Homemade Woodworking
Jigs/Fixtures and Tools
(Clicking on the small images will enlarge them.)
Table Saw Jigs and Fixtures
- My homemade spline jig for the table saw. Great for making picture frames.
- The base of the jig rides against the table saw fence.
- A sliding cross-cut sled for the table saw. I realized I needed one of these after watching David Marks on tv.
- Tenon jig. Rides against the table saw fence. Works like a charm. This jig rarely gets used anymore. I mostly use floating or loose tenons for all my projects.
- Split fence for the router table. Once loosened, the left and right side of the fence can slide to adjust the size of the opening. The fence is attached to the table saw fence.
Evolution of a Mortise Fixture
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Mortise fixture 1.0
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This jig is used to make loose tenon joinery with my plunge router (Porter Cable, PC-8529) and an edge guide.
- I use an carbide up-cut spiral bit and an edge guide on the router.
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Mortise fixture 2.0
- I added a toggle clamp and a fence.
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Mortise fixture 3.0
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I added a top support from 3/4" plywood with a 3/4" slot routed in.
- Pictures to the left show the jig with a walnut board clamped in place.
Planer/Jointer Blade Sharpening Jig
- Home-made planer/jointer knife sharpening jig. Made from a piece of maple that was face jointed and edge jointed. Metal mending clips were bent and are used to hold the knife in place. Two nails are used to consistently position the knife from the front edge of the jig. A screw positioned in the middle is used to control the required bevel angle.
- In this picture I have a 12" planer knife in the jig. It can also hold my 6" jointer knives.
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Wet dry sand paper is used to get the edge by moving forward and backward in small movements. To prevent the screw from eroding, place a piece of tape on the sandpaper in the path of the screw.
- I recently have found that you can also use a jointer blade hone on the planer knife while it is held securely in the jig. This operation would be impossible to perform with the blades in my planer, or hand held (ouch!).
Table Saw and Jointer Fence Alignment Jig
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Homemade alignment tool used to set fences and saw blades to 90° quickly and accurately. (Also check out my review of the TS-Aligner Jr.)
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The small nails (or screws) prevent the jig from rocking forward and backward during use.
- The tool is first zeroed using a 90° reference. Use a good quality square on a flat surface (granite surface plate or your table saw top will work here) to zero the tool.
- Once the tool is zeroed, I can quickly and accurately set the table saw blade to 90°.
- The main advantage to using this jig is SPEED. Accuracy just comes along for the ride.
- If you use a square to align the blade, you need to bend over in front of the saw and squint for light in between the blade and the square or use feeler gauges (either way this method is a PITA).
- (UNPLUG your table saw BEFORE aligning your blade)
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In this picture I am setting my jointer fence to 90°.
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I have since replaced the ugly nails with small screws!
- Very subtle movements in the angle of the blade produce huge movements in the dial (very sensitive).