So I'm considering make an MFT-style top for a portion of one of my tables/workpaces in my shop. I thought about using a jig or template such as this one, but it seems like a ridiculous price for a low-usage jig.
Does anyone here have one to loan out or sell? It wouldnt be that hard to make one, I realize, but you don't know if you don't ask!
Looking for a MFT table template/jig
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Stick486
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Re: Looking for a MFT table template/jig
I made my templates from scrap lexan...
In your case use HDMW cutting boards from the dollar store...
use the drill press for the holes and the router table to finish...
drill the ends. rough cut the center out w/ your jigsaw. finish on the RT..
round over all edges w/ a bearing guided 1/16"R bit..
no sense bleeding all over the place...
for pins use shoulder bolts.
plenty of uses for them elsewhere....
.
In your case use HDMW cutting boards from the dollar store...
use the drill press for the holes and the router table to finish...
drill the ends. rough cut the center out w/ your jigsaw. finish on the RT..
round over all edges w/ a bearing guided 1/16"R bit..
no sense bleeding all over the place...
for pins use shoulder bolts.
plenty of uses for them elsewhere....
.
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Cherryville Chuck
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Re: Looking for a MFT table template/jig
When I drilled my work bench for dog holes I just marked the grid and using a large, cheap brad point bit that LV sold at the time I drilled just enough (maybe an 1/8" deep) to be able to register the bit in the hole with the bit in a guide (that obscured the hole). The guide was nothing but a piece of 4x4 that I had drilled with the same bit on my drill press. That guide allowed me to drill 2 to 2 1/2' down through my 4" thick top. You don't need a guide to finish the rest. That crude guide is accurate to fractions of a degree, provided your drill press is that accurate.
You can also make a leap frog jig with the guide attached to a thin piece of ply or panel and a second hole at the spacing you want. You either need a dowel the right size or a second bit to register the jig in the first hole to drill the second.
You can make a jig that uses a router to start the holes too. It's a variation of the same thing. You need a registration pin to move the jig from one hole to the next.
You can also make a leap frog jig with the guide attached to a thin piece of ply or panel and a second hole at the spacing you want. You either need a dowel the right size or a second bit to register the jig in the first hole to drill the second.
You can make a jig that uses a router to start the holes too. It's a variation of the same thing. You need a registration pin to move the jig from one hole to the next.