Matthew Schenker
Member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2007
- Messages
- 2,619
I have been reading with interest the discussion of Jesse Cloud's jig for cutting thin strips (Jesse's discussion). This made me remember a jig of my own that I developed for a very similar purpose. I've used my jig hundreds of times for small strips that go into cutting boards. It works really well. It's name is derived from the fact that cuts are measured from the right side of the MFT guide rail, instead of from the left (the usual way).
Here's a general shot of the jig:
Here are all the components of the jig:
It has two 3/4"-thick wooden parts. One of these parts is a "base" with two holes. Each hole is drilled so that a star knob's threaded rod can go through it. The rods are connected to nuts which tighten in the MFT's extrusions. As you can tell from the above photo, the base is also set against the MDF edge of the MFT.
I cut a shallow dado in the base (about 1/8" deep). The other wooden part is the "arm," which slides back and forth in the shallow dado of the base. The "arm" is the part that actually forms a register against the stock, which is under the guide rail on the MFT. That's how the jig works. The arm has a slot cut into it. The star knob goes through the slot, and this allows the arm to slide back and forth for adjustments.
The arm also holds an 8" section of a stainless-steel ruler (from Woodpecker). I drilled several tiny holes in the arm, and in those holes I inserted 1/8" rare-earth magnets. The magnets are strong enough to hold the ruler down while sawing, but if I want I can still adjust the ruler to calibrate it with the MFT fence.
Here's a shot of just the arm, with the stainless-steel ruler:
I built an "indicator assembly" -- a block of wood with a brad nail hammered through carefully to form a pointer. I connected the indicator assembly to the base. The photo below shows the base, with the shallow dado. The "indicator assembly" is near the top of the photo.
Here's a shot of the indicator assembly in operation with the stainless-steel ruler:
The next photo shows essentially the same shot of the indicator assembly, but with the stainless-steel ruler removed:
Here's another angle on the indicator assembly, with the stainless-steel ruler removed. You can also see here how the indicator assembly is connected to the base:
To use the jig, I first zero it out. To do this, I place my TS55 on the MFT guide rail and, with the power off, plunge the blade. Next, I slide the arm to the left until it touches the right face of the blade. Now I have my "zero" spot. I lock the star knobs and then slide the stainless-steel ruler until the pointer reads "0," as shown in the photo below:
Now, let's say I need several strips of padauk all 1/8" thick. I simply slide the arm until the indicator is at 1/8", then lock the star knobs. Then I just need to slide the stock under the MFT until it touched the arm of the jig, and I know I will be cutting a 1/8" slice of wood. The photo below shows the jig registered against a piece of padauk, ready to make a 1/8" cut:
Now I go ahead and cut. As long as the star knobs are locked down, I can make repeated cuts like this, and they all come out exactly the same. I have used this jig to cut slices down to about 1/16".
When I first built this jig, I wasn't sure if it would work. It was just an experiment. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well this simple thing works!
I've been trying to come up with improvements to the design. If anyone has ideas, let me know!
With holiday season approaching, this jig comes in handy when making cutting boards and other small craft items.
Thanks,
Matthew
PS: This jig was first reported in the old Yahoo forum.
Here's a general shot of the jig:

Here are all the components of the jig:

It has two 3/4"-thick wooden parts. One of these parts is a "base" with two holes. Each hole is drilled so that a star knob's threaded rod can go through it. The rods are connected to nuts which tighten in the MFT's extrusions. As you can tell from the above photo, the base is also set against the MDF edge of the MFT.
I cut a shallow dado in the base (about 1/8" deep). The other wooden part is the "arm," which slides back and forth in the shallow dado of the base. The "arm" is the part that actually forms a register against the stock, which is under the guide rail on the MFT. That's how the jig works. The arm has a slot cut into it. The star knob goes through the slot, and this allows the arm to slide back and forth for adjustments.
The arm also holds an 8" section of a stainless-steel ruler (from Woodpecker). I drilled several tiny holes in the arm, and in those holes I inserted 1/8" rare-earth magnets. The magnets are strong enough to hold the ruler down while sawing, but if I want I can still adjust the ruler to calibrate it with the MFT fence.
Here's a shot of just the arm, with the stainless-steel ruler:

I built an "indicator assembly" -- a block of wood with a brad nail hammered through carefully to form a pointer. I connected the indicator assembly to the base. The photo below shows the base, with the shallow dado. The "indicator assembly" is near the top of the photo.

Here's a shot of the indicator assembly in operation with the stainless-steel ruler:

The next photo shows essentially the same shot of the indicator assembly, but with the stainless-steel ruler removed:

Here's another angle on the indicator assembly, with the stainless-steel ruler removed. You can also see here how the indicator assembly is connected to the base:

To use the jig, I first zero it out. To do this, I place my TS55 on the MFT guide rail and, with the power off, plunge the blade. Next, I slide the arm to the left until it touches the right face of the blade. Now I have my "zero" spot. I lock the star knobs and then slide the stainless-steel ruler until the pointer reads "0," as shown in the photo below:

Now, let's say I need several strips of padauk all 1/8" thick. I simply slide the arm until the indicator is at 1/8", then lock the star knobs. Then I just need to slide the stock under the MFT until it touched the arm of the jig, and I know I will be cutting a 1/8" slice of wood. The photo below shows the jig registered against a piece of padauk, ready to make a 1/8" cut:

Now I go ahead and cut. As long as the star knobs are locked down, I can make repeated cuts like this, and they all come out exactly the same. I have used this jig to cut slices down to about 1/16".
When I first built this jig, I wasn't sure if it would work. It was just an experiment. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well this simple thing works!
I've been trying to come up with improvements to the design. If anyone has ideas, let me know!
With holiday season approaching, this jig comes in handy when making cutting boards and other small craft items.
Thanks,
Matthew
PS: This jig was first reported in the old Yahoo forum.