Thread: Simplification of the Rocker Box-joint jig

Very interesting.

If you still have my email addy handy, send it over please. Unlike the mortising jig, I promise to not work this one over.


Much...

(Pics of that mortise + tenon thing tomorrow with any luck. Sorted the final bugs today I hope. I think it might be too fiddly, but it I was laughing at it today. Always a good sign. If nothing else, there's lots of little tweaks that are begging to be stolen. )

Yep, Rocker, you are right on here! I figured this one out after a few uses of the jig. In fact, I found the dial guage was so sensitive, that unless I could find a way to mount it without even a angstrom of movement, it was more trouble than it was worth. Thats when I resorted to using my trusty caliper.

(You will have to look up 'angstrom'.)

Don,

Surely you mean Ångström unit

In fact, the dial gauge is similarly redundant on my tenoning jig also, since it is easy enough to measure the side-fence position in relation to the saw blade with a caliper.

Rocker

Originally Posted by DPB

........(You will have to look up 'angstrom'.)

My dial guage must be very old, no mention of angstrom units, its calibrated in cubits

Rocker, thanks for the file.

I don't have a dado set, nor a table saw worthy of a dado set.

But I do have a router, so that means I will have to adapt your nice simple jig into some unweildy monstrosity to work with the router.

It would seem that where I claimed I would not modify your jig...

I lied.

Thanks again.

(Pics of the MT thing after I click send on this reply.)

So far, about half of the people who have PMed me requesting plans of the jig have omitted to supply their e-mail address

IF YOU WANT THE PLANS, GIVE ME YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS; I CANNOT SEND THEM WITHOUT IT!

Rocker

Schtoo,

I don't think you will have much difficulty in adapting the jig to a router table, although it may be tricky to achieve the same accuracy with only one runner. You will need to ensure that the runner is a really snug fit in the mitre slot.

Rocker

Rocker, it amazes me how you keep coming up with these jigs and continual improvements.

I would love a copy of the article, I've sent you a PM with my email address

David,

You must have a standing order for MDF from your local supplier!!!

Fantastic simplification, well thought out & easy to use...

I think for the short term, if I need some box joints I'll prolly work out some kind of fence arrangement, possibly with the jig running over the top or something similar. Not too concerned, sliding runners is something I really do know how to do well. My lathe taught me that.

When I get around to a proper table, I am thinking of a sliding table running on linear
bearings.

For now my table is a piece of MDF, router screwed underneath and a stout stick. Ugly as sin but works like a charm.

Might even warrant a dedicated jig, if it comes down to it. Shouldn't be too tricky I don't think.

Although they do sell fixed with slotting cutters here. From 3mm up to about 32mm or so. Big carbide teeth and all the rest. Not adjustable like a dado stack, but I guess a couple in simple sizes like 6, 9 and 12mm might do the job well enough. Not too expensive either if I recall, might be worth grabbing one and finding out.

The revised versions (in metric and inches) of the article describing the jig are now available, with new diagrams and photos. If you want the article, GIVE ME YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS in a PM.

Rocker

It is worthwhile, IMO, when building a box-joint jig, to make your index pins a round number of millimetres thick. This is easy enough to do if you use 6 x 25 mm aluminium bar stock to make the pins. The bar stock I had was actually 6.08 mm thick, but it was easy to sand it down to exactly 6 mm thickness for making 6, 12, and 18 mm index pins. Having the index pin a round number of mm thick makes it much easier to design and draw your box, even if you are using CAD to do so.

6 mm is thinner than the kerf produced by the outer blades of a dado set; but I found I could get an exact 6 mm kerf by using one outer blade and one 3/32" chipper blade with a shim in between.

If you happen to be a yank, or a dinosaur, you could use 1/8" x 1/2" brass bar stock to make index pins in multiples of 1/4". But brass is a lot harder to sand to exact size than aluminium.

Rocker



Rocker

An article on my box-joint jig is published in the current issue (#127) of AW.

Rocker

Originally Posted by doug the slug

My dial guage must be very old, no mention of angstrom units, its calibrated in cubits

Dial gauge? I use a yardstick