What Materials to use for jigs?

[Don Lamothe]

I want to make some 4" x 4" x 4' support "boxes" to raise a Table Top glue up above my work bench so that i can get clamps and cauls under the glue up. What materials should i use for these 'boxes'? I have a piece of birch plywood kicking around that is 2' x 4'. I believer I've had this for at least 6 months and I've been told that plywood is a stable material but this piece already has a curve to it. Any suggestions? Thank you!

[Kevin Jenness]

I use plastic laminate covered stable hardwood (mahogany and cherry) blocks sized so that the clamp screws are more or less centered in a typical panel thickness. You could make plywood box sections and keep them waxed. If the plywood edges are straight when assembled the blocks should remain flat.

[Jim Becker]

You can use any material that you have which is handy, honestly. I would generally use MDF for the kind of thing you ask about because it's inexpensive, unlike birch plywood these days. MDF is generally pretty dimensionally stable, too. I'd wrap it with packing tape to insure it doesn't get glued to the project(s).

[Ken Fitzgerald]

You could small pieces of 2x4's, glue them together and cover them with plastic packaging tape. For finishing, I took some scrap plywood, cut 3" squares and drove a nail thought the center. The part being finished is placed on the nail points of several of these. I have a cardboard box that holds these finishing points.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Specific to risers, I use pint, quart, and gallon stain, varnish, and paint cans, depending on the height I need. If you have several of the same brand they are very nearly identical in height (if you have kept them clean). It also helps to have at least one bench that is intentionally not thick.

[Tom Bender]

Almost anything will work. In an automotive assembly setup that had to last a few months we needed 4' x 16' x 6" high platform boosters for short operators. These were needed on one shift but not the others. Instead of investing in hydraulic monsters we used boosters made of foam covered in cardboard. The operators placed and removed them. Didn't need a maintenance crew with lifting equipment. Didn't even need to stop the line. The cardboard held up really well to normal foot traffic.