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Hey that is a very nice jig that you can position anywhere to cut a dado. You could asdd stops to it for making a pocket of a given length, too. I might just borrow your idea! Thanks for sharing.
 

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I did one a few years ago, works really good. nice job.
 

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Great build of a classic jig. This looks really nice! One thing that I would potentially worry about would be the movement of the wood allowing the jig to get a little out of whack. I typically try and use plywood or MDF for larger jigs that need to be straight that reason, but this certainly LOOKS better than my version of this jig! :) I am probably splitting hairs, though. . . .

One problem I have run into with this jig is if my router bit is not perfectly centered on my base, I get bad results, so be careful! A variation of this is to leave off the top rails (or to back them out a bit) and use a top bearing guided pattern cutting bit. I haven't done this, but have seen a few references to it. To use it, set up the jig as normal (put the dado material into the center grove and tighten things down), and use an undersized pattern bit to cut the dado in two passes. For example, cutting a 3/4" dado would use a 1/2" pattern bit.

Thanks again,dakremer, for posting this! Great reminder, even for those who have seen it before.
 

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Nice jig.

dfdye, that a good idea using the pattern bit. The problem with this jig is it is only good for the router it was made for as bases differ in size. Your suggestions would elminate that problem. The thing with using the pattern is that would would have to make sure you have a lot of different length pattern bits or a very think jig so you are sure the bearing always rides on the jig.
 

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Thanks
 

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Rex, I rarely make more than a 1/2" deep dado, and would typically take a couple of passes to get to that, so I would think a 1/2" deep pattern cutting bit would be ideal for this sort of application. By using 3/4" stock, you could still get 1/4" support on the bearing for a "zero" depth cut. Dropping the plunge on the cut would allow you to make cuts as low as your router would let you. I would seriously doubt that you would want to make more than a 1/2" deep cut regardless! Remember too, that each step down would create a new guide for the bit to ride in, so you could theoretically make an arbitrarily deep cut with only a 1/2" deep cutter! You should only be limited by the length of your collet extender.

Honestly, I forgot the details of how this variation of the jig was built and used since it has been a few years since I saw that particular example, but this seems the logical way to make it work. Again, haven't used this variation, but wanted to pass it on for those interested.
 

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Good jig

What size ?
 

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I think its about 3.5 feet long. I don't remember now! I built it to the size I needed at that time
 

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Thanks for the information
 
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