Another KM for display.

In retrospect I might have made the rabbet a little more stout. I was concerned that it would interfere with screw. It locks well so I guess it doesn’t matter.

The slight twist: there is a brass threaded insert pressed in below the end surface (see third pic). This permits the screw head to sink level with the end surface, or be unscrewed to match the blade thickness.

Thanks go out to those of you in the past that contributed!
Hope you like it.

Alll reviews welcome.

This is my first attempt at a dovetail box. I’m really satisfied with the tolerances of the 1/2 blind dovetails joints (done with an Incra jig).

Specs: 9” x 5” x 4” high. Maple and Walnut main case components. Mahogany top stripe and inside of lid. Walnut lift tab. Used a wiping oil for finish (still needs another coat or 2 and some wax).

I was originally planning for a lined bottom but now favor the way the Walnut looks.

The fine boxes found here on LJ’s have definitely inspired me. Thank you all.

Another taper and edge straghtening jig. This one works surprisingly well. My last one (from years back) is a lot more rustic to say the least. This one is a dream to use. To use the jig, I actually walk the jig around the side of the tablesaw, holding it against the fence. The test tapered leg you see here is a short length of pine cut from a 2×4. I’m looking forward to using it on some mahogany to built a shaker table soon. Hopefully it will turn out nice enough to post here. Plans based on the ones I found on woodworkingtips.com site (modified significantly). In particular its much much wider to be able to put straight edges on wavy sided boards. This also allows a greater degree of safety. I may add another handle to the front side ot the jig. Picture shows how the handle is made using a T-Nut.

All comments welcome.

TPro Mortising Jig:

I decided to build a custom mortising jig recently. I really like loose tenon joinery as its strong and to me easier than traditional mortise and tenons. As always, money for WW (at my place) is in short supply. So, buying a Festool Domino is not in my foreseeable future. More importantly, I’m a gadgeteer that really enjoys designing and building jigs & tools.
Over the past few years I’ve made many of the diy mortising jigs in the books and on the internet and haven’t been totally pleased with the results. So, I decided to build my own version. I may have overdone it a bit this time but it was fun and I think I’m set for now.

PICTURES:
1. Front view of jig with a piece of 1×4 pine installed and ready to mortise.
2. Back side showing router edge guide and top plate that router base slides on.
3. Side view – see hardwood block attached to edge guide that runs in a slot also incra T-Track Plus and Stop blocks.
4. Work Piece Hold Down Fixture – removed from jig
5. Fixed plate – attaches to base of jig by 2 holes at top that have 5/16 brass threaded inserts installed. Back side of jig has holes for bolts to attach this plate. Dados indexes the slider plate (next photo).
6. Slider plate with hardboard guide that runs in the grooved of the fixed plate. Note: this plate does not need the dado that runs 90 degrees from the hardboard guide.

FEATURES:
Uses a plunge router loaded with spiral upcut bits. A guide rail slides in a groove on the backside of the jig. I use PC 690 with a plunge base, PC Edge Guide, and 1/4”, 3/8” and 1/2” carbide upcut router bits.
With this jig the full length of the bit can be used for deeper mortising capability than some other jigs allow. INCRA T-Trak plus permits the lateral stops to be precisely indexed for perfect length mortises.
The larger size of this jig makes for easy mortising setup for small and large work pieces alike. On hindsight a smaller version might be just fine.
Large vertical base plate and vertical slider plate (18” square each) remove for easier storage.
Jig top plate is made from a scrap of Corian solid surface material. It’s dimensionally stable and the router base plate slides very easily on it (and it looks cool to me). A piece of 3/4” plywood would work just as well as a top surface.
The Jig’s base clamping “wings” extend 2 1/2” on each end to permit easy clamping to a workbench. Note: a bench vice and dogs could be used to secure the jig as well.
This Jig is not overly complex to build with normal shop tools (although there are plans for far easier jigs you can build out there).

BENEFITS:
The jig base is easily clamped to a work bench.
Repeatable cuts in successive work pieces is a breeze following a few procedural guidelines.
Lateral stops (to limit router travel side to side) very easily set.
A hold down clamp’s is adjusted to permit assorted work piece thicknesses to be easily clamped tight near their centers. It is mounted on 3/4” thick piece of plywood and slides up (or down) to adjust where the clamping pressure is put on the work piece.
Ability to cut mortises on the edge of a board as well as on the ends.
Capability to easily cut mortises on a mitered 45 end (to be developed later).
No additional base plate is needed to be attached to the router (only an edge guide).
Can be set on a shelf or hung up when not being used (both face plates remove for storage).
Amazingly fast, accurate, clean, and repeatable mortises.

Cut procedures to follow; but my “hunt and peck” keyboard style leaves me weary for now.
No plans drawn up yet, but you would need to adjust for your router base and edge guide anyway.
Hope you like it.

I was tired of picture frames and boxes having small gaps at the 45’s. Makes me crazy. So I decided it was time for a jig that has adjustable wings on both sides. I can now dial in 45’s with very tight joints. The new jig is safer than my old one as the blade gets buried in the center rail. The hold downs are adjustable in and out to accomodate varied stock width and height.

I may change out the SS 1/4×20 adjustment bolts for machine screws at some point and make a stop block and extensions for the wings to handle longer stock cuts. The entire carriage assembly dismounts for maintenance/upgrade.

Thought this might help somebody out there (as you all have helped me). Many thanks.

I’m relatively new to woodworking and LJ’s. You rock! I needed a thin ripping jig for an upcoming project and found a few plans out there and here. The one I liked required a double dado with oak inserts for the top slider to move on. Well my first try wasn’t a success. It seems I can make a dado fit for glueing (but not slide evenly apparently). So, I simply made the base a little wider and adding side rails. Works like a charm and was made totally from scrap (note the big knot) excluding the (3) 1/4-20×3” flat head bolts, 2 plastic knobs, and few other small bits.

The plans I used included a front roller bearing, but I havent found one yet. Not sure I’m going to add one as this jig works VERY well w/o one.

Question: does thin ripping go better on these jigs with a roller bearing on the business end?

Our Club the “Carolina BrewMasters” hold this beer festival each year – Charlotte Oktoberfest. For 2007 over 6K beer lovers attended. I built a 11 tap festival homebrew dispensing system with the help from 2 other members.

Some features:
-8 ale taps (SS Ventamatics)
-2 Stout faucets (SS)
-1 extra large Randal we call the “Hopinator” – special design features eliminate foaming. Flowed 4 ipa kegs w/o foaming in the same day.
-2 Solid Oak Irish Coffin box Towers atop 2 SS 6” cylinders (originally used to flow beer at a one time major but now closed brewery in Pa.)
-All contruction Red and White oak and oak plywood stained Merlot and poly’d. Inside now stained as well.
-An Oak 3 hole rolling gas cart for 2 CO2 tanks and a Nitro tank.
-2 redundant gas manifiolds with shut offs and back flow restrictors.
-2 Very large food grade poly tubs that can hold 6 ball lock or 5 pin lock cornies each.
-Each tub sits on a cart with large pneumatic wheels for ease of pulling in and out for keg removal and insertion.
-It folds up to fit in a pickup truck.

Worked like a champ. We served 35 kegs of HB over the course of a few hours w/o a hitch.
Soon to be featured in a National Beer magazine.