Are you a Jigaholic

[dryhter]

I was reading a POST by Aaron Marshall over in the Joinery & Construction Master Poster about a project he was working on, it had to do with rounding over a handrail. Some of the suggestions to accomplish the task at hand had to do with building a jig.

Are you a Jigaholic?

To me a jig is a simple tool, cobbled together at a moments notice to act as a third hand or maybe something like a simple fixture to do something repetitively and get the same results. It might be a template for a skirt design or a holder for steam bending. The bottom line is that it is disposable and usually tossed on the burn pile at the end of the project, if not that day, it is simple and quickly built taking less time to build than if you would just do what needed to be done.

On the other hand I have a good friend who has a shop full of jigs, hanging, leaning, laying and tucked away. He starts his projects by building jigs to use during the project, says ‘ it helps keep me on tract”. I can understand that, and he does build some great Jigs with slots and holes, all kind of adjustment, even has store bought knobs on some of them. I think he is a frustrated pattern maker, myself, but he enjoys it and it is all woodworking in a way.

So, are you a Jigaholic?

I think I am going to try and do a poll if I can figure out how to do that.

[Jon Banquer]

I would put myself in the "Jigaholic" category. In the trade that I make my living in (machining) you quickly learn that the money, respect, etc. is not in running parts but rather in thinking about and coming up with ways on how best to program and make a part quicker, cheaper, faster, etc.

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

[Rapid Roger]

I am ...Somewhat a jigaholic, in as far as, I consider my home made miter sled a jig, and I built my own box joint jug, I even bought a jig for dove tails! I like fixtures/jigs for making repitive cuts (on angle cuts especilly), or even drilling holes evenly spaced for shelves etc. And, I would go so far as to say anyone who doesn't use a jig for some of these things is asking for trouble fairly soon. But, I can see where somone might carry it too far and "jig up" for too many things.

Rog

[PaulMarcel]

I have only 1 jig that I made and kept. Most others are one-offs for something I need to be repeatable, safe, etc. Usually the jig is an offcut with a screw in it. Unless I can see a way to easily make it generalized for more operations like the one I'm making, I assume it's wasted time and that I'm avoiding the task at hand.

[iSawitFirst]

While I place very high value on jigs, I hate taking time away from the project to make them. Maybe I should consider them part of the journey.

Nah.

[NYHump]

I would put myself in the "Jigaholic" category. In the trade that I make my living in (machining) you quickly learn that the money, respect, etc. is not in running parts but rather in thinking about and coming up with ways on how best to program and make a part quicker, cheaper, faster, etc.

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

Jon,

We have the same thinking, I also am a machinist and with that backround I plan on making jigs to make it easier, faster, and safer. Guess it's in the blood, production mode. I find that if I make a jig for one project it will work for another one with a slight mod. One of my problems is I can't seem to make only one of something! I'm always thinking if I can make one why can't I just make 6 and then sell them or give them to family and friends. That's where the jigs come in handy.

[Jon Banquer]

Jon,

We have the same thinking, I also am a machinist and with that backround I plan on making jigs to make it easier, faster, and safer. Guess it's in the blood, production mode. I find that if I make a jig for one project it will work for another one with a slight mod. One of my problems is I can't seem to make only one of something! I'm always thinking if I can make one why can't I just make 6 and then sell them or give them to family and friends. That's where the jigs come in handy.

Cool, I was starting to get a real complex and figured I might get ostracized.

One thing I really like about Marc is his positive attitude. Not exactly easy to find a positive attitude in our field these days.

In the past I've both made and used a lot of modular fixturing. Better machine shops I've worked in had subplates on all their machining centers. I like the modular fixturing from this Phoenix, Arizona based company.

http://www.stevenseng.com/

Seems like modular fixturing could benefit a wood worker who loves precision and efficiency and wants to save space.

I just got done watching a video that Marc did that shows how he gets the outfeed and the infeed table of a jointer to be coplaner using an aluminum (cringe) straight edge and shims. I think what I'd do is rig a simple fixture using cheap Chinese plunge type dial indicators so that I could immediately see how adjusting a cam effected the entire in-feed table. I think this would make adusting a jointer much less of a PITA. What do you think?

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

[NYHump]

I just got done watching a video that Marc did that shows how he gets the outfeed and the infeed table of a jointer to be coplaner using an aluminum (cringe) straight edge and shims. I think what I'd do is rig a simple fixture using cheap Chinese plunge type dial indicators so that I could immediately see how adjusting a cam effected the entire in-feed table. I think this would make adusting a jointer much less of a PITA. What do you think?

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

[DeanJackson]

If I'm going to make multiples of the same thing, and a jig would help that, it's jig time.

