Finger Joint Cutting Jig By Walt Matthews - lmsw@iaw.on.ca
Walt Matthews simple finger joint cutting jig is just the ticket for the woodworker who wants a simple yet accurate way of cutting finger joints. He tells us about it below.
"This jig is a very simple
piece to make. I took a piece of 1/2" plywood 12" x
24" and made two sides square. With the short side to the
router fence I cut a slot 1/8" deep the width of the slot in
the router table. I glued in a piece of 1/4 mahogany which
protrudes past the front by 1/2".
With the long side to the fence, I cut a 3/4"W 1/8" deep slot. In this slot I put a piece of pine with 2 1/4" slots in it for 1/4" bolts. In the picture, this piece is the back piece.
I took another piece of 3/4" pine and cut a 1/2" slot across it and glued a piece of mahogany 1/4" x 1/2" wide in it. I also drilled and countersunk holes to accomodate 1/4 bolts.
Now I put the large bottom piece on the router with the key in the router slot and cut a long slot through the back 3/4" pine. Now I bolt the other piece of pine to the back piece, measured over from the key in the piece to the slot making it as close to 1/2" as I could. Now you can cut a slot through the front piece 1/2" x 1/2".
Final adjustment takes a little time to get the size right. Take a piece of pine or whatever you have and the first cut, you butt the edge to the side of the 1/2 key. Next cut, you move it over the key, make two pieces and see if they fit. You will probably have to tweek it a bit, but when you have the sizes right, you are set and no more adjusting.
This jig is good for 1/2" only like this, you could remove the front piece and make a front piece for 3/4" or 1" or whatever you like."
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