Thread: what to do

Originally Posted by ninpoman

what is the most common material used god forbid chip board

When I made my jigs I only used chipboard and then undercoated and painted them and after all those years still in use.


Peter.

I make mine out of scraps of mdf and plywood.
I slap some varnish on them so i can write on them and wipe it off.

MDF and ply... and as oft as not, significant lengths of radiata stud. (And wishing I had access to a metal shop... )

Many of my jigs are also formers - why build two when one will do? - and consequently look a tad industrial.

Depending on the purpose of the jig I may finish working faces of my jigs to ensure accuracy from guides or to prevent glue adhesion or whatever... but I don't bother with sealing/finishing the whole jig.


Mind you, I think of jigs as disposables. I like them to have long working lives, sure. However I believe that every jig I've ever made has left me thinking "Y'know, I should've moved this bit over there and done this and..." after a few hours of practical of use in the shop. Y'know?

So, ultimately, every jig I make is obsoleted - in my head, anyway - well before it ever needs to physically be replaced.

For long service jigs I prefer ply. MDF is ok, but the pithy edge leaves a bit to be desired and seeing it is usually the edge that is important, I stick with the ply. A quick spray with lacquer extends the life quite a bit.

Originally Posted by ninpoman

while cleaning out the shed today and looking at a few jigs that have been made ,got to thinking does any one seal or finish there jigs ie table saw sled, box joint jigs, router jigs etc etc and what is the most common material used mdf, ply god forbid chip board

I seal my bench tops, sleds and etc with sanding sealer and sand them smooth. Makes for a nice slippery surface. Every now and again bench tops and table saw outfeed table (bench tops are all ply) and jigs/sleds (all MDF because I grew weary of the ply warping) get a quick sand to clean them up and occasionally another coat of sealer is applied. My sled and mitre (also MDF) are finished with white lacquer ... just so they look pretty and match the saw cabinet.

IMAG0165.jpgIMAG0212.jpgIMAG0226.jpg

JS, do you do anything other than surgery there?

Its might pretty, clean and very very neat!

(Some of the blokes here are a DISGRACE!)

Evanism,

Surgery? More like butchery ...

Seriously, my shop was a disgrace until I did a dummy spit and decided that not one stick of furniture was going to be made until I got the shop sorted out. I made shop cabinets and built a decent dust collection system.

Now I sometimes go for weeks without giving the shop a "proper" clean. Under most circumstances it stays fairly clean day after day, and all I need to do is clean up the occasional spill. Today I vacuumed some dust produced on the assembly bench when boring a series of holes, but that's all I bothered with.

Even better, I am in the good books with SWMBO who often complained that my dust was filling her clean house.

where did you get white lacquer from
that looks mighty clean

The white lacquer comes from Colour Rite at 16 Duntroon St., Brendale, 4500. I get most of my finishes from them.

It is an NC lacquer, and is treated like any other NC lacquer.

120 grit ... sanding sealer ... 120 grit ... two coats of lacquer ... 400 grit wet and dry ... and then a flash coat (70% thinners).

I love lacquer because it is so easy to use and is so forgiving that even a klutz like me can generally get a good finish.

Originally Posted by ninpoman

while cleaning out the shed today and looking at a few jigs that have been made ,got to thinking does any one seal or finish there jigs ie table saw sled, box joint jigs, router jigs etc etc and what is the most common material used mdf, ply god forbid chip board

This is a push block for a table saw I made in 2007. I have used it a few times but I keep it around as a bit of a curio.

That's a gorgeous push block!

I like to use pine ply and bits of solid timber offcuts for jigs. Sometimes I'll varnish them, and sometimes not. I have a few jigs made from Mdf, but the inevitably decay, and the aren't as nice to use. But MDF does make an easy first pass, and when it falls to pieces, it's a good excuse to build version 2, adding in all the things I didn't think of until I started using it.