Precision is a major requirement in woodworking. Every component must be perfectly measured, designed, and aligned so that the entire project is sturdy and durable for years to come.
This is where a Jig comes into play and every woodworking must have one in their workshop. With one in your arsenal of tools, you can make sure that your woodworking plans are translated into functional works of art.
What is a Jig Exactly?
The best way to describe jigs is that they serve as a guiding tool for woodworkers. They make sure that a cut is straight, a hole is a perfect circle, and curves follow a perfect convex. In essence, they help you make sure that whatever you have designed for that project gets to be made precisely following the dimensions you have set for it.
With a jig, you can guide yourself through the different processes in your woodworking project. This means that jigs themselves can fulfill different roles in any project. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Saw Guide
The quality of a saw blade’s cut is just as good as the steadiness of the hand feeding the wood into it. With a saw jig, you can prevent the wood from vibrating excessively as it makes contact with the rotating blades, resulting in a cleaner and more precise cut.
Alternatively, a jig can be used as a “sacrificial fence” when adjusting a table saw’s fence closer to the blade. This will prevent you from accidentally cutting into the actual fence which would damage your table saw.
2. Vise Clamp Enhancer
Vises have the tendency to readjust themselves even as they hold on to something. This is because, in actuality, the object is just being pushed at from one direction.
By attaching a spacer jig at the opposite end, you allow the clamp to apply pressure at the object from both sides. The trick here is in making sure that the spacer jig has the same thickness as the vise clamp.
3. Vertical Drill Guide
Anyone who has tried to drill straight on the long side of a board knows how hard it is to keep that hole straight. This is because the board will shake violently as the drill bores deeper into it.
With a drill press jig, you can keep the board secured which minimizes vibration. With the board now tightly kept in place, the drilling a straight hole into it has become less of a problem.
Designing
Since jigs are meant to perform multiple roles in a woodworking project, there is actually no universal design for it. Every woodworker can create their own version of a jig with multiple functions and attachments.
It’s best to look at the jig, then, as a tool that can help you improve on some aspects of woodworking that you find yourself lacking at. Once you have an idea as to what purposes your own jig will perform, you can then look at sites like Pinterest or Family Handyman. Expert woodworkers often share their own jig designs there for others to copy or enhance to fit their own needs.
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