Not the dancing kind of of Jig but the workshop kind. Yes I know a lot of you are very disappointed not to see video of me tripping the light fantastic but such images have been known to crash the internet.
As I mentioned in the last post I want to use finger joints on the tournament box edges. It can be tedious chisel out individual notches so a quick way is to build a simple jig for 1/2 wide finger joints. I started with some scrap plywood and 1/2 square wood.
The first step is to make the right side rail guid which will hold the jig along the right side of the router table.
A little glue, some clamps and it's attached.
The other parts - all cut and ready to go. The two narrow strips of plywood are 3/8 square and will be glued together to be used as the left side channel guide. With the two guides in place the jig can only move forwards and backward - no side to side movement.
The wood is cut for the two boxes I am making. I decided to make one box 24 x18 inches and the other 18 x 18 inches just to see which size works best.
The front and back plates are attached. The wood in-between is just used for spacing.
The initial grove is cut using a 1/2 inch straight bit in the router. I'm using some scrap wood and a metal spacer to help me place to positioning guide tooth. It's a simple design - place the stock you want to cut next to the tooth and slide the jig into the router. The next step is to lift out the piece and set the newly cut notch on the tooth and then cut the next one and so on.
The top corners of the tooth are chamfered to make positioning easier.
The first notch is cut!
My first test box. It took 10 minutes to cut all the notches and they fit well.
I'll probably end us using the box as a nice shelf for mini's once I clean up the tear outs and finish the wood.
I need a new bit as you can see some tear out
A little bit of labeling so I know the size notch that the jig will help cut
It took me about 2 hours to make the jig (there were some mistakes that I've omitted). It will be a very handy item to have in the workshop.
Who's this? Some friends in Annapolis just got a new puppy, Otis. I'm not sure what type of dog he is but he's not a poodle (which is good).
I'm trying to convince the wife to get a dog and may borrow this little guy for the marketing efforts.
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