OneTIME Tool - Exact Width Dado Jig - 2019 - Retired February 25, 2019
Blame it on imports, blame it on the metric system, blame it on lumber companies trying to squeeze more out of less…blame it on whatever you want, but there’s no denying that plywood and other sheet goods don’t come close to their “nominal” dimensions these days. What’s worse, the actual dimension is highly variable among brands, sheet type and country of origin. That means you can’t just buy undersized router bits anymore and hope they’ll cut a groove that fits. Woodpeckers newest OneTIME Tool, the Exact Width Dado Jig, solves the problem of making dadoes that fit properly by avoiding measuring altogether…just use the actual material you’re fitting into the dado as the gauge to set up the cut.
Exact Width Dado Jig
After a quick trim pass to match your router to the jig, all you have to do is fit your stock tightly between the edge guides and you’re ready to make a perfect fitting dado. Your router guide bushing follows the jig’s rails while the router bit cuts a dado perfectly matching the thickness of your workpiece. It’s that simple. No measuring, no test cuts, no scrap. If you’ve ever used a track saw and guide rail, this jig works similarly, …except double…the edge guides are on the exact cutting lines of both sides of the dado.
If your project calls for blind joinery, the easy to read engraved scale makes it fast and simple to setup. Separate built-in stops at each end of the jig limit the travel of your router. All you need to know is the diameter of your router base and how far back from the edge you want to stop the cut.
The precision stainless steel offset-scale will also eliminate the math normally required to compensate for the jig thickness. It has a notch equal to the distance between the top of your workpiece and the top of the jig, putting the zero point right where you need it.
All four corners have wide, stainless steel clamping pads so you can easily clamp the jig to the work piece. One corner is fixed with a 90 degree fence to keep your dado perpendicular to your workpiece edge, no separate square needed for setup. The guide rails are machined from the same solid phenolic used in our top-of-the-line router tables. The sacrificial edge guides will last for multiple dado projects and only need to be replaced if you change to a different combination router bit and guide bushing. Fully open, the jig will cut a dado 24-1/2" (62.23cm) long. You can close it down to cut a dado just 5” (12.7cm) long. You can rout dadoes as narrow as 3/8" (9.525mm) and up to 1-3/8" (34.925 mm) wide. There are replaceable, zero clearance blocks at each end of the jig to eliminate splintering and tear-out.
These blocks are simple to make yourself, or you can be ordered replacements from us. The jig comes with a precision-machined 1/2" diameter Porter-Cable style template guide bushing and a matching spacer (used for to make the trim cut on the sacrificial edge guides). If your router doesn’t use the PC style guide bushing, any other ½” guide bushings and 3/8” router bit combination will work. All hardware, the adjustable stops, the offset scale and offset indicators are made from stainless steel. In short, this is a bulletproof, lifetime tool that will keep your dadoes fitting perfectly for years, no matter what the plywood manufacturers do in the future.
Like all our OneTIME Tools, the Exact Width Dado Jig is only made to order, precisely machined and carefully inspected in our Strongsville, Ohio manufacturing facility. The deadline to order yours is Monday, February 25, 2019. Once orders are filled, this tool will be retired from our product line. Delivery is scheduled for June, 2019.
| Country of Manufacture | United States |
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