I do not know of any other working medium that uses more tips and jigs than woodworking. There are so many tricks and adaptions that can be made to make woodworking easier and safer ... the whole thing could be an industry of it's own.
I have few favorite jigs and tips that I use all the time, and these are some of them that I find ... for what I do ... are very useful, but there are many more and I will present more of them at a later date.
My most useful jig is the 2 step, stop block. For some reason I see to use this a lot for making shorter and one or two dado cuts into something that I am making. It saves me so much time from the alternative which is bringing out and setting up my stacked dado blade set. For short, quick dados, this little jig is perfect.
My second most used jig is a simple stop block jig on the table saw for making exact cross cut pieces ... I know many people are going to say, yes, but why would you not do that on the sliding mitre saw or chop saw, and the answer is ...
.. for me, I prefer the table saw, and reason is, I can do it much quicker on the table saw because I do not have to wait for the blade to spin down each time, like I have to do on the sliding mitre or chop saw. You see, when you use a stop block on a sliding mitre or chop saw, the wood is cut so precisely between the blade and the stop block that many times if you try to lift the blade while it is still in full motion, it binds with the wood and can flip it out, or in some case even slightly move the stop block if it is not fastened very securely. It's just not a save practice to lift the a chop or sliding mitre saw with the blade in full flight.
Another one of my top woodworking ticks or jigs is my "C" clamps that I altered the handles on. I love these clamps now that I have figured out a way to quickly re-set them. There was a time I seldom used them because it was so tedious to wind them up or down, but now with the a couple of simple holes, I can stick in a screw or nail that I always seem to have laying within arms reach, and spin that clamp to where I need in seconds .. then I have an easiy-to-turn, wooden handle ... I love these modified clamps.
Copyright Colin Knecht
woodworkweb.com