# Resaw rig for tiny logs



## BobL (Apr 26, 2007)

When a log is too small for a CS mill, and I don't have a Band Saw (BS)at home (I do have access at work but BS mods/rigs/jigs are not permitted) one can rig up something like this attached to a Table Saw (TS). This rig is also adaptable to a BS if I ever get around to creating enough space in my shed OR getting a bigger shed so I can house one.







The rig is made from 3 pieces of angle iron and a 40" long piece of c-setion. Th rig rides in (or attaches to) the saw table via the TS table track. The two bits of angle iron front and very back are bolted to the c-section at the LHS. The log is gripped by the middle and front bits of angle. The middle piece of angle can slide back and forth along the c-section using wing nuts on the all thread rods which provides a double clamping action on the log. The amount of leverage possible with the double clamp is high ensuring the log stays in place during the sawing process. For extra grip pointed bolts that can be scewed into the log are available front and back but these are only required if the ends of the log are not very square.





The rig is really only used to produce one cut (a flat face ) or two right angled faces. Then the log is transfered to a jointer where the right angled is trued up and then it's back to the TS (sans rig) for cutting up against a conventional TS fence. A big advantage of this rig is that the log can be sawn off centre providing access to the true quarter saw portion of a log. Of centre cuts on logs are both difficult and very dangerous on a TS without a rig like this. The diameter of the log one can tackle is nominally dependent on the max cutting depth of the TS (mine is 4") but turning the log over one can get twice that. Although the rig can hold a 36" long log, the maximum length I can do at the moment is limited by the way the rig attaches to the track (in just 2 places) to about 12". I am going to change this to a full length t-track holder and this will enable me to extend the length to about 25" - my main limitation will then be the size of my shed. Once could use in-out feed rollers if one had the space to use the full 36" of the rig.

When not in use the rig tucks away nicely under my TS.





BTW the wood is Western Australian Jam (Acacia acuminata) and does not grow much bigger in the trunk than what you see here. 




This wood has a density of 1171 kg/m^3 or 73.1 lbs/.ft^3 and is extremely hard and very difficult to cut. When you cut it is smells like raspberry Jam hence its name. The wood is termite resistant and is used mainly for fencing but as you can see it looks really nice.


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## martrix (Apr 26, 2007)

Hi Bob, bloody WWF's down again! 

Nice little sled. You need a Bandsaw *and* a bigger shed!:hmm3grin2orange: 

That jig will work great on the bandsaw too with much bigger logs.

Only thing I will say, is to make a zero-clearance insert. Those off-cuts can become nasty wedge-like missiles.
As hard as those desert timbers are, with the right tooling (and sharp!)they are kind of cool to work with and are very unique compared to generic hardwoods.

Watcha gonna make with it?


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## BobL (Apr 26, 2007)

martrix said:


> Hi Bob, bloody WWF's down again!


Never mind this site is just as interesting



martrix said:


> You need a Bandsaw *and* a bigger shed!:hmm3grin2orange:


Tell me about it!



martrix said:


> That jig will work great on the bandsaw too with much bigger logs.


you're reading my mind again



martrix said:


> Only thing I will say, is to make a zero-clearance insert. Those off-cuts can become nasty wedge-like missiles.


I have the 6mm tensile ally plate on order from my BIL.



martrix said:


> As hard as those desert timbers are, with the right tooling (and sharp!)they are kind of cool to work with and are very unique compared to generic hardwoods. Watcha gonna make with it?



I dunno yet, I have a couple of tool handles in mind. Unfortunately most of the bits I have cut so far have big splits. 

Cheers


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 26, 2007)

Cool rig and nice write up.


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## martrix (Apr 26, 2007)

BobL said:


> I dunno yet, I have a couple of tool handles in mind. Unfortunately most of the bits I have cut so far have big splits.
> 
> Cheers



Ever thought of filling the splits with epoxy?

