Jigs can make your woodworking easier, and safer, to do. This class takes advantage of MicroJig’s MatchFit clamps. They’re extremely versatile and provide a great way to secure your work and secure your jigs.
You’ll learn how to make eight jigs for your woodworking shop using a variety of methods to cut the dovetail slot required by MatchFit clamps. Once the jig is built, you’ll learn how to use it.
These jigs are a great addition to any woodworking shop.
MatchFit clamps work by engaging in a dovetail-shaped socket that you cut using a router table or hand-held router. The socket is cut with MicroJig’s dovetail bit, which is made specifically for this process and offers a variety of benefits. The more you use this system, the more uses you’ll find for it.
Dado and rabbet joinery on the table saw often requires that you position the rip fence very close to the dado head. Avoid cutting into your rip fence by making and using a sacrificial fence for these cuts.
Adding a bevel to the edge of a board like you might do for a raised panel or to undercut the bottom of a table top requires a tall fence on your table saw. A tall fence prevents the danger of the board tipping.
If you have a board with two irregular edges like a live edge slab, a straight line ripping jig allows you to produce a perfectly straight edge. Instead of the material riding against the rip fence it’s carried on the jig like a sled. This is a great way to deal with those concave and convex edges.
Whether you’re making birdhouses or furniture legs it’s common to need to cut a taper, and the table saw is a great way to do it. This sled provides the consistency you need, so all your tapers are the same, and gives you a hold-down clamp to secure the material as it’s being cut.
You shouldn’t use your rip fence AND your miter gauge together unless you have a stop block clamped to the rip fence. Using a stop block lets you pair up the miter gauge and rip fence, and provides an simple way to make consistent crosscuts.
Add a fence to your miter gauge to prevent chip out on the exit side of the cut, help sweep offcuts away from the blade and provide a place to clamp a stop block for repetitive cuts.
If you often wish you had a third, or fourth, hand when assembling stuff, you need assembly corners. They’ll hold your parts together for you so you can add fasteners, tweak the joint, all of the above.
Many operations can be made easier with a little hold down pressure, a backstop or both; assembling parts, putting pocket hole joints together, belt sanding and more. The Hold Down Platform and its fence are the multi-tool of this class. Add it as needed to your workbench or router table to get a versatile work surface, and put it away when you’re done.
George Vondriska
George Vondriska is the Editor in Chief here at Woodworkers Guild of America and has been sharing his woodworking expertise since 1986. Apart from conducting classes at his renowned Vondriska Woodworks School, George's passion for teaching has taken him to woodworking shows nationwide and has led him to teach woodworking for prestigious organizations such as Peace Corps/Swaziland, Andersen Window, Northwest Airlines, and the Pentagon. With a wealth of published magazine articles under his belt, encompassing tool reviews and shop improvement projects, George's knowledge and skills continue to inspire woodworkers every day. To discover more about him and his school, visit georgevondriska.com.
Must-Have Match-Fit Jigs - Resources
Bonus Materials available for download after purchase.
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