Project by shipwright | posted 01-14-2014 01:15 AM | 15342 views | 80 times favorited | 46 comments | ![]() |
![]() |
So this hand tool thing is starting to get out of hand.
I was making some full blind dovetails last week and thought I was doing just fine. I was actually but Patrick Edwards, hand tool guru, said I could do better if I had a miter jack. OK, a miter jack it is. So about two days and $25 worth of box store Oak (and a press clamp borrowed from my veneer press) later here it is.
This is something I have never even dreamed of, truly a creature of the galoot halls where guys like me feel like cowboys at the opera. That’s OK though, I’m here to learn. It turns out that this somewhat simple jig easily creates amazingly perfect miters. ...... who knew? ................and that’s not all. On the back side it serves the same function for 90 degrees. ..... and serves as a clamp for cutting / chopping the dovetail parts of the joint I was making before aiding in the production of the little miter on the corner.
I think I’m going to like this new friend. I’d like you to meet ….... Jack.
EDIT: I should mention I used a plan I found online, from Shop Notes.l
-- Paul M ..............the early bird may get the worm but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese! http://thecanadianschooloffrenchmarquetry.com/
46 comments so far
Druid
home | projects | blog
2205 posts in 4257 days
#1 posted 01-14-2014 01:27 AM
Ok, that looks perfect. So when are you going to start selling off your power tools?
-- John, British Columbia, Canada
boxcarmarty
home | projects | blog
17506 posts in 3822 days
#2 posted 01-14-2014 01:28 AM
Nice, I can see where Jack could be helpful around the shop…..
-- My mind is like lighting, one brilliant flash, then its gone.....
theoldfart
home | projects | blog
13139 posts in 3913 days
#3 posted 01-14-2014 01:29 AM
Iv’e seen a few in the antique stores, kinda pricey and needed TLC. Use plans of any sort or just winged it? I’m liking what I see and looking forward to a report on its use!
-- "With every tool obtained, there is another that is needed" DonW ( Kevin )
Joe Lyddon
home | projects | blog
10963 posts in 5514 days
#4 posted 01-14-2014 01:34 AM
Like a Fancy Shooting board?
Would it be possible to make some Inserts, etc. that would fit into your existing vice?
That’s COOL… never saw one like that before.
Thank you.
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: https://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/index.php?media/albums/users/joe-lyddon.1389/
grizzman
home | projects | blog
7836 posts in 4765 days
#5 posted 01-14-2014 01:38 AM
i wish i could spend some time with you , i see and my mind says wonderful, beautiful, , but then it says , but can you do this, i love having a tutor…it helps, but i guess i hae to be braver, and do, but…if you happen to come to alabama, i would love for you to visit, beautiful job..
-- GRIZZMAN ...[''''']
SPalm
home | projects | blog
5338 posts in 5344 days
#6 posted 01-14-2014 01:41 AM
Wow. You have really turned.
Did you use hide glue too? And I think it is missing your trademark logo on the end :)
I am missing something about these shooting board things. Doesn’t it get chewed up every time you use it? The plane will gouge (or at least plane) some of the wooden structure away.
Neat though. I could see liking that.
Steve
-- -- I'm no rocket surgeon
Woodwrecker
home | projects | blog
4240 posts in 5037 days
#7 posted 01-14-2014 01:45 AM
Can’t get a tighter miter then that.
Your new friend Jack is really something !
Napaman
home | projects | blog
5535 posts in 5539 days
#8 posted 01-14-2014 01:52 AM
that is cool! this one is going in my favorites (half is of your stuff)...
-- Matt--Proud LJ since 2007
Boxguy
home | projects | blog
2905 posts in 3729 days
#9 posted 01-14-2014 02:00 AM
Paul, when I get over “cowboys at the opera,” I may build one of these. Nice post.
-- Big Al in IN
jcees
home | projects | blog
1079 posts in 5261 days
#10 posted 01-14-2014 02:09 AM
Nicely done. I think I may have a few veneer screws sitting around somewhere… hmmmm…
-- When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. -- John Muir
gbear
home | projects | blog
545 posts in 5561 days
#11 posted 01-14-2014 02:46 AM
Looks cool but I don’t know how it works…I don’t know jack….
-- gbear, Carmichael, CA
Philip
home | projects | blog
1277 posts in 4001 days
#12 posted 01-14-2014 02:56 AM
Great post Paul! Don’t they call it a donkeys ear as well? That or I’m going crazy…
-- I never finish anyth
rance
home | projects | blog
4282 posts in 4622 days
#13 posted 01-14-2014 03:03 AM
I don’t know Jack either, but I can smell a galoot a mile away. And this sure smells galoot-ish. But it is so cute it just makes me want to build one too. Too cool Paul. I do agree, it is lacking a circle logo.
I can see where the Donkey’s Ear keeps the plane from changing the jig, however, Jack looks vulnerable to the plane.
-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--
Dan Hux
home | projects | blog
577 posts in 4836 days
#14 posted 01-14-2014 03:04 AM
very nice miter jack, it falls in line with the shooting boards and donkeys ear. They were once called “screw miter shooting clamp.”
-- Dan Hux,,,,Raleigh, NC https://whitdaniel.com
shipwright
home | projects | blog
8816 posts in 4260 days
#15 posted 01-14-2014 03:52 AM
John, no power tool clear out sale anytime soon I’m afraid, sorry.
Kevin, plans from Shop Notes. I added a link to the post.
Joe, you can add a cleat on the bottom to suit whatever vice you want to use. Mine seems to work well in the wagon vice.
Steve, of course it’s hide glue and yes the jig does get chewed occasionally. I asked Patrick the same question and he said that you just need to re-surface now and then. I can live with that.
Philip, check out the plan link. The dog’s ear is a little different and it’s included in the link.
Rance and Steve, OK tomorrow I’ll add my cypher.
Thanks all for the comments.
-- Paul M ..............the early bird may get the worm but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese! http://thecanadianschooloffrenchmarquetry.com/
View all comments »
showing 1 through 15 of 46 comments
Have your say...