# New micro adjustable jig ..



## Anonymous (11 Jul 2004)

Hi all

Too late for the competition but....

Mother-in-law's 77th Birthday coming up and so mrs T asked me to make her a box as I've made a few 'nice ones' lately  Very clever ploy used there!!

This jig took about 2 hours to build using a couple of offcuts of Oak and Ash. 

Anyway, I got some figured Beech (never seen it figured before) and got working. Decided to make finger joints BUT as I have never cut them before, I didn't have a jig. 

Here is the result of the mad panic :wink: 

I made it 'micro adjustable' with a 6mm bolt as the thread has a pitch of 1mm (360 degrees = 1mm movement).

I've posted plenty of pictures in case anyone is inspired to make one. It works very well and the box is nearly finished. Guide rail for mitre slot was made from an old plastic chopping board and I highly recomend this approach.







Below you can see the end of the adjuster. I used it to set the gap between the Oak 'pin' and the next finger cut. Fine adjustment is paramount here to get a nice fit between fingers and holes. Also, a handle cut from the workshop broom!! to keep my pinkies safe :wink: 






I cut a slot in the front piece of ash to allow me to set the jig up for various cutter (pin) widths - locked with a 6mm bolt. I also cut a 10mm deep dado in the back for the nylon runner strip shhown below. I cut these on the router table with 2 end stops clamped to the fence. The fine adjuster has a 'nyloc' nut on the end where it touches the front sliding piece as I felt that this would give more accurate positioning than the end of the bolt would. To set the jig up, I loosened the locking bolt that holds the front in place and adjusted the micro adjuster screw to the desired position, locked everything up and ran a test cut. I measured the pin and hole sizes in my test piece and found it out by 1/2mm. I unlocked all bolts, turned micro adjuster 180 degrees and voila!! perfect cut.








Next picture shows a piece of nylon cut from the chopping board to run in the mitre slot. Nylon works really well for this as it does not swell or contract with changes in humidity or heat in the workshop and fits very 'snuggly' in the mitre slot.







Pin is screwed to base - no glue as it will wear!!






One of the most important things to do is make sure jig is square to the mitre slot or the box will be twisted DAMHIKT!!! :evil: (Look ma, my hand's on the internet!)







In use :wink: Test piece being cut.







Rear view showing handle 









Cheers

Tony


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## Alf (11 Jul 2004)

Tony,

Nice job. But where's the box?! :roll: Typical woodworker; going on about the jig and not the project... :wink: :lol: 

Cheers, Alf

P.S. Guards removed for clarity I assume?  :roll:


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## DaveL (11 Jul 2004)

Tony,

Nice one. I can see me making one when finger joints are needed. 

I often use cutting/chopping boards for making stuff in the workshop, glad I am not alone.


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## Anonymous (11 Jul 2004)

It certainly looks the biz tony.


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## Chris Knight (11 Jul 2004)

Tony,
It looks very nice and should work a treat - pity you did not have it ready in time for the competition!

However - and please correct me if I am wrong but wasn't it you who planned to build a computer controlled version with a stepper motor? I am still waitiing to see that version!

(I like the chopping board ideas by the way - potentially a very useful source of material which is ideal for many purposes.)


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## Anonymous (11 Jul 2004)

Thanks for the nice comments

Nice one Alf and a good point :wink: I have the box in clamps at the moment and will add to gallery when completed.

Chris. Yes it was/is me. The guy doing some machining for me is about to retire early from paid employment and I am waiting for a couple of bits from him - he is clearly distracted at the moment. He has a workshop of his own set up for post-retirement projects such as the CNC router fence :lol: 
The computer controlled fence is on the way and will be posted in a month or so - if I can stop working on 10 projects at once that is  
I think two versions will be made. One a microcontroller in a small box with simple alpha numeric display, the other a PC controlled version.

I hope to offer circuit boards to the forum at cost so that others can have a play.


Cheers

Tony


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## Newbie_Neil (11 Jul 2004)

Hi Tony

Another good jig. How do you keep doing it?

Well done.
Neil


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## Anonymous (11 Jul 2004)

Newbie_Neil":1yrnfvcn said:


> Hi Tony
> 
> Another good jig. How do you keep doing it?
> 
> ...



