# Takes a moment - Saves a hassle



## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

Jigs don't always have to be elaborate devices with lots of bells and whistles and even the simplest can increase your accuracy and simplify your task.

My current project uses three 1/4" brass rods that are one inch long and I needed to make a 3/16" long flat section on one end of each rod. I was concerned about how to hold them while I sanded the flat with my belt sander and how to get a consistent flat on each one.

The answer was a jig that took less than 10 minutes and a couple of scraps to make, ensured a consistent result, and enabled me to handle the rods safely and securely. 

I think you'll find making simple little devices like this (hard to really call them a jig) can make life in the shop easier and safer — even when you only need it for a few pieces. Well worth the few moments it takes to build one.


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## Harrison67 (May 30, 2012)

Nice job.

That is another reason I never throw away even a small piece of "Scrap".:dance3:


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

wish there was a KUDOS button....


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Yet another great idea . Thanks


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

Yep, another good one. Nice pictures too.


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Thanks for that Oliver.


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

How did you deal with the "brass dust"? It is 3% lead


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## RMIGHTY1 (Nov 5, 2014)

Great imagination & creativity Oliver. Thank you!!!


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## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

stick486 said:


> wish there was a kudos button....


+1


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## submariner (Aug 7, 2011)

How do you stop the brass from turning.


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

savoly11 said:


> How do you stop the brass from turning.


The rod fits tightly in the holder and turning wasn't a problem. Tight enough that I used a drift punch to push the rod out of the holder when the sanding was finished. If turning were an issue it would be easy enough to cut a slot in the holder and use a clamp, sort of like I did for cutting the tubular parts as shown here.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

I am glad I still visit this forum every day......so much to learn.

Thanks Oliver....


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## Goblu (Mar 5, 2012)

Great idea. How to do these things is always a head-scratcher for me, since I'm relatively new at this. But seeing it demonstrated makes a difference.


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## Roy Drake (Feb 10, 2014)

Thanks. I have a hard time imagining such things. I would use grindings in my woodturning as decorative fill for crack repairs. Roy.


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

why is the text in this thead spread out instead being confined to a single readable block and easy to read like the the rest of the threads and posts on thef forum???

Jerry


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## RMIGHTY1 (Nov 5, 2014)

Hi Jerry. Text is appearing normal to me in this thread. Strange if it only occurs for you in this thread. Otherwise I would say it is a graphics setting issue or your choice of font either in your puter or browser setting. Are you using a different browser than usual?


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