Jig Material Choices

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Hey ya'll! Skip to the end for the short version. :D

I bought the Box Joint Jig Kit found here: http://www.woodsmithstore.com/boxjoint.html, which is made of maple.

I went over to my hardwood dealer and picked up some hard maple. I didn't pay attention and got S2S, which was 13/16". Apparently, they only had curly maple and soft maple in 4/4 rough.

It was a little cupped and twisted, so I attempted to joint and plane it flat and square to 3/4". It came out surprisingly well considering how little I had to work with, but it cupped and twisted overnight. That really surprised me... I only took 1/32" off each face.

So back to the drawing board...

I've considered making the entire thing from MDF or plywood, but I kinda wanted to make it out of wood. Since my dealer doesn't have any rough hard maple, I'm trying to decide what else to use.

Long story short... I'm looking for something hard and stable that'll wear well over time. Price isn't too important since I don't need much. Ideas?

Thanks!

Paul

[Chuck Lenz]

Quartersawn oak is a very stable solid wood, and nice looking in my opinion.

[Art Mann]

I have gone to using MDF for all my jigs and fixtures because it is so consistent and stable. I laminate the work surfaces with Formica to improve durability and strength. I have found plastic laminate at Home Depot very cheap ($7 a sheet) that was scratched or damaged. This combination may not be as aesthetically pleasing as hard maple, but it makes for a more stable and accurate precision jig.

[Jim Becker]

I typically use BB ply and MDF for shop fixtures and jigs.

[Randy Redding]

For some jig pieces, I've used Delrin. It is a plastic that is similar to what plastic bread-boards are made from. It is fairly stiff, it cuts very well. It is easy to drill. Sometimes, regular twist drills are pulled through by the plastic so counter-boring can be a challenge. (Maybe someone knows the right bits to use though.)

For long, straight-edge types of things I've used various woods backed up by aluminum or steel shapes such as angle or rectangular tube.

[George Bregar]

I typically use BB ply and MDF for shop fixtures and jigs. +1 if it's a keeper and want stability.

[Kyle Kraft]

Randy,
To avoid bit grabbing in plastic, hone the cutting edges on the drill slightly flat. At work, we sharpen the drill on a Darex grinder then use a small hand stone to dub the cutting edges.

[Jesse Cloud]

Here I go being the contrarian again...:o

In my opinion, if you cut the key stock equal to the thickness of your blade stack, the rest doesn't really matter. I take a lot of time with that part of the process and make a good deal of stock that I can reuse later. Then cut one hole with the blade stack thru a piece of plywood attached to a crosscut dado sled. Put some stock in the hole and another piece of stock next to it. Slide the plywood so the second piece of stock is snug to the blade, then clamp. Then cut a few million (it always seems like a few million) fingers. I find that the wear and tear on the jig will usually loosen it up a little by the time the project is done and I'm better off taking five minutes to make a new jig next time.

So, the short answer, the material I use is whatever scrap of baltic birch is around and when I'm done, it goes back in the scrap pile.:eek:

[glenn bradley]

BB ply and MDF for all jigs. I will laminate hardboard if it is a high wear surface. Seal them with shellac, sand to 400 and paste wax.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Ya'll talked me into using MDF. :D I'm not sure I could fit a 5x5 sheet of BB ply in the back of my Rodeo, or I might be tempted...

Thanks,

Paul