For a one off task? No, not a jigaholic. :-)

[Lawrence Brown]

Having a bit of a machinist background, I too am of the mind that the production part project starts with the tool/jig fabrication. I wouldn't call it an addiction, but rather a natural consequence of my way of working. The number of jigs just keeps increasing because I can't bring myself to throw them away when the project is done because I might "need" them again some day.

Where it gets more serious for me is that whenever I make a jig, I tend to try to figure out how I can make it adjustable so that I can use it in other situations. Then it becomes a project in itself, so I'll end up completing three or four projects before the main project gets done.

I also have a big fascination with victorian and earlier manufacturing processes, so I'm dreading/anticipating the day when I start engraving and carving decorations into the surfaces of the jigs. When that happens, then I'll put my hand up and introduce myself to jigaholics anonymous.

[Lawrence Brown]

...

In the past I've both made and used a lot of modular fixturing. Better machine shops I've worked in had subplates on all their machining centers. I like the modular fixturing from this Phoenix, Arizona based company.

http://www.stevenseng.com/

...

You know, it's a small group that appreciates a fine hunk of steel filled with holes, but I'm definitely one of them

[Jon Banquer]

Jon,

Are you thinking like a long steel flat plate that maybe has a magnetic hold for the infeed side and then holes in the outfeed side for the plunge indictors? Sounds like something everybody could use.

Right now I just use my indictor to set the height.

I have a preference for calibrating a tool / gauge off the machine and then placing the calibrated tool on the machine.

Jon Banquer

San Diego,CA

[Mqutkingdom]

Never really needed a jig other I wing it or find some other way to do it

[Jon Banquer]

NYHump,

I'm rereading my response to you and I think I could have done a much better job.

I'll try again with a specific example of what I mean. This idea never caught on but I think it's a very good idea that suffers from two major problems: The dial indicators get in the way / what happens if you accidentally hit them?

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5908994.pdf

Now what if you took this idea and had a quick way to calibrate this fixture off the machine and a quick way to place the fixture on the machine when you wanted to check tram? I like that concept a lot better!

Hope you find this answer to be acceptable. If not, let me know and I'll keep trying.

Also, I'm thinking a good thread or a continuation of this one would be to discuss what's really needed in a router lift. For sure I have a lot of ideas on that!

Jon Banquer

San Diego,CA

[dryhter]

What are all you Machinists doing working wood? Shouldn't you be in the the shop machining up a couple of pounds of steel or busting up some milling bits or something :>) .

Dave

[Jon Banquer]

What are all you Machinists doing working wood? Shouldn't you be in the the shop machining up a couple of pounds of steel or busting up some milling bits or something :>) .

Dave

I've always wanted to learn how to scrape metal because it's a lost art and a very valuable skill to have because it can produce much better results than a surface grinder when it comes to fitting two pieces together. If you want to restore old equipment or make Chinese crap really accurate it's often your only option.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_scraper

The foundations of mechanical accuracy are laid out and documented in a classic book of the same name written by Wayne Moore of Moore Special Tool Company.

http://www.mooretool.com/publications.html

http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-mechanical-accuracy-Wayne-Moore/dp/B0006CAKT8

It seems to me that learning to plane a piece of wood by hand and checking it with a very accurate steel, granite or cast iron straight edge is a very good basis to start learning how to scrape metal as well as a great basis to expand my very limited woodworking skills. This is especially true because my current project is restoring 4 maple butcher block tops that I own that are badly dinged up on the tops and on the sides.

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

[NYHump]

What are all you Machinists doing working wood? Shouldn't you be in the the shop machining up a couple of pounds of steel or busting up some milling bits or something :>) .

Dave

Dave,

It's in the blood! My late father passed it on to me

Machinists take a bow!

[Lawrence Brown]

I've always wanted to learn how to scrape metal because it's a lost art and a very valuable skill to have because it can produce much better results than a surface grinder when it comes to fitting two pieces together. If you want to restore old equipment or make Chinese crap really accurate it's often your only option.

...

Thanks for the links. That's something I've wanted to try, too. I have several old machinist manuals that mention it, but no one seems to go into much detail about it.

[dryhter]

I kinda understand what you machinists are saying , but isn't it like comparing apples and bananas. I consider myself a practical perfectionist and I try to work to + - 1/64 in, ( ,015625 ) tolerances and that is just crazy. you guys are working to less than .001 tolerances . Wood JUST DOES NOT HOLD THOSE KIND OF TOLERANCES. I can understand the going through the motions to practice but the results have got to be disheartening .

Dave

[Jon Banquer]

I kinda understand what you machinists are saying , but isn't it like comparing apples and bananas. I consider myself a practical perfectionist and I try to work to + - 1/64 in, ( ,015625 ) tolerances and that is just crazy. you guys are working to less than .001 tolerances . Wood JUST DOES NOT HOLD THOSE KIND OF TOLERANCES. I can understand the going through the motions to practice but the results have got to be disheartening .

