Simple Precision Arc Inlay Jig
I had the need this afternoon for a way to cut a curved groove for a veneer inlay. It needed to be absolutely accurate and easy enough that even I couldn't screw it up. A half hour later I had this little jig. I thought someone else may find it useful.
The first photos are self explanatory and show the simple construction and assembly of the base and pivot arm. The featured performer is one of my personal favourite Harbour Freight tools, the trim router.
In the next photo the base has been cut off at the 6 1/2" radius that I require for this job. This is the only critical measurement here and it can be made with a regular tape measure. The accuracy lies elsewhere.
As you can see, I like to do cutoffs over foam insulation.
This one shows the obvious, that is that the cut in the base is exactly where the cut will be in any piece the base is clamped to.
Here I'm making a trial cut in a piece of plywood to check depth of cut to match my veneer thickness.
Here's the obvious again. I love it when these things are this obvious. It makes it much harder (although not impossible) to screw up in a moment's lack of focus. The inner cut radius is exactly where the edge of the base is.
Now the depth of cut has been adjusted and exactly matches the veneer thickness.
And finally, here's why this has to be so precise. There's just no room for error here. Even so, I will be making this cut in the morning with a clear head and I'll be thinking it through very carefully before any routers get turned on.
There are lots of bells and whistles that could be added to this but all I needed was a one time non-adjustable, deadly accurate, deadly obvious jig that I could make, use and chuck. That's the way I usually think about jigs in general.
Thanks for looking. I hope this helps someone somewhere.
Paul
I had the need this afternoon for a way to cut a curved groove for a veneer inlay. It needed to be absolutely accurate and easy enough that even I couldn't screw it up. A half hour later I had this little jig. I thought someone else may find it useful.
The first photos are self explanatory and show the simple construction and assembly of the base and pivot arm. The featured performer is one of my personal favourite Harbour Freight tools, the trim router.
In the next photo the base has been cut off at the 6 1/2" radius that I require for this job. This is the only critical measurement here and it can be made with a regular tape measure. The accuracy lies elsewhere.
As you can see, I like to do cutoffs over foam insulation.
This one shows the obvious, that is that the cut in the base is exactly where the cut will be in any piece the base is clamped to.
Here I'm making a trial cut in a piece of plywood to check depth of cut to match my veneer thickness.
Here's the obvious again. I love it when these things are this obvious. It makes it much harder (although not impossible) to screw up in a moment's lack of focus. The inner cut radius is exactly where the edge of the base is.
Now the depth of cut has been adjusted and exactly matches the veneer thickness.
And finally, here's why this has to be so precise. There's just no room for error here. Even so, I will be making this cut in the morning with a clear head and I'll be thinking it through very carefully before any routers get turned on.
There are lots of bells and whistles that could be added to this but all I needed was a one time non-adjustable, deadly accurate, deadly obvious jig that I could make, use and chuck. That's the way I usually think about jigs in general.
Thanks for looking. I hope this helps someone somewhere.
Paul