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Image courtesy of Rockler.com
For my next project I’m going to make some raised dog dishes, and that requires me to make some decent sized holes to mount the dishes in. I thought I would be able to just run down to my local woodworking store and pick up a jig, but oh no. I must have the worst luck on the planet; every time I think something should be easy, it ends up becoming a big ordeal. But I digress.
Image courtesy of Rockler.com
The jigs available locally fall into 2 categories: template & arm style. The template style jigs are usually for circles 4″ in diameter or smaller, and the arm style are for circles 7″ to 8″ and larger. I need to make circles that are roughly 6″ in diameter. Thus, instead of ordering a jig and waiting a week for it to be delivered, I made one last night.
I made it from some scrap 1/4″ thick Lexan, I had leftover from my router table build. The only unpleasant task involved in its construction, was having to turn off the drill press after every hole, and clean the melted material out of the bits flutes. As it is now, I can make holes from 4 to 14 inches in diameter in quarter inch intervals.
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The Finished Jig
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Alignment holes
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alignment pin
I’m in between big projects, so I’ve been keeping my self busy with little shop maintenance projects. Monday night I cleaned every saw blade I owned. While waiting for a particularly nasty blade to loosen up, I looked over at my saw and realized that I really didn’t like my push stick; so I decided to make a new one. After a little tinkering in Sketchup & an evening in the shop I came up with what you see below. It’s made from 3/4″ Baltic birch, and is roughly 15″ long by 8″ tall . I’ve played with it a little bit and I like it a lot better than my old one. The long base creates a large gripping surface, which does an excellent job of keeping the stock tight to the fence.
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It’s finally done…
When I first started this project, I thought I would be done in a month. Now 6 months later, I don’t know where all the time went. I lost a week to a neck injury, but other than that I’ve worked on this project 10 to 15 hours every week. Either I work a lot slower than I think I do, or Norm has some magic tool to warp time.
All kidding aside, I’m really pleased with the results. I’ve gained additional storage space (always a plus in a small shop), and a valuable tool that I’m sure will be make many of my future projects much easier and pleasurable. And now it’s time for the obligatory final photos.
Construction is finally done. Ok, It’s not completely done, but finishing and electrical will be a piece of cake compared to construction of the cabinet. I won’t be able to do any finishing this weekend, but hopefully by the end of next week This project will be complete, so I can move onto some simpler projects.
I haven’t had much time to work in the shop over the last two weeks, but I’ve made some progress, I’ve managed to finish off the top & I’m partway done with the fence. Hopefully by this weekend I will have the fence done, and be ready to apply a finish.