Hi Neil

To be honest this jig only took a couple of hours as the wood was from the scrap bin and already planed and thicknessed.

If I have any secret, it's knowing what I want to do _before_ entering the workshop. Don't spend time in the workshop thinking about what you want to do - sort this out beforehand and get a sketch done.


Cheers

Tony


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## Anonymous (11 Jul 2004)

Here's the first box (sides and base) from the jig in flat-pack format before gluing. One of many 'test cuts' at the rear :wink:


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## Anonymous (18 Jul 2004)

Finally I got the box glued up. First attempt with the new jig and I am quite pleased with it. Finish is pure Tung Oil.


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## Alf (18 Jul 2004)

Oh I say. Well played, sir. Managed to slip in the surface plate _and_ the Japanese hammer... :wink: 

Nice box, Tony. Lucky mother-in-law.  

Cheers, Alf


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## Midnight (18 Jul 2004)

Nicely done Tony..

<mutterin 'bout "bowlin outa the back of the hand" gloats...

:wink:


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## Anonymous (18 Jul 2004)

Tony - I have a PowerPro router table the same as this and am quite pleased with it - it's a bit more substantial than some on the market.

Question - where did you get the T-track from? I could do with buying some of that for my own jigmaking. Is it standard?

Andrew


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## Anonymous (18 Jul 2004)

Hi Andrew

Sorry but not quite sure what you mean by the T-track. Could you elaborate a bit for me please?


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## Anonymous (18 Jul 2004)

Alf":76v6jt2q said:


> Oh I say. Well played, sir. Managed to slip in the surface plate _and_ the Japanese hammer... :wink:
> 
> Cheers, Alf



Took ages to set that one up    

But you missed the Axminster ground straight edge in the background  

I am just considering adding that nice little handle you had in the top of your box Alf - if time allows :wink:


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## Anonymous (18 Jul 2004)

Tony":19d0f0gs said:


> Sorry but not quite sure what you mean by the T-track. Could you elaborate a bit for me please?


The T-track is what you have the nylon piece running in.

I just re-read the original article and you've answered the question. Speed reading fails again 

Andrew


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## Anonymous (22 Jul 2004)

Ok, a couple of coats of Tung and 3 of Black Bison and it's done - with a day to spare before I have to hand it over.

I decided to inlay some Mahogany in the box lid. 

I used the router guide stop blocks I recently posted here to route a rectangualr dado in lid. 

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2217

Cleaned corners with 3/4" two-cherries chisel.
I ripped a 7mm wide strip from a 6x1 mahogany plank with bandsaw and hand planed down to 5mm thick. Cut 3mm strips from this with bandsaw and fine tuned them for width with block plane until they needed a firm push with a wooden block to get them into the slot. Yellow wood glue to hold.
I made a 45 degree shooting board and cut miters on inlay with the chisel and fitted to the corners with the shooting board.

First inlay job of it's type I've done and I'm pretty chuffed (no gaps in mitres) :wink:


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## johnelliott (22 Jul 2004)

That's an excellent box, Tony. Would it not have been easier, though perhaps less of a challenge, to have used a thicknesser to produce the inlay strip?
John


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## DaveL (22 Jul 2004)

Tony,

that is a very nice looking box, the inlay goes very well, not over stated.


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## Midnight (22 Jul 2004)

It'll do Tony..... it'll do...

:wink:


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## Anonymous (22 Jul 2004)

Thanks Guys  

John, I could not thickness 5mm stock to the accuracy easily (if at all) - and I do have some LNs after all :wink:


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## Chris Knight (23 Jul 2004)

Tony,

A nice, clean look - well done. How is the lid fixed, or is it a drop -in lid?


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## Anonymous (23 Jul 2004)

It's a drop in lid for this one.

I want to make one with mitred corners next and the lid will be held on by a wooden hinge along the rear edge made with the finger joint jig. I think it'll look nice.

Need to get the workshop air cleaner and CNC router fence sorted before that though


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## Alf (23 Jul 2004)

I'm getting deja vu here... Didn't I just see this box in the other thread...? :? Ah well, it's still a nice job.  

