The author doesn’t get his fingers burnt with his latest router jointing jig

Finger joints are an excellent means of making small boxes, and a router in a table is a good way of cutting the joints. There are commercially available jigs for this, but like most of the workshop made ones I have seen, they mostly lack any form of guarding for the exposed cutter. I cannot see where my fingers are in relation to the cutter from behind the jig, so I wanted to make something that would be much safer, and also incorporate a facility for extraction. This design draws on ideas from many other jigs I have seen, and combines those ideas to make what I consider to be a safe, easy-to-use and effective jig. The jig is designed to fit my router table that was described in Woodworking Crafts, issue 13, and to cut 12mm fingers. It could easily be modified to fit any commercial or user-built table and altered to suit different sized finger joints.
Things you will need
- 10mm and 18mm MDF
- 2 x oak strips – 1 @ 20 x 20mm – 1 to be cut and planed
- Sharp bevel edged chisel
- Drill
- Mounting screws
- Clamps
- Router cutter
- Extractor or vacuum
- PPE
- Glue

Making the base







The fence
The fence is made using two 18mm MDF boards, biscuit jointed together. Take care to cut these square and be sure to make the biscuit joints as accurately as possible.

Any inaccuracies will be compounded when it is used to make joints.






Using the jig




Summary
And there you have it. A jig that enables you to make accurate joints whilst keeping your hands well away from the dangerous parts. Of course, diligence is required when working with any tools, so don’t become complacent whilst working with the jig.
Further reading
Words: Walter Hall