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Show us your favorite jig that you have made or bought. Good pictures are helpful for anyone that wants to build one, if you don't mind sharing..


Here is mine that I just finished, Wells/Karol router base

Made from a Bamboo cutting board I picked up at Lowes for $14.00. Big enough to make 2, with wood left over. I was worried that Bamboo wouldn't be dense enough to hold the screw threads. I didn't tap the holes, just let the screws thread their own. Using a scrap piece I stripped out the head of a machine screw before the screw stripped the threads out of the wood. I reckon it will hold.

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Tim

How small a circle can you make with that, about an inch? It is a circle cutter, isn't it?

My favorite is my binding jig. I made it so I could use the actual piece of binding or purfling to set the offset for the cut. It makes it much easier when gluing up purfling, you don't have to be so anal accounting for the glue line in the final log thickness. I have shown these pictures before but I am shamelessly showing them again! And also again, it was constructed quickly and not so elegantly. Please forgive the crudeness. Also, if you are very mechanically inclined and it is obvious what it does please excuse my jumbled explanations.

The top of the jig is a Bosch Colt laminate trimmer base I purchased from Amazon. It is screwed down to the aluminum plate. This is a shot from below and shows the black jig material piece which is what rides against the top of the guitar body. The hole in that is for a 1/4 spiral bit. The other piece fits in the channel that extends behind the black plastic piece.



This next photo shows those pieces attached to each other. A thumbwheel screw from above locks them in place. You can see the aluminum dowel (the guide which rides against the side of the guitar) extends right under where the router bit would show through the plastic. The brass screw allows you to micro move the dowel in and out and you can lock the upper and lower posts to lock the dowel in place once you have it perfectly in plane with the bit.



Seen from above the piece which includes the lower arm and aluminum dowel also includes a stop piece which rests against the cross bar on the main body (large flat aluminum piece). This needs to be flush against the cross bar when you set the dowel perfectly in plane with the router bit.



Then, when you loosen the thumbwheel you can slide the whole lower piece back, insert a piece of your binding or purfling (or both!) and when you snug it tight again your guide rail (the aluminum dowel) is offset by exactly that much from the bit.



This has worked very well for me. I built a version of it first that is stationary and you move the guitar instead of moving the jig over the guitar. I still use that first and hog out most of the channel. I can use a nice hefty 1/2" shank bit in my large router and that goes very quickly. Then, when I come on with this jig to clean up the channel I am only cutting a very little bit and it is never working too hard. The downsides are that you do have to be careful not to dip it in to the guitar body. I have become very comfortable doing it this way but it is not foolproof like some other methods. I am sure it could be adopted onto a Williams style jig with a swivel mechanism but it may get in the way of the little locking parts that hold the guitar upright. You also have to ride the guide in the sweet spot for the cut to be full depth. I have not had a problem with shallow channels but I do go around a couple of times and am careful to hear for that sweet spot when I am cutting.

Thanks for looking and lets see some more jigs!

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

No pics, but I love my wells-Karol circle channel cutter and my binding channel cutter (name slips me, the one many of us use)

Ooooops

Mine would have to be my binding rig. I love this thing. Wasn't very difficult or costly to make, and it works like a dream.

Darrin

Yeah, that's it... Williams Binding Machine

It is for cutting rosette channels and cutting out sound holes. It will adjust from 10" diameter, down to 1 1/4" circles. The screw in the center allows micro adjustment of the diameter. Loosen the thumb screws and make major adjustments by sliding it on the outside rails.

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Tim

Filippo, very cool, but... what is it? lol

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Tim

It's a fret buck.

Here are several I enjoy using:

A mini saw guide for cutting binding to length on the guitar.



A guide to space the router bit when doing carbon reinforcing bar slots. (Staged picture, the fence is not closed and the face plate is not in place on the router table)





And a tuner bushing press.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Favorite Jig.....sure thing.................
















Cheers

Kim

Terence I have just stolen your little binding cutter jig idea

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Thanks Kim!
I needed a good dose of your humor this morning.

Joe

My saddle scrubber:

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https://soundcloud.com/jeffreylsuits/he ... -runnin-13

what is a fret buck?

It's used for support under the FB extention when hammering in frets.
I like my Centerline Finder and the Ellipsograph I'm completing. Not too sure which one of my jigs is my favorite though. There seems to be a few around the shop.

The "saddle scrubber" reminds me of this finger saving device that I made. I've got different ones for nuts and saddles. Mr belt sander is merciless around bare knuckles...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I like that Arnt.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Terence, I really like that bushing press. I might have to copy it.

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Tim

My favorite home built jigs are my Wells Karol copy rosette cutter and my copy of the Stewmac saddle matic. My favorite purchased Jig is my Center finder from Tracy at Luthier suppliers and my Stewmac true channel binding router, though radius dishes and gobar deck are also great to use. Actually my favorite jig is the one saving me time or giving accuracy on the job I am working on at any time.

They are all valuable in their own way

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Hey Fred, how about some pics of your saddlematic?

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Tim

This tooling plate allows the CNC machine to be used as a joiner to create a splendid edge for gluing. When in use. the holes in the plate contain movable pins which allow for four specific widths to be created with tight tolerances.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

Works for me.