Popular Woodworking Feather board/Hold Down Scroll Saw Pattern.

This is a different type of pattern than I normally publish. This is not even my idea but I wanted one so I improved it a bit and made a pattern. I thought some of you could use it so I decided to publish the pattern.

Quick background. I watch a monthly YouTube woodworking show named The Highland Woodworker. It's a great show that I can highly recommend if you are a woodworker. In today's show, they had a quick tip for a jig from Popular Woodworking Magazine. They showed how to make an easy feather board/ hold down. They did not give a pattern but just showed how to freehand draw the pattern on a piece of wood. 

I use hold downs and feather boards on my table saw and router table because they make the cut safer and less prone to mistake.

I added Magswitches to the jig to make it more versatile. Magswitches are not cheap but they are fantastic accessories for making jigs. I'll give more details on the Magswitch below.

You can just eliminate the Magswitches if you only want to use the jig as a hold down.

If you will use the Magswitches you need a 3/4" piece of Baltic birch plywood. If you will not be using the Magswitches you can use 1/2" thic BB ply.

The holes are for the Magswitches and can be skipped if needed.

Use the appropriate length screws and attach the Magswitches.

That's all the is to it. We are now ready to use the jig.

In this configuration on the table saw the jig is used as a feather board. The Magswitches are plenty strong enough to hold the jig in place. Note that the table saw surface must be metal so the magnets work.

In this configuration on the table saw the jig is clamped to the fence and used as a hold down. I would not typically use it with the blade this far from the hold down. This is just a sample picture. It better uses is when you are cutting a thinner strip and need it to stay flat to the table.

In this picture, I have the jig on my router table and used as a hold down. I think this is one of the most useful configurations for the jig.

I'm back on the table saw in this picture. The jig is used with the miter gauge as a length stop for repeated cuts. 

I like this DIY jig mostly because I think it is an easier design than the typical feather board to cut out. I think it is also a bit more versatile.

Magswitch Magjig 95:

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If you are not familiar with a Magswitch here are the details. A Magswitch is a very strong magnet(95lb magnetic force) that can be turned on and off with the turn of a switch. They are installed in a 30mm hole with two screws. When placed on a metal surface and switched on they stay in place even under strong pressure. 

Magswitches are not inexpensive but they are very useful in woodworking jigs. 

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$12 per sheet of 12 coins plus $3.50 shipping

Inlay with a 1" Forstner Bit.

The perfect way to sign your work.

Video Demonstration Link

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Products for your consideration:

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If you use the DVD on a Windows PC there is a simple viewer program to browse through the patterns.

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Then I will show you the technique to take your photograph and make a pattern from it. When the pattern is complete we will go in the shop and cut it.

The DVD is $10 plus shipping. This is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial  

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