No-frills tenoning jig

[Alex Franke]

I finally got around to building one, pressed primarily by another project I'm working on that requires a lot of half-laps in 2x4's. At first I was thinking of building Black Wallnut's jig but I decided to take the easy way out instead and build a quick fence-riding one based on the picture in this BT3Central article (which I actually found through Google.) I didn't actually read the article because the diagram look pretty self explanatory.

It was really quick and easy to build and it works like a charm. Now that I have it I can't believe I didn't just take the time to make it before.

I used MDF mainly with a little scrap oak and a touch of scrap pine to make it easer to hold on to.

Not very pretty -- but it works great

Here's what I ended up with:

[jackellis]

Looks good enough to me. I also use scraps to make jigs and don't worry too much about appearances. Better to make ugly-looking jigs than to throw perfectly usable scraps in the trash (we're really big on recycling in our household).

[OpaDC]

Looks simple enough to do and functional. I do have one question about fence riding jigs though. Many people suggest toeing out the back of the fence a little as a safety factor. If you are making a tenon that is at full blade height (where actual cutting is along half the blade) will the cut still be even and straight along the whole cut? Or will it try to angle the board a fraction as it nears the highest point of the cut? Just wondering!

[Alex Franke]

Looks simple enough to do and functional. I do have one question about fence riding jigs though. Many people suggest toeing out the back of the fence a little as a safety factor. If you are making a tenon that is at full blade height (where actual cutting is along half the blade) will the cut still be even and straight along the whole cut? Or will it try to angle the board a fraction as it nears the highest point of the cut? Just wondering!

Gosh, that's a good question. I really have no idea. The cuts I made were about 3 inch half-laps, and they looked pretty good, but I didn't measure that carefully... I'll take another look tomorrow.

[John Hunter]

Love jigs! The simple ones like yours are always the best.

Looks very simular to the one I built from the plans here http://www.bt3central.com/articles/files/ten-jig.pdf It has worked very well.

[gary]

May I suggest a handle to keep your hands out of the blade.

[SARGE..g-47]

Looks good and will function fine, Alex. It's simple without adjustment on board as the adjustment it done quickly and easily with the fence. Probably a better method from a simplicity stand-point than an elaborate adjustment system, IMO,

I wouldn't worry about the toe out. When you are tenoning.. just how large is the stock. Not very is the usual answer. By the time the gig reaches a point that the toe out might come into play... the stock has already been cut. This is the same principle that allows to put a "short fence" over and existing long fence as on my Biesemeyer as I do always.

Again.. by the time the toe-out would come into play.. you're already done with the cut and should have already hit the kill switch or retracted the stock back toward you.

Nice jig...

[DonHo]

If the picture showed it mounted on a green "darkside" saw, I'd think Rod made it It looks good and I'm glad to hear it works well, I made one of the same design(except from plywood) for an upcoming project but I haven't used it yet.

DonHo

[mater]

As long as it works great is what matters. Good job.

[JimD]

I use a similar one except I added a handle and a quick release clamp - possible future enhancements for yours. I am thinking of getting Grizzly's tenon jig now that I have miter gauge slots parallel to the blade. I find it possible to tilt my fence riding jig and make the tenon slightly non parallel to the board if I am not careful. I also use a wooden fence face that I have to take off to use this sort of jig. It works, however, and the price is right.

Jim