Dave

It's a huge mistake to think that wood can't hold those types of tolerance. It can. Many people think that metal doesn't move. It does. So does plastic especially nylon. As a machinist you learn to work material that moves to get it flat and square using double sided tape, etc. Pattern makers work with wood and some of their stuff has to be dead nuts on... especially parting lines.

I'm on my third David Charlesworth video. I've skipped around trying to stay awake. The first two videos of his I watched pretty much put me to sleep.

This one I'm watching now is beyond freaking awesome and will clearly explain why plaining to .002 can make a huge difference! The one I like so much is called "Hand Plaining".

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

[DeanJackson]

This one I'm watching now is beyond freaking awesome and will clearly explain why plaining to .002 can make a huge difference! The one I like so much is called "Hand Plaining".

That's 1/500th of an inch. What's the name of the video? I have to see this, because otherwise, that sounds a bit crazy to me. A human hair is .004 (1/250th), and wood won't hold any tolerance over 1/64th for long, or so I thought.

[Jon Banquer]

That's 1/500th of an inch. What's the name of the video? I have to see this, because otherwise, that sounds a bit crazy to me. A human hair is .004 (1/250th), and wood won't hold any tolerance over 1/64th for long, or so I thought.

My hair measures .003.

Wood will hold that tolerance if it's dried and sealed correctly. The David Charlesworth video I like so much is called "Hand Plaining" and in this video he clearly shows me that he knows his "s" cold.

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

[dryhter]

It's a huge mistake to think that wood can't hold those types of tolerance. It can. Many people think that metal doesn't move. It does. So does plastic especially nylon. As a machinist you learn to work material that moves to get it flat and square using double sided tape, etc. Pattern makers work with wood and some of their stuff has to be dead nuts on... especially parting lines.

I'm on my third David Charlesworth video. I've skipped around trying to stay awake. The first two videos of his I watched pretty much put me to sleep.

This one I'm watching now is beyond freaking awesome and will clearly explain why plaining to .002 can make a huge difference! The one I like so much is called "Hand Plaining".

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

Gimme a link to these videos,

In the real world wood won't hold those tolerances for long. Wood is a hard sponge, what kind of tolerances practically and realistically

do you want to get from a sponge. Things maybe different in Kalifornia but here in Ohio wood moves... . .. .. alot.

[Jon Banquer]

Gimme a link to these videos,

In the real world wood won't hold those tolerances for long. Wood is a hard sponge, what kind of tolerances practically and realistically

do you want to get from a sponge. Things maybe different in Kalifornia but here in Ohio wood moves... . .. .. alot.

Wood can be properly dried and sealed and hold tolerance.

Here is the link you requested:

http://smartflix.com/store/video/2669/Hand-Tool-Techniques-with-David-Charlesworth

"Hand Tool Techniques Part 2: Hand Planing

This video explores David's hand planing techniques for precise, efficient preparation of furniture-size components. You will be astonished by the precision that is possible with a well-tuned, sharp hand plane. This second video explores David's techniques for hand planing."

http://smartflix.com/store/video/2669/Hand-Tool-Techniques-with-David-Charlesworth#reviews

"Remarkably cogent explanation and demonstrations of flattening, squaring, and sizing lumber with a bench plane. Woodworkers don't normal think or work to thousandths of an inch, but David shows how it can be done simply and even routinely. While I don't sharpen a curved edge on my plane blades, his approach and techniques have already made a notable improvement in the quality of my planing.

This is my first Charlesworth video. I liked it well enough to order the other videos in this set. This is in sharp contrast to his books, which are reprints of his magazine articles. Those suffer from the disjointed nature of magazine columns, as well as a certain unsubtle slant toward promoting sales of shiny kit in the topics and writing. The video, on the other hand, is solid, no nonsense information from start to end of the what, why, and how. You'll find it money and time very well spent."

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

[dryhter]

I've always wanted to learn how to scrape metal because it's a lost art and a very valuable skill to have because it can produce much better results than a surface grinder when it comes to fitting two pieces together. If you want to restore old equipment or make Chinese crap really accurate it's often your only option.

http://en.wikipedia....ki/Hand_scraper

The foundations of mechanical accuracy are laid out and documented in a classic book of the same name written by Wayne Moore of Moore Special Tool Company.

http://www.mooretool...blications.html

http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B0006CAKT8

It seems to me that learning to plane a piece of wood by hand and checking it with a very accurate steel, granite or cast iron straight edge is a very good basis to start learning how to scrape metal as well as a great basis to expand my very limited woodworking skills. This is especially true because my current project is restoring 4 maple butcher block tops that I own that are badly dinged up on the tops and on the sides.

Jon Banquer

San Diego, CA

Hey Jon what originally got me looking at your post was the restoring the butcher blocks , got any pictures . I've restored two leveled the tops and had to turn some legs , How bad are they?