Shop Made Or Store Bought Fences And Jigs?

[cabinetman]

I'm always amazed at what the marketers come up with to do woodworking. Not too many years ago, there was zilch available as for fence selection, and basically jigs in general.

Shops that work daily for most of the days of the week, and sometimes on Sunday, made fences and all jigs. Some that are now available are real pretty to look at and make a shop very impressive looking. Some of the capabilities of these fancy toolings are likely not ever experienced. But, there they sit...ready to use.

I will say that I'm all for a "T" square type table saw fence. It can make a tablesaw a fast and accurate cutting machine. When the Biesemeyer first came out, it was expensive, and I had my doubts as to whether it would be worthwhile for the price. It took about 5 minutes to decide it was a good buy...(almost a necessity).

So, the question comes up (lets say by the hobbyist), should money be spent on other type fences, like the band saw and the router table? Can an efficient fence or jig be shop made to do what a hobbyist needs to do?

.

[pelligrini]

Both, depending...

Some of my stuff is shop made, some of it store bought. Before I purchase a manufactured fence or jig I'll take a look at what it will take to make something similar. Hardware costs come first, then construction, alignment, reliability, features, etc.

An example is my Dubby taper jig. I was just starting to assemble the parts & hardware needed to construct a shop made version. It went on sale at peachtree for a pretty decent price. I might have saved a few bucks in hardware costs if I built it myself, but the time saved on the design and construction was worth it.

I would love to have a nice jessem Mite-R-Slide & fence for my router table, but I can't justify the cost right now. (It sure does look cool though ) My MDF fence and jigs do what I need.

[Mountie]

For what its worth, as I'm fairly new to woodworking, I recent posted regarding whether-or-not to buy a dado set or go with a router and jig for cutting Dados...I was all set to buy a store bought Dado jig for my router at the cost of $89.00 plus the shipping to Canada (about $115.00 total)... after the posts of other board members I figured that I could build my own jig for far less that that, and I was amazed at how many variations of that jig there were...I know now, that I'll search this board and the net before purchasing a "store bought" jig again....

That being said, you'll have to pry my "store bought" Collin's coping foot and my Crown molding mitering jig, from my cold, dead hands.....

[Cochese]

Depends on the price.

I was very happy with my MDF fence for my router table, but Rockler had a sale on a split fence that I couldn't ignore. Was cheaper than trying to make it myself.

[JR]

A timely question, C'man!

I spwnt an hour at Woodcraft yesterdy, piecing together the parts for a drell press table. Then I spied a nice manufactured one over by the tools. The pieces came to within $20 of the ready-made one and I still hadn't bought plywood.

OTOH, I am now building a bandsaw table and fence from Shopnotes.

So there you have it.

JR

[JSUPreston]

Honestly, I get so little time in the shop that I usually will by the jigs so that I can spend more time on the project at hand. However, if I need something immediately that I can rig up pretty quickly, or something quick and cheap like a saw board, I'll make it.

[eezlock]

shop made or store bought fences and jigs

Cab, I make and use all of the jigs I have for use in the shop. I enjoy making these just
about the same as making a "real" project...a lot of satisfactionfor me. I have the
Delta T-2 30" fence and rails on one of my saws, a lot better
than the standard one that came with the saw from the factory.I did a lot of measuring
changing, additions and checking to make it work on the saw.....but once mounted
works like a dream!

I make and use crosscut sleds, tenon jig, and a Norm inspired tall, auxillary
fence for the saw.All of them work as well as any others I have seen. If I had
known about a pocket hole jig boring angle I would be tempted to make one of those...but
the HF model that I have does a superior job for me! All in all,
I would say that shop built equipment is just as reliable and trustworthy as store bought stuff is.

[Richard in Smithville]

There are so many publications on shop jigs and fences that you have to wonder why anyone would ever buy a ready made jig? I have a small number of books and magazines on contruction of jigs and I find that so many of them need a higher skill level to build the jigs than to make the projects. For some there is no choice but to buy the actual fence or jig.

Now saying that, I have a few friends who are profesional woodworkers ( custom builders, speakers, authors) who subscribe to the "KISS" idea. They have shared proven ideas that not only work great in the shop, but they are so easy to build and can be made with out costing as much as the tools themselves. ( Of course certain jigs and fences are purchased- they're pro's remember).

