Shop jigs

Jigs that make a cut repeatable: sleds, a box-joint jig, thin strip and taper jigs, and a router dado jig.

A jig holds the board and the tool in a known relation, so a cut lands in the same place every time. Each lesson shows one jig at work in Sawdust, and every jig is a free plan you can build.

How to use a crosscut sled
Cut square crosscuts on the table saw, every piece the same length, with a crosscut sled and its stop block.
How to cut miters with a miter sled
Cut 45 degree miters that close a frame square, one end on each fence of a miter sled.
How to cut box joints with a box-joint jig
Cut evenly spaced fingers and slots on a dado stack, indexing every slot off the box-joint jig's key.
How to rip thin strips with a thin strip jig
Rip strips of the same width every time, with the strip falling away from the fence side of the blade.
How to cut tapered legs with a taper jig
Cut a taper along a table leg with a taper jig riding the rip fence.
How to rout dados with a router dado jig
Rout dados exactly as wide as the shelf that goes in them, with rails set on the shelf itself.