INSPIRATION FOR EASIER JOINERY

Hi, I’m Brent. I’ve been a carpenter and woodworker for over 24 years, and most of my work has pertained to remodeling and custom woodworking. Although I like tackling one-off or limited-quantity projects, I would continually find myself struggling with efficiency when undertaking a custom build with joinery.  Building dedicated jigs for each project became frustrating and time consuming. I would often just bypass joinery altogether and settle for mechanical fasteners.

After enough headache, I finally decided to design a jig that would eliminate the worst pain points for table saw joinery. I wanted joinery to be fun, not a dreaded time-consuming, frustrating inconvenience. Specifically, I wanted a table saw jig that could:

  • Hold smaller pieces of stock in a variety of orientations

  • Reduce setup time to minutes

  • Have integral but removable clamps (I did not want clamps to be able to fall from the jig during set up and especially not during operation)

  • Move the stock for consecutive passes over a cutter without reclamping or repositioning the entire jig for each pass

  • Track the distance the stock moves with respect to the cutter to eliminate guesswork with a tape measure

  • Return to calibrated settings with positive stops

  • Double as a miter gauge to eliminate the need to switch jigs

  • Work in any standard miter track so it could be used on different table saws without switching miter bars

  • Not be limited by blade height or dado stack width

  • Be customizable without specialty hardware (i.e. attaching plywood or MDF to it to assist in positioning/securing stock for advanced operations)

  • Be waterproof for the times its used outside on a jobsite table saw in “iffy” weather conditions (when I have paint, stain, or sealer drying on a project in the shop, I often have to cut outside on a portable saw)

  • Be compact without compromising safety or versatility (my homemade jigs would often get rather bulky and clumsy)

  • Use standard hardware so that should I misplace a screw or washer, a local hardware store or a “catch-all” drawer would get me up and running again

WHY A TABLE SAW AND NOT A ROUTER TABLE

99% of the time I prefer cutting joinery on small workpieces with a table saw over a router table or router jig. Here are the main reasons generally speaking (there are exceptions)…

  • Table saws cut faster with less noise and less dust

  • You can achieve depth of cut faster, and generally achieve greater depth of cut overall

  • You can tilt the blade to increase joinery options (most router lifts don’t tilt)

  • Table saws have two miter tracks running parallel to the fence whereas router tables normally only have one, increasing versatility

  • Table saws, even job site saws, usually have a larger worktop than portable router tables

  • I always have a table saw on my job sites- rarely do I have a router table

PROOF OF CONCEPT

After brainstorming for many hours during windshield time to and from work, I settled on a rack and pinion design. This was my first stab at it, and crude as it was, it worked. I built a set of large box-jointed plywood boxes with it, as well as a few window sashes. 

FIRST ITERATION

Since the proof of concept was promising, I focused more on ergonomics and came up with this design. I nixed all the radial bearings and used a French cleat system to couple the rack assembly (or stock carriage as I now call it) to the jig. This version worked really well and I used it on a fair amount of personal projects.  I also shot this video with it cutting different types of joinery.

SECOND ITERATION

On this version I added the angle stops and slots in the rear miter bar connection points for micro-adjustment when squaring the jig to the saw blade.  With the ability to pivot like a miter gauge, this version made cutting pinboards for through-dovetail joinery a lot easier.

CURRENT ITERATION

Making the leap to machined parts took quite a bit of design work and experimentation with materials.  Since I’m nowhere close to mass production quantities, injection molding, extrusion dies, and castings are off the table for now.  Other than the aluminum t-track, everything is milled/cut from solid materials.  I’ve modified a few parts since the first machined prototype for increased versatility. Working with a local machinist also really helped this process.

This design has met and exceeded all of my expectations for a versatile table saw jig. I now look forward to small joinery projects and developing more accessories.