# Thinking about making this Universal Hold Down Jig



## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

What do all think about the versatility of this jig? It seems to do many things at once. Some of the things I would use it for are
1. Jointing
2. Tapered legs
3. Angle cuts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SW580dHgls


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*That's pretty basic*

I made a straight line rip jig that is as versatile as the one you posted , but it uses toggle clamps for the hold downs which are pretty quick to snap on or off.

It's good for straight lining or angle cuts also:

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/straight-line-rip-jig-40532/


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

I love making jigs and fixtures. That one looks useful. I've seen some of Jays ideas and they have good intentions but fall short on fit and finish. So be sure to use a good cabinet grade plywood. Dump the T nuts and dorky wooden blocks and use some store bought knobs made by Hillman. You can find them at Lowes in the hardware isle with all the drawers.

Al


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

Al B Thayer said:


> I love making jigs and fixtures. That one looks useful. I've seen some of Jays ideas and they have good intentions but fall short on fit and finish. So be sure to use a good cabinet grade plywood. Dump the T nuts and dorky wooden blocks and use some store bought knobs made by Hillman. You can find them at Lowes in the hardware isle with all the drawers.
> 
> Al


Tha was my intention. :smile: I have plenty of hardware from Rocklet and Lowes and HD. What I was going to do was to incorporate 2 horizontal slots..one at each end of the board. That way I can install or keep on the jig a long board. Most of the uses would be with the long board for jointing or doing tapered legs.

What are your thoughts on Melamine for the board? Just asking because I have a bunch left over from another project.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

It needs better nuts. He has to have a wrench to tighten or loosen. The plywood clamp is bowed,which means it puts pressure only on the edge of the work piece. Using a spacer thicker than the workpiece would solve that.


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## bauerbach (Mar 25, 2012)

Id consider putting a few little pads of the material they put on push pads, to help increase the friction between the wood and the sled.

nice simple idea, maybe a bit limited in its capacity for specific sized material. I would think you could drill some holes in a normal table saw sled to attach those clamps if you wanted to save space and add function to a jig you already have. Yeah, you have to screw the clamps into place when you want them, but you probably have to rearrange them in that one anyway.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

Thanks for the input. As stated earlier..I was going to improve/modify the design to fit my needs. I can not incorporate this into my TS sled because I will be usiing it for tapered legs and jointing.

Instead of threading the rods from the bottom I was thinking of using threaded inserts that bottom out in the sled. That way all you do is insert a rod and handle. A lot quicker and cleaner.

As well, I was going to put a groove at each end so a long bar can be moved back and forth. Either as a hold down for jointing or the fence for tapered legs.

Picture a Rockler tapered leg jig with the mods I mentioned above. A hybrid of the Rockler and the one Jay did.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Having used a few of these the rocker design looks to be pretty versatile and easy to use, can't make the wheel much rounder.:icon_smile:


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

FrankC said:


> Having used a few of these the rocker design looks to be pretty versatile and easy to use, can't make the wheel much rounder.:icon_smile:


Yeah, I know:smile: I have to make a jig anyway so I figured it would be based off of the Rockler jig and I will just throw in a few 5/16th inserts along the way in case I want to add to it. Figure it woould not hurt and may help someday.

Thanks


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

mengtian said:


> Yeah, I know:smile: I have to make a jig anyway so I figured it would be based off of the Rockler jig and I will just throw in a few 5/16th inserts along the way in case I want to add to it. Figure it woould not hurt and may help someday.
> 
> Thanks


Rockler sells most of the fittings separately but it may not be much of a saving over the complete unit.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

FrankC said:


> Rockler sells most of the fittings separately but it may not be much of a saving over the complete unit.


 I already have plenty of hardware for jigs.


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## peridigm (Dec 29, 2014)

I made the bent metal pieces shown in the rockler jig with some scap flat bar, a blow torch and some liquid plastidip. The home centers all sell small pieces of metal too. It just needs to be something more than 1/16" so it holds it's shape when tightened down.


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## TrevortdogR (Feb 1, 2013)

I'm going to make one like this one, will be much cheaper than buying one. 
http://woodworking.about.com/od/woodworkingplansdesigns/ss/TaperingJig.htm


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