[smorris]

I both buy and make my jigs. Some things like a tenon jig I buy because of all the moving parts and accuracy and repeatability of those parts in movement. The deciding factor to me is often can I make a jig that does what I want cost effectively vs buying it and how immediately do I need it. If I can build it in an hour then I'll make it and move on with the project instead of waiting days for delivery or spending longer driving to buy it then it would take me to make it.

Sometimes you can't even buy what you want such as the jig for putting staples in plantation shutters. I'm sure I'll use that jig again but not anytime soon.

[cabinetman]

Sometimes you can't even buy what you want such as the jig for putting staples in plantation shutters. I'm sure I'll use that jig again but not anytime soon.

You're so right about that. I made a hotel lobby bar that had to be locked up at a certain hour. I made plantation shutters to clad the bar front and as shutters to enclose the bar from the bar top up. I first checked out farming out the shutters. The shops making them only used pine and weren't tooled for Red Oak. It took a while to make a workable jig to rout the stiles for the slats.

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[twistsol]

With my travel schedule, gutting and rebuilding the house, and three teenage daughters, I have so little shop time that I buy when I can. I have, however, dedicated all of new year's day to shop improvements. I need to build a sheet goods rack, drill press table, and finish my cutting table and if there's time, a new table for the RAS. For me, the deciding factor is always time. To buy or build, it has to be online or a minimum 2 hours round trip to pick something up. If I can build it with what I already have in the shop, I do that.

I ordered the hardware kit for the drill press table kit from T-TrackUSA in December of 2004 (not a typo) and it's been in a box behind the drill press ever since. I've been using a piece of MDF for the table and a 2x4 for the fence. 90% of the time it works; it is really frustrating when it doesn't, but by that time I'm involved in another project and don't have time to deal with it.

[bthere]

I don't get nearly enough shop time these days, but I do build jigs. I am another who enjoys building the jigs. My wife sometimes thinks that I only build shop related stuff and will never get around to her projects.

That said, I am something of a tool junkie and will get something if it is better than I am willing to make it, or I can get it really cheap, or sometimes just because I think it is cool. For instance, the Incra router fence system that I was able to get for a really low price. I don't need it since my shop made fence system does all I need, but the Incra is pretty impressive.

[jackellis]

I build some and when it makes sense, I buy others. I picked up a couple of featherboards in a collection of garage sale parts that cost $10 or $15. I've made featherboards too (one sitting on the floor that's missing a tooth). I'm in the process of building a sharpening station for the Scary Sharp method using some scraps of cedar.

As others have also pointed out, making jigs and fixtures that work well has a satisfaction all its own.

[Bruce Cohen]

Yo Cab,

In a serious answer to your question, a lot depends on how much coffee I have had that morning. There's stuff that's way easier and faster to buy (if I have the money at the time), and there's jigs that are for only one operation, no way will I find that anywhere. Also specialized jigs may only be used for one project and then religated to the "Gee, should I toss that" pile.

Making jewelry boxes usually requires small parts, therefor small jigs (yes, size does matter), and there is just no way to "double duty" a jig for large pieces, like bars or dining room furniture.

The best thing, I save money on wood, small stuff even if sometimes I have to make it 3 or 5 times to get it right.

Happy New Year,

Bruce

[cwsmith]

Money doesn't come easy and I have to maximize where I can. To that end, I buy the "basics" and then build my own jigs or add-ons.

For example, I purchased the Rockler router table kit, which consisted of the top, plate, and fence, and then built my own leg set, sled, etc.

Similarly, for the DP I purchased their table top and fence, but I didn't like their mounting method and designed my own, as well as stop block, table inserts, etc.

Looked at a few designs for cutting raised panels on the table saw and then designed one specifically to utilize the advantages of the SMT on the BT. (As soon as I get a chance, I'll take some pictures and post.)

"Rubeing" is fun (apologies to "Rube Goldberg") and when I get the time, it's fun to see what little I can do to improve a work process or come up with a way to do something that I might not be able to accomplish otherwise.

Usually, my little jig's or add-on's aren't necessarily pretty, but function is more the objective. I always think that I will go back and dress things up a bit, but time seems all to limited.

CWS