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Jigs

Securing the counterbore jig with clamps — Drilling a large diameter counterbore at an angle “freehand” is difficult because the bit will only be in partial contact with the wood when starting to drill and it will have a tendency to skip across the surface. This was the situation I found myself in when I was volunteered to add diagonal braces to […]

DIY Angled Counterbore Jig

This entry was posted in Jigs and tagged angled counterbore counterbore jig deck braces on March 25, 2021 by Bill Kovalick

Compass Cutter

This entry was posted in Jigs Misc on February 26, 2019 by Bill Kovalick

Plywood Cutting Table

This entry was posted in Jigs Projects on April 21, 2018 by Bill Kovalick

Slot in bottom of track saw rail slips over the anchor block dowels — The Dewalt Track Saw has a unique advantage over other track saws: a double-sided rail – a rubber edge strip on both sides – which allows cutting along both sides of the rail. This means there’s no need to flip the track around to cut from the opposite direction and the overall life of the […]

Dewalt Track Saw Crosscut Table

This entry was posted in Jigs on March 19, 2018 by Bill Kovalick

Router Circle Cutting Jig

This entry was posted in Jigs on February 2, 2018 by Bill Kovalick

Here is a nifty calculator for making items via splayed joinery that was graciously provided by Gerald R. What exactly is “splayed joinery” you say? Well imagine a tube made from multiple pieces of wood (staves) in which one end of the tube is larger in diameter than the other. An example is a tapered round […]

Stave Calculator for Splayed Joinery

This entry was posted in Jigs Joinery on May 25, 2017 by Bill Kovalick

DIY scrollsaw mount for magnifying lamp — I’ve been the proud owner of a government surplus 1970s-era magnifying desk lamp for more years that I can remember. For most of that time, it sat unused in a closet collecting dust but I finally found a use for it – as a magnifying light for my Dewalt 788 scroll saw! But the trick was to […]

Mounting a Magnifying Lamp on a Dewalt Scroll Saw

This entry was posted in Jigs Tools on February 15, 2017 by Bill Kovalick

Flex-drum sanding station made from a repurposed variable speed grinder — I recently decided to try my at intarsia and I quickly realized that it involves lots of sanding. Much of this sanding involves rounding the edges of pieces in order to create a 3D effect and perhaps the best way to perform this task is with either a flex or pneumatic sanding drum. The softness of […]

Intarsia Flex Drum Sanding Station

This entry was posted in Jigs Projects Tools on November 10, 2016 by Bill Kovalick

Setting up the jig to cut the tenon cheeks — An angled mortise and tenon joint can be a challenge to cut, especially for those of us who don’t make such joints on a regular basis. That’s where a jig comes to the rescue. Here’s a quick and dirty “semi-adjustable” jig that can be built in a half hour or less that simplifies the task […]

Angled Tenon Jig

This entry was posted in Jigs on April 26, 2016 by Bill Kovalick

Before and after: redwood blank and finished DIY dowel — If you’re ever in need of a dowel but don’t have one handy, there’s an easy fix: roll your own! The DIY approach not only provides immediate gratification but also allows you to create dowels of custom size or species that may be difficult to find in stores or online. And you’ll likely save money. There […]

Roll Your Own Dowels

This entry was posted in Jigs Techniques on March 30, 2016 by Bill Kovalick

While building an Adirondack chair, I needed to create a curved support piece that would attach to the rear side of the back slats. I made the chair from a set of plans that provided templates for all of the other pieces but this particular curved piece was a refinement that I decided to add […]

Chair Curve Layout Tip

This entry was posted in Jigs Techniques on September 27, 2015 by Bill Kovalick

Jig consists of a curved template and adjustable end clamps — After embarking on a mission to create a box load of mini-mallets, I realized a handle forming jig was called for to make each handle the same shape and to keep me from going crazy (no way was I cutting every single handle on the band saw). I came up with the simple router jig […]

Mini Mallet Handle Jig

This entry was posted in Jigs on August 12, 2015 by Bill Kovalick

Shelf Deflectometer

This entry was posted in Jigs Projects Tools on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Octagon tenon jig front view — What to do when you need to make a custom cut? You make a custom jig. While making some bird houses, I was faced with the challenge of rabbeting a 1-1/2″ wide ledge along the entire perimeter of the octagonal base. At first glance, this seemed like a simple job for the tenoning jig but […]

Custom tenon jig

This entry was posted in Jigs Techniques on November 12, 2014 by Bill Kovalick