Jigs – yesiwood.be

Align your Table Saw

Jo — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 10:34:54 +0000

For a table saw, precision is the key, including checking if the saw blade is properly aligned with the guides, otherwise you end with skewed cuts. You can find lots of expensive stuff to check that out, but this works at least as well. Including the satisfaction of I-did-it-myself combined with I-saved-a-buck

VeneeRebar

Jo — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 08:42:23 +0000

We did a raid with some copains on a plant in the South of France, which was liquidating its stock of exotic veneers. I indulged myself, only to discover that I could not properly store my little treasure. You need something that is not too heavy, but you need many trays, as well as easy access. Plus, the veneers are best kept flat.

After a few sleepless nights, I found a solution. I would use rebar, reinforced steel, that is normally used for concrete.
I used three diameters – 6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm, and cut them to lengths of respectively 25 cm, 45 cm, and 65 cm.Then, I rounded one of the ends with an angle grinder.

Two sheets of plywood were stacked one upon the other, and I drilled holes through both sheets, 5 cm between each hole vertically and 20 cm horizontally, with diameters of – you guessed right- 6, 8 and 10 mm for the bottom, middle and top rows.

The two sheets were fixed to the wall, perfectly aligned, with in between them a space of approx 6 cm by way of wooden beams. These beams were first screwed to the back sheet before this one was hung to the wall.

Once the two sheets in place, it was only a matter of hammering the rebar pieces through the holes. I then took some scrap irrigation PE piping of 16 mm diameter, and slid these on the rebars to avoid having rusty veneer in a few years.

Stack and label everything, the smallest veneers at the bottom, and you’re done:

The two vertical sheets of plywood with a space in between

Table Saw Cross-cutting Sled

Jo — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:07:57 +0000

This jig changed my woodworker’s life. It improved considerably my accuracy, it is mandatory when making a series of identical parts, and it increases both ease of use and security.

The sled runs on two parallel guides, which run in the two slots of the table saw. I used a square of Quickstep laminate floor covering about 25 x25 in, because its bottom face is very smooth and glides easily, as well as very hard.

[likebtn]
In the two vertical fences at the front and the back of the sled, I embedded a curtain rail in aluminum, so that it would not protrude. It is located sufficiently high, about 4 in above the sled bottom, so that the saw blade will not reach it.

At the front side of the sled, towards the operator, i fixed two pieces of MDF, left and right from the sawblade with a distance in between them of approx. 1/4 in. They protect hands from the sawblade once it cuts through the vertical front fence. In addition, I attached a handle of a discarded handsaw to the sled, this facilitates an easy grip.

I have a number of fences and stopblocks that attach to the aluminum U-rails of the vertical fences. These allow me to cut to length, but also to cut dadoes or joints. See the pics for some examples. I also use jigs to cut 45° angles, e.g. for frames or miter boxes.

Finally, for safety, I mounted the blade guard of the table saw on the sled. Wish I had done it before, it would have saved me 2 mm of my index finger…. A painful lesson I won’t forget.

John Wayne’s shop vacuum

Jo — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 16:23:53 +0000

A shop vacuum is a great tool, except for two things:
a) the tube hangs or lies always somewhere in the way, and
b) often, the on-off switch is minuscule and not easy to reach.

I took a one-foot PVC tube of 1 1/2 inch diameter, and glued with epoxy a contact switch in the tube ( the kind of electric switches you mount on the inside of a cupboard close to the door, so that a lightbulb inside the cupboard lights up the moment you open the door), right at the place where the shop vacuum nozzle ends.

The switch is wired to an electrical outlet, in which the plug of the shop vacuum is plugged. Switch the vacuum on, et voilà. The moment you pull out the nozzle from the tube, the shop vacuum begins to hum, ready to get to work.

I located the tube on the side of my workbench, below the work surface, at an angle and a height that made it very comfortable for me to pull it out without bending or efforts. To fix the tube, I drilled two 3/8″ holes on one side of the tube, and passed a screw through them with a screwdriver to reach the other side of the tube.

You can still take out the vacuum to another location or part of the workshop if need be without trouble

Clamp Chowder

Jo — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 15:35:23 +0000

Often, when you want to clamp two pieces of wood, you need to put the clamps next to a surface, where you cannot easily turn the handle and put the pressure on the clamp.

I made a small modification to my clamps, by drilling two holes at a 90 degree angle at the end of the wooden shaft, and using Allen keys to turn the shaft.

Works perfectly, and is done in no time.