I do it all the time. Make the epoxy a nice black (w/ black oxide), gives a good contrast and makes a little feature out of something you would otherwise throw in the bin.

Don't think my little 026 will show up until next week. Oh well, might have to do some wood work. Also started designing the new mill I will make for the 36" bar. Drew up the bar tonight.


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## BobL (Apr 26, 2007)

Thanks Aggie.



martrix said:


> Ever thought of filling the splits with epoxy?


Yep I do it all the time too. Have already started filling about 6, 1" thick boards I cut from 3 pieces of Jam. I also planed up some 1" thick boards I milled from a short sheoak log a couple of weeks back - these too had cracks which I filled with epoxy tonight. I was planning on making some cheese platter/boards out of these for various gifts etc.



martrix said:


> Also started designing the new mill I will make for the 36" bar. Drew up the bar tonight.



BTW Nice bar drawing! I have been waiting for BIL to call me about the ally welding and my new mill. Might have to go around to his place this weekend with a couple of 6 packs to "help lube his mind".

Cheers


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## aquan8tor (Apr 26, 2007)

Nice rig. I've been thinking about something like that for my shop bandsaw. You've given me some ideas....

I'm assuming the clear (but dusty) duct over the blade is a dust collector of some kind? I'm cursed by the small shed syndrome as well, so I can't have a dust collector other than a shop vac. I'm working on getting 220V in the shed so I can have 2 seperate circuts---the new 1.5HP motor on the bandsaw takes a whole circuit by itself. Something like 17A draw. 


Did you use t-slot rod for the bar on the left side of the jig? Ah, I see rereading that its C-slot rot. Same idea. Very cool. You have any pics of the wood wetted to see the grain? Looks like it would be beautiful.


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## woodshop (Apr 26, 2007)

I love seeing how other people design jigs... thanks for showing us that. I do all my resawing of small stuff in the shop on my larger 2HP bandsaw rough, then clean up the "boards" on the jointer and planer. I find the flattest side and freehand that to start, then once I have a flat side, square it up to a cant. Your contractor saw design has 4 inches of blade height, but most standard 10" cabinet saws only have 3 inches of blade, which limits things a bit. As for flipping it over and thus getting twice the depth, I would think that works only if you have a pretty powerful motor, and also if you can flip the piece and position the "log" exactly on the second cut. With your jig you apparently can do that. Freehand it would be a nightmare, and would likely bind and throw it back at you. 

Ingenious jig though... thanks.


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## BobL (Apr 26, 2007)

Thanks for the feedback guys.



aquan8tor said:


> I'm assuming the clear (but dusty) duct over the blade is a dust collector of some kind? I'm cursed by the small shed syndrome as well, so I can't have a dust collector other than a shop vac.


Correct, the plastic hood/guard is polycarbonate, scavenged from the waste bin at work. The hood is suspended via an articulated metal arm above the saw. The arm is used to swing the hood above the saw blade and is connected to a stainless steel cable which runs on pulleys up to and across the ceiling to the side of the shed where a counterweight (large plastic soda bottle full of water) is suspended from the cable. The the height of the hood above the saw is controlled by where I position the water bottle. My dust collector is located outside my shed in an enclosure. The problem with using the rig is the hood can't be brought down too close so dust sprays everywhere.



aquan8tor said:


> I'm working on getting 220V in the shed so I can have 2 seperate circuts---the new 1.5HP motor on the bandsaw takes a whole circuit by itself. Something like 17A draw.



My table saw is 3HP so it draws a BIG current but fortunately we have 240V as standard in Australia.



aquan8tor said:


> You have any pics of the wood wetted to see the grain? Looks like it would be beautiful.


I'm in the process of polishing up some of the wood so I will post it when I'm done.



woodshop said:


> As for flipping it over and thus getting twice the depth, I would think that works only if you have a pretty powerful motor, and also if you can flip the piece and position the "log" exactly on the second cut.With your jig you apparently can do that.