Cheers, Alf


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## Anonymous (23 Jul 2004)

Alf":1hpm0ubi said:


> I'm getting deja vu here... Didn't I just see this box in the other thread...? :? Ah well, it's still a nice job.
> 
> Cheers, Alf



How embarrassing to be caught  I posted it on the jig link as I wanted to show how the jig performed and then added it to box comp jig as my 'entry'. Second post got a few questions coming in which lead to this picture. 

I wasn't fishing for complements twice honest :wink:


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## frank (23 Jul 2004)

TONY (said i do have some L/NS after all ) will this mean you wont be entering the box comp :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: he he he


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## Alf (23 Jul 2004)

frank":yiuv3h4p said:


> TONY (said i do have some L/NS after all ) will this mean you wont be entering the box comp :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: he he he


You'd better hope not, Frank. He's one of the judges! :shock: 

Cheers, Alf


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## frank (23 Jul 2004)

can he post under another name alf :shock:


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## Anonymous (24 Jul 2004)

Don't worry Frank, I'm not entering as I won the jig competition and so didn't think it fair to enter this one too. Which reminds me, still no sign of the prize :? 

Also I have a LN 4.5 and so what would I do with a LV #4?


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## Alf (24 Jul 2004)

Tony":15wfy1v2 said:


> Also I have a LN 4.5 and so what would I do with a LV #4?


I'm sorry, is that a trick question...? :?


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## LarryS. (16 Mar 2008)

Tony,

I'm keen to make my first box and want to use my router table to do the finger joints. Cuold you explain how you cut the two finger slots in the jig itself ?


paul


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## OPJ (17 Mar 2008)

Paul, let's say you're using a 3/8" diameter cutter...

Make a first cut. Then, the second cut wants to be precisely 3/8" away from the first cut so, you unscrew/remove the fence and then fix it in the new position. Make a second cut.

A spacer is fitted in the slot nearest the fence. You'll also need a second spacer to temporarily fill the gap between the two slots as you make the first pass on of the mating pieces. The other half will but straight up against the first spacer, fixed in place, with all cuts after that on this piece to sit over the fixed spacer.

Hopefully, this makes it a bit clearer?


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## newt (17 Mar 2008)

Tony nice jig and box. Good few brownie points there.


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## LarryS. (17 Mar 2008)

OPJ":2vao78q5 said:


> Paul, let's say you're using a 3/8" diameter cutter...
> 
> Make a first cut. Then, the second cut wants to be precisely 3/8" away from the first cut so, you unscrew/remove the fence and then fix it in the new position. Make a second cut.
> 
> ...



i think so, I will get in the workshop and see if it makes sense there !


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## brianhabby (17 Mar 2008)

Great jig Tony,

I always seem to need to make a jig each time I want to make box joints so this adjustable one looks like a great idea, I'll have to make one so thanks for the inspiration.

Nice box too.

regards

brian


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## LarryS. (17 Mar 2008)

worth noting that the jig was originally posted in 2004, so who knows if tony is still on the forum ?


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## Mike.C (17 Mar 2008)

Mighty_Genghis wrote,


> worth noting that the jig was originally posted in 2004, so who knows if tony is still on the forum ?



Yes he's still about, he's Tony the mod :lol: 

Cheers

Mike


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## David C (17 Mar 2008)

Tony,

Very nice box, but the micro adjust is the best bit! Must save a lot of trial and error.

Have you been watching the Cosman Wood Hinge Box by any chance?

I thought his shop made router table and jigs were outstanding.

David


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## Anonymous (18 Mar 2008)

Mighty_Genghis":1tgvfmx1 said:


> worth noting that the jig was originally posted in 2004, so who knows if tony is still on the forum ?



Oh yes I am still here!! :shock: 

Thanks for the recent compliments guys, nice to know that my idea has helped others


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## Anonymous (18 Mar 2008)

David C":2kxlbpm2 said:


> Tony,
> 
> Very nice box, but the micro adjust is the best bit! Must save a lot of trial and error.
> 
> ...



Absolutely David. I bought a round nosed bit a while back to try one out after being gobsmacked by his DVD, but not had a go yet due to time (Easter break is coming :wink: )

Have you made one yet?


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## David C (18 Mar 2008)

Tony,

Yes, built and used that style of dowel making jig, many years ago, for 1/2 inch dowels for pegged M&Ts on bench legs. 

Mine was cruder but worked well enough, saw it in Fine WW I think.

Rob's is much better.

David


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