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.
The early bird gets the worm but its the second mouse that gets the cheese.
Thanks for the reminder. I had miter jack on my short list but got side tracked into other projects. Of course then I will have to make one of these saws to go with it:
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
That is a really neat tool/jig. In combo with a really sharp plane, true 45s and 90s. The video posted by Nathan really shows the abilities of this tool. The saw is the cats meow.
Through the years Tico Vogt has made miter jacks. Currently he doesn't show one, but Tico is a maker, and if you asked, and met his price I imagine he would make a person one
Currently the only place I am aware of that makes them, or has a working plan is Red Rose Reproductions
I would think that like Tico, if you asked Ron Herman about one, you could work something out. I think if I bought a used one, he would be who I would look at for one.