I agree, a bandsaw is a superior tool for this sort of thing. My saw is 3HP so with a sharp blade it will make a 4" cut even in very hard wood. I don't worry too much about getting a perfect alignment when I flip it over because I then use a jointer to true up the face although I've had a lot of practice so I generally get it pretty close.



woodshop said:


> Freehand it would be a nightmare, and would likely bind and throw it back at you.


 Yep, I've tried the flip with with softwood - its nasty. With Hardwoods it's err . . . .   Never again!


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## Adkpk (Apr 26, 2007)

Can definitely use some of those ideas. Good one Bob. Thanks.


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## tribalwind (Apr 27, 2007)

pretty cool! very nice work
i love jigs and fixtures... 

alot of the craftwork i enjoy doing only requires small pieces of wood.
so things like this really interest me. i also like to use branches when i can.

i found this thing on harbor freight which seems like it'd be good for milling small pieces... i dont like that it requires putting screws into the face though,wasting a good part of it.... unless itd be possible to just screw into a small round log(not quartered like the pdf illustration) or maybe double-sided carpet tape would be sufficient on flat face going easy and carefully? 






http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92247

pdf
http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals/92000-92999/92247.pdf


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## BobL (Apr 27, 2007)

tribalwind said:


> i dont like that it requires putting screws into the face though,wasting a good part of it.... unless itd be possible to just screw into a small round log(not quartered like the pdf illustration) or maybe double-sided carpet tape would be sufficient on flat face going easy and carefully?



I'm with you in not liking to use screws unless there is no other way. 

I also don't see the point in using this sort of jig once the log is quartered. At that point I use a jointer and then use the conventional fence on table/band saw.

To hold even smaller pieces of wood I use this jig which uses the same double clamp action as my resaw jig. 





This jig is made from Al and Brass so if I slip and it hits a blade the damage is likely to be minimal. As shown the jig can be used to pass small pieces past a router or against a belt sander. The central block of Ally has a hole in it and enables this jig to be used in conjunction with another rig called a router pin jig. This enables circles of timber without holes in the centre to be accurately cut. A description of the two jigs is availabe here.

Somewhere I have an adapter plate that attaches to the jig and rides in T-Track for use on a band/table saw.


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## woodshop (Apr 27, 2007)

BobL said:


> This jig is made from Al and Brass so if I slip and it hits a blade the damage is likely to be minimal.



I too tend to make the metal parts of my jigs from aluminum and brass when possible for the same reasons, as well as the fact that of course they're much easier to machine than even soft steel. I also have been successful even using a very hard wood in place of metal in some situations. I use dense wood like persimmon (same family as ebony btw). It is hard, dense and homogeneous, and I have even been able to thread it with standard metal taps so I can screw small metal bolts up to 1/2 inch into it. As long as you have deep enough hole for the bolt threads to bite, and you're not holding up a piano that way, there are many situations where a metal bolt screwed into hard dense wood that has been tapped for it is plenty strong. I've done it many times with good results. Obviously, you have to fit it to the application and use common sense. Also, many of my jigs, even ones that require clamping and holding, don't use any metal at all. I make wooden threaded rod and matching sized nuts and incorporate that to hold my pieces in the jig. This jig pictured here for making small cheese cutting boards is an example. I clamp a roughly bandsawn blank to this jig holding it down with the four wooden rods/nuts, and then run the whole thing past a strait pattern bit on the router table. The result is a perfectly shaped little cutting board that only needs some light finish sanding and some walnut oil. 




(not trying to highjack the thread... but we were talking about jigs!!)


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## dustytools (Apr 27, 2007)

Nice jigs guys!


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## woodshop (Apr 27, 2007)

BobL said:


> The central block of Ally has a hole in it and enables this jig to be used in conjunction with another rig called a router pin jig. This enables circles of timber without holes in the centre to be accurately cut. A description of the two jigs is availabe here.



