myself to throw them in the trash! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bm3324 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Pretty new to woodworking here. In addition to the crosscut sled, I have used a crosscut panel sled quite a bit in the few projects I've done as a rookie woodworker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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