Shopsmith Forums

Greetings!,

I am looking at creating some new jigs for my bandsaw, table saw and router table. These will include a few sleds for miter cuts and I'm going to try and make a jib for box joints. Previously, I've made jigs using MDF. Should I stick with that material or move to something like oak or ash?

Any advice would be helpful. I live in the dry climate of Colorado so I don't have to worry about high humidity. But, I do want to minimize any sort of warping if I can.

Thanks

One option is Baltic Birch Plywood. Personally for me MDF can be damaged to easily and if I am going to spend the time to make a jig, I want it to last, plus if using any screws MDF does not hold well.

I also use Baltic Birch. If I use wood other than plywood for some things it is hard Maple.

I second the motion for Baltic Birch. Very stable, can be finished for longevity. The stability, as ERLover mentioned, doesn't extend just to warping from temperature and humidity fluctuations, but to physical damage from accidental drops or tools falling on it, etc. It is my 'default' material for the types of jigs you mentioned.

Do you guys have a source for the Baltic Birch plywood. I can get it at our local big box stores but a lot of times it isn't flat

gatheringsplinters wrote:Do you guys have a source for the Baltic Birch plywood. I can get it at our local big box stores but a lot of times it isn't flat

I get mine from a local lumber yard. I have never seen a sheet of Baltic Birch plywood that was not flat.

Are you sure what you are looking at is BALTIC Birch and not ordinary Birch plywood. 3/4" Baltic Birch has 13 laminations. "Regular" 3/4" plywood only has 7 laminations. Baltic birch comes in 5' X 5' sheets not 4' X 8'. It is very dense and has no voids in the interior laminations.

The big box stores (Lowes and Home Depot) here do not carry it.

jsburger wrote:
Are you sure what you are looking at is BALTIC Birch and not ordinary Birch plywood. 3/4" Baltic Birch has 13 laminations. "Regular" 3/4" plywood only has 7 laminations. Baltic birch comes in 5' X 5' sheets not 4' X 8'. It is very dense and has no voids in the interior laminations.

The big box stores (Lowes and Home Depot) here do not carry it.

Ooohhhh... I'm sorry. My inexperience got the better of me. I was thinking Birch and Baltic Birch plywood were the same thing and that the laminations could vary depending on quality.

Gonna have to see if I can source Baltic birch plywood!

Thanks!

The big box store Birch, even sometimes when they call it Baltic Birch, usually isn't. I've read of Baltic being shipped in 4' x 8' sheets for American markets, but never actually seen it with my own eyes where I thought it was true Baltic. 5' x 5' sheets are the norm.

In the past, I got mine from Woodworker's Source, but they have to cut it to ship it to you, which isn't all bad, but depending on dimensions you need, can be a pain. For most jigs, though, it's not a problem, and they give you several cutting options. The shipping is a bear, though--runs me about $50 in shipping alone.

So, if you can find a good local source from a local lumberyard, that's the best way to go. You may be able to ask some of the smaller local cabinet shops where they get theirs, and they might point you to a local source.

gatheringsplinters wrote:

jsburger wrote:
Are you sure what you are looking at is BALTIC Birch and not ordinary Birch plywood. 3/4" Baltic Birch has 13 laminations. "Regular" 3/4" plywood only has 7 laminations. Baltic birch comes in 5' X 5' sheets not 4' X 8'. It is very dense and has no voids in the interior laminations.

The big box stores (Lowes and Home Depot) here do not carry it.

Ooohhhh... I'm sorry. My inexperience got the better of me. I was thinking Birch and Baltic Birch plywood were the same thing and that the laminations could vary depending on quality.

Gonna have to see if I can source Baltic birch plywood!

Thanks!

No need to be sorry. We all learn things all the time. As rubenjames said, try a lumber yard or local cabinet shops. They will know where to get it. If we have here in northern Utah I am sure there is a source around Boulder.

A lot of this depends on just what you are making. Jigs can be made from almost anything depending on what YOU are doing.

I use cutting boards, the plastic kind for some jigs. I use mdf for some jigs especially router jigs as it comes in 1/4" thickness and is stable enough that it works well for those applications. Hard board is another good and use able material but harder to find.

Regular plywood works well, again depending on what you are doing with it. In some cases it might be worth while to go to fancy stuff like Baltic Birch or Finnish Birch or Phenolic Faced Plywood. They all have advantages and disadvantages, cost is one of the down sides.

Oak, maple, even pine can work again it all depends on what you are doing. Things can of course be mixed with uhmw plastic and mdf for a sled and then you might add a face of maple and inserts of oak.

Some people like flooring for jigs, some of it has a nice hard surface which can be an advantage on some jigs.

I personally make jigs out of just about anything and I'm a big fan of jigs and make a lot of them. There are only a couple of things that I would not use, particle board and flake board are two of them.

As far a specific plywood, if you have something you want to make and don't want larger or need larger sheets then places like woodcraft and rockler sell the stuff and they ship it so it come right to your door. A lot of wood working stores besides the two I listed more then likely might have this stuff too but I haven't looked.

Ed