Beginning DIYers often ask about hacks to easily handle chores that have to be done multiple times in the process of completing a project. The answer is something called a jig. It’s a tool that’s used in conjunction with other tools to simplify their placement and use.
Some jigs can be purchased from tool manufacturers, but often the best ones are created at home using scraps of lumber you already have.
For example, a stop block jig can clamped to a miter saw to allow you to make numerous cuts at exactly the same length again and again. It even makes cutting multiple pieces at the same time possible. Multiple cuts along the length of a board, or rip cuts, are best made on a table saw. But you can also make them with a circular saw by clamping a 1×2 to the saw shoe, parallel to the blade. The 1×2 acts as a guide to offset the blade the perfect distance from the edge.
Installing cabinet hardware can be simplified with an “L” shaped jig made from several small pieces of wood. This allows you to drill holes for hardware in the exact same spot on every door, no matter which way it swings.
Jigs can be very time saving.
Hi Danny,
Love your show. We had new kitchen cabinets put in. Bad contractor, did not want him to finish job. My son put the knobs on, their placements were pre-drilled. But, the draw pulls placement was not. They are different highs, but all 30 in wide. We got the cabinets from Cabinets to Go. We are putting draw pulls on them 6 in. wide. Should I make a cardboard template?
Thanks, Charlotte Guile