When making a batch of small crosses, I use a piece of wood usually no longer than 24" and a few inches wide. I plane it to the desired thickness of the crosses and then determine the optimal lengths of the vertical and horizontal (crosspiece) pieces of the crosses. Typically I use the Phi ratio for a good looking cross; that is another subject. On one surface of the board, I draw lines across the board usually alternating between vertical and horizontal pieces and leave "about" 1/16" between for eventual cutting on the bandsaw. I also mark the width of each dado to guide alignment on the table saw. I cut the dadoes to the chosen width of each piece, and the depth of exactly half of the board thickness.
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| layout of cross pieces (single line is center of dado cuts) |
After cutting dados across a board, the board is cut into strips the width of the dado. Each strip is cut around the dado either to the length of the vertical piece of the cross or the crosspiece. When cutting the crosspieces on the bandsaw, regardless of how well I have laid out the lengths of the crosspieces, I frequently do not get the exact length on each side. This jig solves that problem.
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| the original jig in use |
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| a simple refinement - 1/8" square key stock taped to table |
p.68
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