Jigs from projects

[Adam Cavaliere]

I just completed the flower stand that norm built on NYW. Actually I just built one of the side pieces. I'll post pictures after we are finished painting it (boy I wish I had an HVLP)!

Anyway, the side piece required some hefty jigs to be built just to form some rounded pieces of wood. Those in and of themselves took long enough to build and setup that it feels like a waste now to throw them out. Because of all the extra effort in getting those built and setup I have decided to make two more of these as presents for people. I want to get more out of those jigs before I decide what to do with them.

You guys do the same thing? Ever have to throw away a jig just because it is taking up too much room? I can't imagine needing s half circle at a specific radius anytime in the near future...

[Joe Chritz]

Label them and toss em in the attic or somewhere out of the way. Recycle them when they get to big or get in the way.

I try to save them as much as I can but often end up recycling them for other jigs.

Joe

[Peter Quinn]

I have moved past that place where building a jig, fixture or form to complete a project feels like wasting time and into a happy place where it is a sensible approach to doing accurate work.

That said if you have forms whose construction took extensive time or materials I think it is perfectly natural to make the end product in volume. You may find you get better at it with each incarnation.

In my shop any jig that isn't universal gets recycled or disposed of upon completion of the project. What's really hard is deciding your never going to make another and that the project is in fact over.

[Jim Becker]

As stated, jigs are very important to the process and careful work on them will hopefully result in a better end project. That said, when you are "done" with the project, if it is very unlikely you will rebuild the same project again, you might still consider keeping the jig if it appears to be adaptable for other purposes. If not and you truly don't believe you'll use it again, take it apart to recycle the material or, if it's a project that someone else might build, gifting the jig is not a horrible idea. As an SMC contributor, you could list it in the Free Classifieds, specifying the exact project it's from, etc.

These days, I try to build jigs using methods that allow for easy disassembly when practical, but given I use scrap stock, I never feel bad to put it in the trash, either.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I hang them on the wall or put them up high and out of the way, but I never throw them out. I also rarely take them apart to make something else, as just using the pieces is often counterproductive.

Doc

[Jason Beam]

It ultimately depends ...

In the case of patterns, I decide just how "good" it needs to be - good is usually defined by durability. It also can go by complexity. If the shape I need is pretty complex, I'll sometimes try to break it down into a few simple shapes and make solid durable patterns for them. Usually out of masonite or decent plywood. But if the pattern just can't be split into shapes that can be reused for other projects, I'll make it out of cheap mdf or anything else I have laying around. I don't throw it out when I'm done, but if it hangs there for a couple years and I can't forsee the need for it anymore I'll either scavenge the materials or toss it.

When it comes to jigs, usually I build a jig to perform a "universal" operation. For example, I wanted to spline some miters on a handfull of picture frames I'd built. I figured I'd make use of a jig for this job quite a lot if I had one. So I made the thing to last a little while. Or another good one is my taper jig. Those are the standard jigs, though. Sometimes there is a cause for moving a tool or workpiece in a controlled manner that a pattern just won't do for and it's rather specialized. In those cases, I don't build a "forever" jig, I just build a jig that'll get me through the project at hand. Sometimes just barely so! This is usually when I forego the glue and the t-nuts and just nail and screw stuff together to provide the means to my end. Once i'm done with it, I sacrifice what can't be reused and the rest goes back in the scrap pile.

When and why is a very "here and now" kind of decision, too. I have patterns that really aren't all that universal but I keep 'em ... at the time my brain figured it would get used again someday so it stays. Until I'm overrun with 'em, they stay :)

[Lee Schierer]

If you decide to keep the jigs, do yourself a favor. Label the jig for what it was used for and make a few notes on how to use it. My father left several really neat looking jigs in his shop after he passed away that I have no clue what they were for or how to use them.