Bobl I really like the way that jig allows you to make small circles without any holes in the wood. I may have to "borrow" that one and incorporate it into my router table. Great idea. Question though... when you get to the end of your circle, doesn't that wooden circle, which is now free, catch on the router bit which would then maybe beat it around till you get everything stopped? I just envision that circle going ballistic next to that spinning router bit once it's free of the surrounding wood. I suppose you could get a few fingers in there to kindof hold it at the very end, but then you don't want to get your fingers too close to that bit.


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## BobL (Apr 27, 2007)

woodshop said:


> Bobl I really like the way that jig allows you to make small circles without any holes in the wood. I may have to "borrow" that one and incorporate it into my router table. Great idea. Question though... when you get to the end of your circle, doesn't that wooden circle, which is now free, catch on the router bit which would then maybe beat it around till you get everything stopped?



Hi Woodshop. (Nice jig BTW). I too love threaded rod so let me show you my experimental marking gauge.






RE: End of the circle - router bit beat up:
Well I though that would happen as well but after cutting a dozen or so none have been a problem. The thing is to pre drill a 20% bigger hole on the outside of the circle in which to start and finish the cut and not to try and cut the circle in single pass. So a 3/4" thick piece of hardwood I would do in maybe 3 to 4 passes with the last pass being a "wafer thin" pass - this means the bit is not cutting much and finishing in a slightly larger hole means it does not grab enough to spin the circle.


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## martrix (Apr 27, 2007)

woodshop said:


> Great idea. Question though... when you get to the end of your circle, doesn't that wooden circle, which is now free, catch on the router bit which would then maybe beat it around till you get everything stopped? I just envision that circle going ballistic next to that spinning router bit once it's free of the surrounding wood.



You could just use a few pieces of *Double-sided tape*. I use it heaps for jigs and holding very small bits of timber when using machines. Never had a piece come loose, its sticks like buggery!(< Oz slang )


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## woodshop (Apr 27, 2007)

BobL said:


> Hi Woodshop. (Nice jig BTW). I too love threaded rod so let me show you my experimental marking gauge.



Very nice... I like it... I like using the piece of natural edge wood like that. But now you have to tell us how you machined that little lip on the metal part of your marking gage. I assume it's to protect the threads when you're running down a board. Did you braze a piece on or machine the whole thing from a solid chunk of steel?


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## BobL (Apr 28, 2007)

woodshop said:


> But now you have to tell us how you machined that little lip on the metal part of your marking gage. I assume it's to protect the threads when you're running down a board.


Correct.



woodshop said:


> Did you braze a piece on or machine the whole thing from a solid chunk of steel?



It's made from silver soldered brass strips.

The cutting wheel is a reasonable quality steel cut from a large floor scraper blade. 

cheers


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## woodshop (Apr 28, 2007)

BobL said:


> It's made from silver soldered brass strips.


I don't know how to silver solder but I do have a cheapo HF milling machine with a rotary table. Thought I could start with say 1/4 inch thick aluminum stock and machine a lip on it.


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## BobL (Apr 28, 2007)

woodshop said:


> I don't know how to silver solder but I do have a cheapo HF milling machine with a rotary table.


Wow, that would be nice to have at home. We have a mill at work but as I am the boss I try not to use the shop at work too often else everyone would want to use it.



woodshop said:


> Thought I could start with say 1/4 inch thick aluminum stock and machine a lip on it.


That would definitely be one way of doing it.

Silver soldering is relatively easy. Clean joint, apply flux, heat (I use a MAP torch) touch solder on joint, done. Most people try to apply the solder before the joint is hot enough. It produces a surprisingly strong join, much stronger than lead solder but not as strong as brazing.


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## BobL (May 6, 2007)

aquan8tor said:


> You have any pics of the wood wetted to see the grain? Looks like it would be beautiful.



Here is what I made from those small Jam Logs that I milled. You should be abel to see the grain, parts have a very deep translucent fiddle - makes you wanna go back and get more.

















Velcro padded feet with removable sandpaper shoes





And this is what it is for.





