Woodworking Can Be A Great Hobby
Greg K. Hansward
If you have your own woodworking shop then you know how
important woodworking jigs is to your tool collection. Jigs
can be used for lots of different projects. They can help your
project to be managed easier and faster. You can buy a jig or
you can make one if you choose to do so. You should know that
they are pretty cheap to buy, but if you make one from scraps
it can be even less expensive. It depends on the kinds of
projects that you want to do for deciding what kind of jig you
will need.
If you need to make a dovetail then you should consider
purchasing a dovetail jig. You can buy these fairly cheaply or
you can make your own dovetail jig pretty easily. You can go
online to find templates for creating a jig or you can go to a
store that sells wood supplies. A lot of the templates will
let you create up to twelve different jigs.
You should choosing a dovetail bit that will work for your
dovetail saw and your router. These can be very helpful if you
want to make a jig yourself. You can use a template that will
let you different spaced dovetails that you can use for a wide
selection of improvement projects. You can use them for
cabinets, drawers, or small boxes. You can also get a system
that comes with bits and templates all together to make things
easier. This will help you save money or you can purchase the
pieces separately.
You can do other fine joint projects using dovetail saws, not
just cut dovetails. Dovetail saw blades are thicker than other
types of saws. This can help make your saw more accurate and it
is very important to get a good saw if you want to create tight
joints and make things look professional. You should get a saw
that is about fourteen to seventeen points per inch. This shows
that the saw is of a high quality.
You can make consistent dowels with a dowel jig. If you use
timber then get a self centering jig to be more accurate. You
can get an array of sizes from a quarter to one half inch. You
can also buy whole kits that will have the dowel jig and also
will have a few hundred different size dowels. You may also
find glue in these kits.
If you are interested in cabinet making then a kreg jig might
be what you should choose. You can get slides that are
perfectly positioned and will help your drawers to be smoother.
If you use a kreg jig you'll save a lot of time cause you won't
need to measure and mark the spaces for the drawer slides. You
can also find it easier to mount metal drawer slides. Use
these for different drawers such as center, bottom, or
extension drawers. This is something that is not expensive,
yet very useful.
If you want to make your own jig you can save a lot of money.
Just use scraps of plywood to do this. Since you just use one
jig for each project you don't want to spend a lot of money on
your jig. If you want to use it over and over then you should
get a hardwood to create your jig.
About The Author: Concentrating on latest news in routing, Greg
Hansward wrote primarily for
http://www.insidewoodworking.com .
His articles on woodworking jigs can be encountered on
http://www.insidewoodworking.com/jigs/index.html and also other
websites.
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