Woodworking is an art that combines aesthetics with functionality using wood as the primary media. Many concepts have been combined to materialize this art—and, some specific examples are the band saw, dados, and jigs.
The Band Saw
A band saw is a power saw widely used in workshops to cut a variety of raw materials, including (but not limited to) wood. In woodworking, it is used for a wide range of projects, mostly on larger-scale ones like furniture.
The advantages of a band saw are as follows:
1. Safety, since the machine is fixated and the blade cuts uniformly
2. Efficiency, as both hands can be used directly on the piece, giving the woodworker more control
3. Convenience, as it can be used to cut notches, irregular shapes, and flat surfaces even from small pieces of wood
With these advantages, a band saw cuts wood to specified chunks, optimizing them for use in any function like cabinet walls, platforms, or simple aesthetics.
The Dados
After cutting the wood in chunks, the next step is to use them in creating a more complex structure. To do that, the woodworker would be using joinery to connect them.
And one of the simplest joints used in joinery is the dado.
A dado (known as housing or trench in UK and in Europe, respectively) is a simple joint that is cut across the grain of a wood typically used for carcase construction. It’s designed to affix another piece (e.g. a shelf), and is mostly used in furniture like cabinets and bookshelves. Thus, it is expected to enable a sturdy support for the weight of whatever will be put on.
To do that, a dado must be wide enough for the adjoining piece to fit nicely and be unaffixed if pulled with relative ease. If it is too wide, the shelf will be too loose, wobbly, and unsupported; too tight, and it will be too rigid to pull or else not really fitting.
Now, to facilitate the crafting of a fitting dado, the use of a jig is a popular option.
The Jigs
Jigs are auxiliary tools used primarily to assist the craftsman in works that require standardized crafting—that is, to reduce the risk of estimation error.
In woodworks, a jig helps in controlling the movement and location of the wood (in case of fixed machines) or the tool itself (in case of handheld ones)—but it doesn’t work directly on the material. And since it is customized, it has been developed into many types.
There are jigs used to guide the woodworker in cutting straight lines, making circles, drilling holes, and making joints. A kerfmaker jig used to create perfectly fitting dado is one example.
Making True Art
Woodworking is a complex craft that uses concepts from technology to practical ingenuity. All in all, the band saw, dado, and jigs are all used primarily to create sturdy wooden crafts, which allow the art to exist as well as flourish through the ages.
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