Michael McDuffie
01-08-2006, 4:34 PM
Making a jig for flashlights and other cylindrical items.
The following is the thought and design process I used to create a jig like the one I posted in the Pic-o-jigs thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=27675).
First, what do I plan on using the jig for? Mostly C and D cell Mag lights but also rods, tubes and other cylinders. One or two lines of text per pass, I can rotate and engrave again if needed.
What is the diameter? From about 1 ¼” on up to about 3” or so.
How much time am I willing to spend making it? Not much but it needs to work.
What have I got lying around the house? Some scrap MDF, the hardboard leftovers from an Ikea entertainment center and a hot melt glue gun.
I need to be able to change the text easily and keep it centered on the flashlight. I need some marks or a ruler so I can put the text where I want along the length. Also, because the reflector is bigger than the barrel, I need to allow for it. Because I like the text to read left to right with the reflector on the left, I need to leave enough room between the left edge and the start of the uprights.
1) I think a handy size would be 14” long by 6” tall so I create a page this size.
2) I want the text centered on an easy to remember number so I draw a line 3” down from the top the full width of the page.
3) I figure that the uprights should be 1” apart so I Duplicate (Crtl-D) a line ½” above and below the centerline.
4) My scraps of MDF are 9 ¾ long so I draw a vertical line at 4 ¼” from the left edge. This will give me enough room for the reflector.
5) I save the file now.
6) I burn the lines into the hardboard, which isn’t exactly 14” by 6” but that’s not a problem. Now I have guides that will let me glue the uprights on exactly where they need to be. They are 1” tall and ¾ wide for no other reason then that’s what was lying around. I could have used 1 by 2 lumber just as easily but I would have had to cut them to length and I’m lazy.
7) Before I glue the uprights on. I throw on some text in the lower left corner reminding me that center is 3” down and I like to run flashlights at speed 100 power 40.
8) Thinking it would be convenient to have a ruler to help align things, I Duplicate some 3/8” vertical lines ¼” apart, starting at 4 ¼” from the left and just a bit below 3 ½” down from the top.
9) Save the file again. See? I can learn from my mistakes.
10) I waste a bit of time fiddling around with these lines, making some longer and some shorter and adding numbers starting at 5 so it looks more like a ruler.
11) After burning the ruler to the MDF, I move it to the guide layer along with the three horizontal lines. That way, I can line things up quickly and easily
This takes me 15 minutes or so, including scrounging the scraps. It works perfectly and has lasted over four years now. Now I can set it in the laser, pull up the file, change the text and engrave the flashlight in 2 or 3 minutes without trying to remember how I did it last time.
Michael
The following is the thought and design process I used to create a jig like the one I posted in the Pic-o-jigs thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=27675).
First, what do I plan on using the jig for? Mostly C and D cell Mag lights but also rods, tubes and other cylinders. One or two lines of text per pass, I can rotate and engrave again if needed.
What is the diameter? From about 1 ¼” on up to about 3” or so.
How much time am I willing to spend making it? Not much but it needs to work.
What have I got lying around the house? Some scrap MDF, the hardboard leftovers from an Ikea entertainment center and a hot melt glue gun.
I need to be able to change the text easily and keep it centered on the flashlight. I need some marks or a ruler so I can put the text where I want along the length. Also, because the reflector is bigger than the barrel, I need to allow for it. Because I like the text to read left to right with the reflector on the left, I need to leave enough room between the left edge and the start of the uprights.
1) I think a handy size would be 14” long by 6” tall so I create a page this size.
2) I want the text centered on an easy to remember number so I draw a line 3” down from the top the full width of the page.
3) I figure that the uprights should be 1” apart so I Duplicate (Crtl-D) a line ½” above and below the centerline.
4) My scraps of MDF are 9 ¾ long so I draw a vertical line at 4 ¼” from the left edge. This will give me enough room for the reflector.
5) I save the file now.
6) I burn the lines into the hardboard, which isn’t exactly 14” by 6” but that’s not a problem. Now I have guides that will let me glue the uprights on exactly where they need to be. They are 1” tall and ¾ wide for no other reason then that’s what was lying around. I could have used 1 by 2 lumber just as easily but I would have had to cut them to length and I’m lazy.
7) Before I glue the uprights on. I throw on some text in the lower left corner reminding me that center is 3” down and I like to run flashlights at speed 100 power 40.
8) Thinking it would be convenient to have a ruler to help align things, I Duplicate some 3/8” vertical lines ¼” apart, starting at 4 ¼” from the left and just a bit below 3 ½” down from the top.
9) Save the file again. See? I can learn from my mistakes.
10) I waste a bit of time fiddling around with these lines, making some longer and some shorter and adding numbers starting at 5 so it looks more like a ruler.
11) After burning the ruler to the MDF, I move it to the guide layer along with the three horizontal lines. That way, I can line things up quickly and easily
This takes me 15 minutes or so, including scrounging the scraps. It works perfectly and has lasted over four years now. Now I can set it in the laser, pull up the file, change the text and engrave the flashlight in 2 or 3 minutes without trying to remember how I did it last time.
Michael