Jigs and Tips for Easy Woodworking

by Rex Rothing

Do you need to rip a straight line with only a skillsaw, or route a dado cut across some plywood for a shelf insert, or drill lots of holes in the same place? If so, you need a jig. A jig is usually a few pieces of scrap rigged together quickly for a temporary purpose. Some jigs you use for only one project, but some jigs you need every day. Those every day jigs are real time savers that help woodworker's make their work look good consistently.

A big problem for most people is cutting a straight line. There are several ways to accomplish that with a simple jig. One way is to use a fence on a table saw if the board already has a straight edge to follow the guide (fence). If the board has a bowed edge, it can be straightened on a jointer, then sawn. But if you have only a skillsaw (electric circular saw) you need to use a straight edge guide clamped to the workpiece for the saw to guide against. To make this set up easier you can glue and nail one straight edged thin rip of plywood to a piece of wider thin plywood leaving about 6 inches on one side and 2 inches or more on the other side of the straight edged attachment. The two inch side is so you can clamp it to the workpiece and the other side you will cut off with your saw. Once the jig is cut with your saw it will always work for your saw by telling you exactly where the cut will be. Now you can just clamp the jig next to your line and cut a straight line without having to align the straight edge piece 5 and 3/8 inches or so away from the cut. ( depending on your saw)

      Cut straight                             Route a shelf dado                                             Sliding miter jig

The best way to route a dado cut across plywood to insert a shelf is also with a jig. The hand held router and a good jig with two clamps is more accurate and faster than setting up a dado cut on a table saw or radial arm saw, in my opinion. The jig is made in the same way as the straight line cutting jig just described above but this time it is cut with your router and bit. This jig will only work for the same router and bit; you will have a different jig for each size and each router.

Many jigs can be made for other purposes. For example, you might need to install cabinet door handles with two screws 3 inches apart on 12 doors; you could make a jig one time and use it to repeat the same holes, the same distance apart, and the same distance up from the bottom, and the same distance over from the edge on all twelve doors. That would save time measuring and would be more accurate overall.

There is another jig for cutting miters, one for installing hinges, one for shelf pin holes, and so many more that books have been written about the subject. A woodworking book club or magazine is a good place to find new jig ideas. If you have a jig idea or shop time saver that works well we would like to link to, or display, your description and special idea here:

        Route a circle jig

Please send us your Jig and Tips! What is your favorite? How does it work?

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