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This is the newest addition to my collection of jigs. I seen a few videos and looked at tons of designs and came up with this. I wanted something that is adjustable so no matter what size I set my dado blade I can set the jig to accommodate it.

The key (what I call the piece that fits into the dado cut to align the next cut) was made out of an old small square my employer was going to throw away (the handle broke… making it not a square anymore…lol). I cut, ground, filed, drilled, and cursed both pieces until I got it where I wanted it. The inside (closest to the blade) part of the key is adjustable to match the thickness of the dado cut. You can see in picture #4 the adjustment for it.

I used a small section of T-Track I picked up on sale from Rockler to make the right side of the base movable then tighten down when the desired distance from the blade is achieved. What I found works is I measure the cut of the dado. I then multiply by two, then measure from the edge of the inside key to the edge of my cut line on the left base. Seems to work pretty good so far.

I used hard board on the face of the fence to make it easier to replace the middle section when it gets wore out. You can see on the first pic how the fence has 3 pieces on the fence. Two are there to stay… The middle is replaceable.

I did have to make a few changes… First I used my miter slide that came with my table saw as I have seen on many other similar jigs. It didn't work out to well for me. It tend to move around making it hard to make perfect cuts. So I made a miter slide out of red oak scraps I had around the shop and that fixed that. No movement at all in the jig now.

The only other thing I think I will do is figure out a way to make the left side of the base easier to adjust. It isn't hard now, but I have to bump and tap it to get minute movement. I have something in mind, but ran out of time to give it a try… Maybe later….lol

Thanks for checking out my jig.

Gallery

Comments

· Registered
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1,487 Posts
cool looken jig i might have to make one like this, if it's ok with you? ;)
 

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19,753 Posts
I made this jig from" shop notes" it works very well.
 

· In Loving Memory
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3,011 Posts
Very well constucted …. and variable too.
 

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Hey Dan. I just looked at my e-mail and found your blog on your jig. Looks great, you can send me the blue prints. lol We are still on the road, in Chattanooga will be home in San Diego on 17th. Take care keep up the good work. Uncle John
 

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125 Posts
Nice jig. Well designed and built. I made one fashioned after this. It works great. Well done on your project.
 

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2,242 Posts
Looks great, meets your needs and you appear to have learned some skills from building it. I like the recycled SQ. into the new jig.
 

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73 Posts
This is a great looking jig…. hope it works as good as it looks… finger joints enhance a lot of projects so a worthwhile jig to have around…
 

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201 Posts
Lots of nice features. Cool.
 

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249 Posts
Nice job. I keep meaning to make one of these, the, I forget, then I remember, then I forget and so on. I don't think that I'm going to make it adjustable, but that is a great idea.
 

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169 Posts
The fixture looks great…I have yet to build one of these. Can't wait to see the hinges and the box they are attached to! Great job Dan.
 

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607 Posts
Are you talking about the fingers I cut out of an old square that adjust Notottoman? If so I can tell you first step is to start cursing and get that out of the way….lol
 

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1,833 Posts
Cool jig and web page post!
 

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457 Posts
Dan…Nice mechanics. Well thought out and it shows in the results.
 
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