Keep it or chuck it?

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35
Location
London, England
I am a great believer in jig building, in fact I think I might just write a book about it one day... I know, there are lots of books on the subject already but they all show how to make jigs that look nice and you can show all your friends.

I started out making 'cabinet' grade jigs, and still do for the odd thing, but most of the jigs I make these days are one offs. I started out keeping them all but soon discovered that I never had a jig that was just right. As all my woodwork is bespoke a jig will only be used for one piece. The only exception is if I am making a set of chairs and even then I am unlikely to do it again.

So I was wondering do you save all your jigs in case they might 'come in handy' one day or do most of them hit the scrap pile?

RJVCC-JG4-18.JPG

The guard was removed to make the shot.

FKXNY-JG4-17.JPG

This is typical of a throw-away jig - the toggle clamps get recycled of course.

Ralph;)
 
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I make a bunch of them. Ones that will get used again after proving themselves are usually made again with a little more style but, I'm not part of the cocobola TS sled crowd (no offense to anyone, they're beautiful).

Some of the ones that have been rebuilt to last are the coping jig for the router table, various sleds, push blocks, saw / router guides, planer sled, stop block fence for the CMS, etc. I've done a mass post elsewhere and most folks here have seen them. Maybe I should post them here anyway just for other folks reference.
 
Ralph,

I'd be interested in a book like that. What happens with mine? Well, since I'm still fairly new to having an actual shop, it's a pretty good bet that the jig I make for some purpose today will be *much* better than the one I made six months ago, and will likely be awful compared to the one I make six months from now. So, mostly they get recycled into other jigs, or put up on a shelf as a reminder of how foolish I am sometimes... ;)

I've got a saw sled I made two years ago. I leave it out in plain sight, just so I can laugh at myself every time I go in the shop... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
Because I do production runs I keep most of my jigs for a couple of years before I supercede them with the improvements that I have come up with in the last year or so.

The jigs that get thrown away are the ones that I use in the process of making jigs.:)
 
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Interesting subject, but by all means write the book. You will learn ten times as much trying to write it as you did before. What I mean is, to write a book means clarifying stuff so others understand. To do that you must be absolutely clear and thus you will focus and learn as you write. Just be forewarned, writing a book is tough work. No kidding there...

As for the jigs and fixtures. Well I do custom work so I never made them. At least I didn't. Now I am starting to go the other way. At work we build high end custom yachts, yachts that will only be made once and take years to build. They do a lot of jigs and templates for this boats despite that one of a kind thing. The majority of my work as a machinist is building the tools and tooling we need to make these boats. Our motto is simple. If we don't have it, we make it.

As a career, that puts me in the toolmaking category as a Tool and Die Maker. I never intended to get into this aspect of machining, but here I am. And I love it. The truth is, a lot of what I make is for the carpenters, so now I am seeing the benefits of jigs and fixtures for one time uses. That is slowly creeping into my woodworking projects too. Overall I think my woodworking has gone up a step because of this realization.
 
ralph, that particular jig........pitch it.....less than 10 min to make another, my rule of thumb is if i spend more than 1/2 hr on a jig i`ll kick it around for a while to see if i use it again....if i notice that i use one lots then it`s upgraded from mdf to either baltic or aluminum depending on it`s use, if i don`t use it and have to move it frequently it`s pitched...tod
 
Ralph,

I have your "Success with Joints" book and recommend it for folks interested in hand cut joinery. Great pics and a very well written book, a jig book like it would be great.
 
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