Benchcraft Miter Jack

[Keith Mathewson]

I've nearly finished making a Benchcraft Miter Jack. No offense to Benchcraft but I found the instructions so different from how I am used to working that I disregarded them and focused on a couple of pictures.

It is the first thing I've made where all the detail work was made by hand and it has been a humbling experience. Having a professional shop one becomes accustomed to obtaining precision from the machinery. Milling wood is much different than working wood. The larger cuts were made on a bandsaw and the smaller ones with a handsaw. All trueing was done with planes and chisels. The large 45's are very accurate but somehow the 22 1/2 is slightly off, I'll have to fix that. Planing and chiseling endgrain in hard maple highlights how quickly edges breakdown and how often sharpening is required.

Having done this gives a new appreciation to those craftsman who used to do this on a daily basis.

[jamie shard]

Looks great! I was looking at the designs again this week. This may be my next project.

I'm curious about one aspect of the design, and since you constructed it, you might have thoughts... On either end, there is the beam of material that is inserted cross-grain. Do you think these pieces actually strengthen the construction or are necessary? It seems to me to be unnecessary and a point of potential joint failure... but I wonder if I'm missing something?

[Keith Mathewson]

The beam is to insure that the platform remains flat and in my view is required. If you make one I would encourage you to disregard the instructions. Make the platform using round numbers and the mating pieces to fit.

[jamie shard]

Aha! Makes sense. I didn't think of it as something that kept things flat. Thanks!

[Kees Heiden]

Very nice work! These things are super usefull and then making one yourself!

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice work Keith!

[Joe Beaulieu]

Hey Keith,

it it looks like you did a beautiful job, and I am not trying to hijack your post or anything, but I am willing to look stupid. What is it? How does it work? I have never seen one.

I am sure it's obvious to all you galoots out there, but I don't have my galoot membership card yet. Can you 'splain to a noob?

Thanks guys.

Joe

[Stewie Simpson]

http://benchcrafted.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/a-miter-jack-of-excellence.html

[Phil Mueller]

I'll add to the novice question...could you show a piece clamped to be planned and a plane as it would be used?
Nice work!

[Jim Koepke]

I'll add to the novice question...could you show a piece clamped to be planned and a plane as it would be used?
Nice work!

Phil,

There is a video on this page:

http://benchcrafted.blogspot.com/2015/04/you-dont-know-jack-get-to-know-jack.html

It shows the miter jack in use with text for the instructions.

jtk

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks Jim. Wasn't quite understanding that the plane runs on the surface of the jaws...

[Frederick Skelly]

Phil,

There is a video on this page:

http://benchcrafted.blogspot.com/2015/04/you-dont-know-jack-get-to-know-jack.html

It shows the miter jack in use with text for the instructions.

jtk

Thanks Jim! I'd never fully understood how these were used until I saw that video.
Fred

[Derek Cohen]

What stops the faces of the mitre jack from being planed away?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Kees Heiden]

Two methods:
- Glue a sacrificial surface on the faces, like cardboard or thin veneer. When the damage becomes too bad, you can replace it
- Make sure you only plane the objects you want to plane. That will damage the face a little bit around the opening, but the rest of these faces is large enough to guide the planes sole.

[Pat Barry]

My first impression was that this was not a great idea, but maybe, if the face used most was end grain, and the wood used for construction was very dense, then the damage would be minimized. I like the versatility of this approach however.

[Frederick Skelly]

What stops the faces of the mitre jack from being planed away?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Come on Derek, we know you're just itching to build one of these and find a way to improve it so that it doesn't wear at all. That kind of project has your tool-making skills written all over it. And by the time you're done, it will be a work of art, all hardwood and brass. You can't resist this challenge, Sir! :)

Fred

[Derek Cohen]

:)

You never know ....

[Mike Cherry]

What if you placed a hardwood strip 1/8" away from the jaw. You could use the to register the side of your plane and it would wear like a shooting board

[mike holden]

You are overthinking this. The plane blade ONLY comes across the workpiece, the front and rear of the plane ride on the miter jack. Yes, the area immediately adjacent to the workpiece get a bit chewed up, but less than you might think.
I learned on one with thin cardboard on the faces, but after looking at antique miter jacks, I came to the conclusion that cardboard or veneer was unnecessary.
Mike

[James Pallas]

Very nice Keith. I have thought about building a mitre Jack and almost pulled the trigger on the Benchcrafted parts kit but could not quite justify it. I just couldn't figure out how and when I would use it. Keith, where in your work are you planning to use the mitre jack?
Jim

[Derek Cohen]

Jim, I cannot speak for Keith, but one of the attractions of this accessory is to pare coplanar tenon shoulders.

This is how I dealt with it when squaring shoulders on curved rails ..

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/TheChairSawingTenonShoulders_html_m593dad32.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Kees Heiden]

Yes the mitrejack is also usefull when paring with a large chisel. Another option is sawing with one of these French veneersaws, when they are set on one side only. Don't the Japanese have something similar too?

325967

[Steve Voigt]

Yes the mitrejack is also usefull when paring with a large chisel. Another option is sawing with one of these French veneersaws, when they are set on one side only. Don't the Japanese have something similar too?

325967

I would lean toward a big paring chisel--no problems with planing the jig that way--but the veneer saw is also a great idea. Never thought of that!

[Kees Heiden]

I heard this from th eguy who sold me his mitre jack. He is an avid collecter of old Dutch tools. He showed me several of these saws, and I still call myself an idiot because I didn't offer to buy one from him.

[Keith Mathewson]

James,
The reason I built it was for the reasons others have described. Some time ago a bought a vintage one but it was too light duty to use and the glue joints had failed.