Jig material

[Alan East]

That saw sled Mark made really is beautiful. It would be nice to see it recognized in a magazine.

It brings to mind a couple of questions though. When making jigs what wood should be used? The suggestion usually is "hardwood" but that still seems vague. I figure BB for large areas but noticed one of the lumberyards had 32 x 21 cutouts from sinks for $1.00 each. Cut down, dado for rail and put a sacrifical insert in they could make a drill stand table which is one of my goals. Anyway what do you use for jig material?

Alan

[Jim Becker]

I generally use 1/2" plywood and/or MDF for jigs with hardwood thrown in where it's appropriate...usually cherry or walnut scraps since that's what I usually work with.

[glenn bradley]

I'm with Jim on BB ply or MDF. My scraps are usually maple or oak so I guess the answer is something like; straight grained, stable hardwood that's left over from something else you were doing. If I was going to the lumber yard for a chunk of wood for a sled fence I'd probably grab white oak.

I consider a sled fence somewhat of a wear-product though so I usually just resaw some fir a bit extra thick and re-plane the surface as it becomes damaged or 'un-straight' due to weather changes (that was the plan but I haven't had to re-plane yet, SoCal doesn't really have weather changes).

But I digress . . . I also use service tempered Masonite and sometimes just regular hardboard for wear surfaces or replaceable inserts. If I want high visibility I'll use some white melamine covered hardboard. UHMW for sliding parts.

As far as the cutouts, why not. Lots of folks have posted who have picked up seconds or damaged tops from various sources and used them liberally. Go for it.

[Paul Johnstone]

The scrap countertop material would be fine for a drill press table.

I often use strips of 3/4 ply instead of hardwood for jigs. For example, the fence on my table saw crosscut sled is made from 3/4 ply.. You can double up the ply if you need more thickness.

Plywood is dimensionally stable, so I prefer to use it in jigs.. but my jigs are utilitarian and ugly. Nothing wrong with making a jig look like a work of art, I just rather spend my time elsewhere.