Whaddya think? Neat, eh?
I can hear you now: “Eh, sure! What is it?” Wrong question. The right one is, “What could it be?” The correct answer is, lots of different things.
In this case, this is the basic framework for a panel-raising jig for the tablesaw. I’ll be adding a backer strip and toggle clamp once it arrives from Rockler, and I’ll give you another look when that’s done.
For now, look at this from a different point of view. This is a tall board held at right angles to the tabletop with an assembly that straddles the rip fence and can slide to and fro. The spacers were cut a hair wider than the width of the rip fence and then planed down for a slightly snug fit. Add a little wax and everything slides smoothly, and any residual binding will rapidly disappear. Some people make these with only one spacer, but I like two for the added rigidity.
What you really have here is a structure that has the capability to be used for a number of different purposes. Panel-raising jigs and tenoning jigs are just a couple of the possibilities that come to mind. Anything that requires a board to be held vertically on the tablesaw is fair game for this approach.
What about you? What are your ideas for using this type of proto-jig? Leave a comment and let us know.
I’ll be revealing the dimensions for the blanket chest and how I arrived at them later this week. Stay tuned!
– Cutting grooves in the edge of a case box, if you want to attacha face fram with biscuits – like Norm did for his kitchen series of shows.
– Cutting “starting” kerfs on all edges of a board before resawing it by hand.
– Similar to panel raising, you could clamp a table top (square or round) to this jig to cut a bevel on the underside of the piece
That’s all I could think of off the top of my head.