Cheers


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## dustytools (May 6, 2007)

WOW! Thats one mighty fine looking push block.


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## woodshop (May 6, 2007)

Beautiful shop tool. I almost never take the time to put that much into something that I use in my shop myself. Same with shop storage. I see these guys that build heirloom quality custom cabinets to hold their tools and equipment. Most of the jigs and custom storage in my shop are functional, but rarely as beautiful as that holder. Do you sell these at shows maybe? Also, is that pushblock dedicated to a certain project or piece you make?


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## BobL (May 6, 2007)

Thanks Guys. It's sure is nice to have folk on this forum (where massive slabs of timber seem to [perhaps rightfully?] have the mega kudos) that can appreciate these tools. I am just a rank amateur and if anything I make goes to other people it's usually as gifts. If I had to make stuff to order or specification, that sounds too much like a day job and I would probably have a different hobby.

I have no real firm idea why I make tools like this other than the satisfaction of making everything I do as functional and attractive as possible. Why shouldn't shop tools and jigs be functional/attractive/tactile after all I spend a lot of time using them. Most of my milling is done with only a vague or non-specific milling purpose in mind. Sometimes I start milling with the intention of doing one thing and end up making something completely different. This wood was originally going to be a jewelry box but I changed my mind when I saw the grain. of course I haven't told my wife,who ordered the jewelry box, anything about this. When I saw that wood I wanted to be handling it as much as possible and a push block seemed a good tool to make with the limited amount I had of this wood.

The push block is going to be a generic pusher and not for a specific purpose. When making tools I often have to cut small pieces of wood and using push sticks is not really as safe as a push block. I've seen similar ones to mine for sale made in plastic and thought I could make one in a more tactile material. The 3 vertical boards (2 x 1/2" and 1 x 1" thick) on the push block are movable/interchangable depending on the width of the rip. I also have a 1/4" board in the pipeline. 

Thanks again and cheers


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## aquan8tor (May 6, 2007)

BobL said:


> Here is what I made from those small Jam Logs that I milled. You should be abel to see the grain, parts have a very deep translucent fiddle - makes you wanna go back and get more.
> 
> 
> 
> ...









WOW!!!!!!!!!! Nice pushblock. I'm embarassed to say that I just use whatever scrap I have when I need a pushblock. Nice work. The brass hardware really sets off the color and depth of the grain in the wood. Beautiful


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## aggiewoodbutchr (May 6, 2007)

BobL said:


> Thanks Guys. It's sure is nice to have folk on this forum (where massive slabs of timber seem to [perhaps rightfully?] have the mega kudos) that can appreciate these tools.



 

Massive slabs or not, quality speaks for itself... and I can "hear" it in your posts loud and clear, my friend. Very nice work.


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## ShoerFast (May 6, 2007)

This is so cool, I been free-handing my first cut, sort of glad me ol Craftsman is not the most powerful toy on the farm!
When it binds, it is not that hard to stop the blade, but yes, things fly around sometime. This is now a plan for a rainy day!


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## aquan8tor (May 7, 2007)

Hey Bob, where'd you get the bit to do the (sort of) keyhole recesses?? I haven't seen one quite like that.

Wait a minute; just thought about it. You cut out the round hole on a drill press then straight cut the slot.


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## BobL (May 7, 2007)

aquan8tor said:


> Hey Bob, where'd you get the bit to do the (sort of) keyhole recesses?? I haven't seen one quite like that.
> 
> Wait a minute; just thought about it. You cut out the round hole on a drill press then straight cut the slot.



Yep - you got it. Two saw passes were needed to cut the slot as it is a little wider than any of my blade kerfs. I tried to use a T-slot router cutter on this wood. I went VERY slowly, I got about 1/2" into a test piece and I snapped it off. It's just way too hard - a common problem with Aussie hardwood.

