# materials



## trz (Aug 5, 2011)

what kind of materials do you find work best for your jigs? plywood,mdo,mdf other ?


----------



## therookie (Aug 29, 2010)

MDF primarily because it is the cheapest longest lasting and most stable MDO would work too but I just doint have that much access to it.


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Recently, I completely a big project in which I made 72 new pew end panels for the pews at our church. After glue up, we did a rough cut with a combination of plunge saw, band saw and jig saw. Then, I attached a jig/template to the material to do the final cut with a straight bit with a guide bearing on the router table.

I used OSB for the template because I had some laying around. It worked great initially. Then, the edges of the OSB started to break down and I got rough edges on the material I was shaping.

I share this story so others don't make the same mistake. The lesson - OSB does not hold up for extended use.


----------



## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Most of my sleds, jigs, etc are made from 1/2 " Baltic Birch plywood. It has held up well, is lighter than mdf, and the edges stay "crisp".


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

It depends on the jig but I use what ever I have left over sometimes mdf, 3/4 ply or osb.


----------



## longgone (May 5, 2009)

I use baltic birch ply for jigs I keep and use the most. I find it to be durable. I have made mdf jigs also but prefer the ply.


----------



## usnret (Jul 14, 2011)

I use MDF mostly because its cheap and easy to find.


----------



## jumbojack (Mar 20, 2011)

I prefer ply, but I have so much MDF scored free from a super market renovation that some seldom used jigs are made with MDF. I have a sled made of cast off 1×2, finger joint jig made of hard pine. It just seems I make jigs and such from the best material for the job keeping i mind how often I will use it and how much abuse it will be asked to take.


----------



## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

For jigs I'll be keeping for a long time, baltic birch for sure. MDF for one-offs.


----------



## trz (Aug 5, 2011)

Thanks. I was wondereing cuz i'm going to build a cutoff sled and was thinking of useing mdf as the base. would like to use baltic birch but I don't think it's availabel locally. The big box stores don't seem to carry it anyway!


----------



## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

Our Home Depot carries 
Baltic Birch it in small panels. (2'x4') Quite expensive !
Plywood is my favorite. I rarely have MDF left over (I hate working with it in the first place)


----------



## mailee (Aug 13, 2011)

I always use MDF for my jigs that I use occasionally. For my well used jigs I prefer to make them out of laminate. Mainly because I have them on hand in the shop.


----------



## LeeInAZ (Aug 16, 2011)

My local Lowes will special order small quantities (even a single sheet) of Baltic Birch for a pretty reasonable price. You need to talk with someone at their Pro desk and get them to do some calling.


----------



## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

I use MDF or Baltic ply pretty much interchangably. I have no preference between them, whatever I have on-hand. 
For smaller stuff like auxillary/sacrificial fences I typically use laminate "hardwood" flooring. I have gobs of leftovers from the flooring job we had done a few years ago. Works great. I even use it for miter slot runners. I see laminate flooring on Craigslist all the time for free/cheap.


----------

