I think jigs that can do double duty, that is help in more ways than one, are easily the most valuable jigs, and sometimes it only takes small modifications to upgrade a jig from single to multi use.
This is one of the few times that I needed to make a jig in order to make another jig. I started off with making the "wedge jig", something I have needed for a long time and have been making wedges a much harder way, when one of my subscribes sent me this idea, I thought it was simple and highly affective.
Most wedges I need to make are slim, but once in a while I get requests for garden stakes and or fence pickets, a jig like this takes care of those in moments, but even a 7 degree wedge is now simple and I could even cut that in half for a 3.5 degree wedge and may try that on the opposite side that is now flat.
I am currently working on making some banding, for inserts I want make later on. This requires making many many smaller pieces of wood that will eventually be glued together to for a variety of patterns. But that aside, I find myself needing same side wood cuttings in small quantities so having a jig that can handle these things seamlessly makes a whole lot of sense.
The jig it 'self has been around a long time so the reason I haven't made it until now is that most people "clamp" the jig toward the back of the saw. Unfortunately, my saw has that flip up outfeed table so clamping doesn't work, which is the reason I have put this thing off Then a few weeks ago, I thought, why don't I make a Magwitch version of this "deflection jig"? actually easier to attach, super strong and much more adjustable, and regardless if you use a magswitch or clamps, riving knife or splitter is imperative for use with this jig.
For this jig I used the Magswitch 150, it is pretty much most use magtool magnet.
The deflection jig works amazingly well, and I think is an upgrade for safety on the table saw ... but like anything on the table saw safety is imperative regardless of what adapters and modifications are made ALWAY WORK SAFELY
Then there was one of my latest purchases ... the little cordless, rechargeable blower from Amazon. When my friend Bob first showed me this, I was not so taken with it, then I priced another 6-pack of canned air because I was nearing the end of the last can, it was only then that I started to take it seriously ... so I order one and after using it for a couple of weeks have found this unit WAY MORE handy than canned air, 3 speeds and the high speed is super strong, for doing one last dust cleaning of wood before finishing, clearing dust from underneath my table saw for relubricating with WD-40, cleaning off my camera and audio equipment, clearing chips from my laser, every day I seem to add another chore, this was super handy little tool ... again ... multi use!
You can see more here the woodworkweb amazon store - Cordless Blower
Woodworking jigs are valuable items in the woodwork shop, single use or multi use, they often provide an easier, safer way of accomplishing some of the more complicate woodworking chores we under take.
Colin Knecht