Drilling into this wood is very tricky. Any drill bit smaller than 3/8" wanders around (especially in the end grain) at the start like a feral supermarket trolley. It's the first wood I every had to use a centre punch on. Even once partway in the hole it could wander, hence some of the screws are not as straight and flush to the brass as I would like.

Even being careful and using a heavy duty drill press, drilling into a 4" piece of wood and expecting to come out exactly where you want on the other side is difficult enough in any piece of wood but much more so in this wood. For accuracy, the 3/8" holes are drilled from each side just under half way into the wood. Then using a thinner bit the two holes were joined and opened up using successively bigger bits. Because they have not aligned exactly some of the holes are a little wonky in the middle but you can't see this. I was going to flatten the sides of the hole that the nuts are in contact with using a fine chisel but they seem to be holding fine as it is.


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## woodshop (May 7, 2007)

BobL said:


> Drilling into this wood is very tricky. Any drill bit smaller than 3/8" wanders around (especially in the end grain) at the start like a feral supermarket trolley. It's the first wood I every had to use a centre punch on. Even once partway in the hole it could wander, hence some of the screws are not as straight and flush to the brass as I would like.
> 
> Even being careful and using a heavy duty drill press, drilling into a 4" piece of wood and expecting to come out exactly where you want on the other side is difficult enough in any piece of wood but much more so in this wood.


I have used an end mill bit, like that used on a milling machine in tough wood like that where drill bits wander. It is similar to a plunge strait bit in a router. If you keep the speed up, and slowly drive it into the wood, it will bore a perfect strait hole. Problem is those bits usually aren't very long, couple inches at best, and you need a real hefty stable drill press to do the job. I cheat and use a metal mill/drill machine. The wood doesn't stand a chance.


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## BobL (May 7, 2007)

woodshop said:


> I have used an end mill bit, like that used on a milling machine in tough wood like that where drill bits wander. It is similar to a plunge strait bit in a router. If you keep the speed up, and slowly drive it into the wood, it will bore a perfect strait hole. Problem is those bits usually aren't very long, couple inches at best, and you need a real hefty stable drill press to do the job. I cheat and use a metal mill/drill machine. The wood doesn't stand a chance.



My drill press is an MT3 so it is reasonably heavy duty but the main flexing was clearly the bits. After centre puncging I ended up using a 1/4" forstner bit with a 3/8" shank to start the wood screw holes but I could not go too deep because I then had to change to 5/32" to drill the rest of the hole. I drilled a couple of the holes and they went off at odd angles so I basically cut a 5/32" bit in half and only had about 3/4" of length poking out of the chuck. This sort of worked. Next time I'm going to use a centre drill bit as used on lathes to start the holes. These have short bits and thick shanks.


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## aquan8tor (May 8, 2007)

what about a pocket-hole type drill bit?? I'm not sure of the large diameter, I think its 3/8, but maybe 7/16. The point would sure make centering easy. I honestly have only used the jig I have a couple times, so maybe its not the best here. Just a random thought.


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## BobL (May 8, 2007)

aquan8tor said:


> what about a pocket-hole type drill bit?? I'm not sure of the large diameter, I think its 3/8, but maybe 7/16. The point would sure make centering easy. I honestly have only used the jig I have a couple times, so maybe its not the best here. Just a random thought.



yeah, they're 3/8" - good idea although I would like a shorter shank if possible.


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## ROOTSXROCKS (Nov 12, 2009)

Those are some great Jigs, I keep finding so many jewels of information here in the archives, I will be looking for more of this kind of stuff to give my puny rep points out to.


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## BobL (Nov 12, 2009)

ROOTSXROCKS said:


> Those are some great Jigs, I keep finding so many jewels of information here in the archives, I will be looking for more of this kind of stuff to give my puny rep points out to.



Cheers RXR! I enjoy making those jig, rigs and mills as much as I do the milling. I really like the process and experimentation, even more than I like the products they make. I make a lot of jigs and stuff I never end up using or sometimes I end up dissect them up for something else.


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