end to end
Cutting elegant, end to end
dovetail joints, just got a
whole lot easier!
by Adam Black
he Joinaboard jointing jig not
only provides a quick and
easy method of joining wood
end to end, but in doing so produces
a strong mechanical joint that does
not rely solely on the strength of the
glue. When assembled, the neat, flush
dovetail joint produced by the jig
offers a very practical solution to this
problem as well as a highly
decorative one.
T
For practical purposes the Joinaboard
can be used simply for joining short
lengths of board together to make
longer boards. Any job that would
normally leave you with a pile of offcuts may certainly benefit from its
use, both in savings in the cost of
materials as well as in the time it
takes to complete it. Panelling,
cladding, decking or extending any
wooden structure can be now
carried out in a very professional
manner using strong reliable joints
and with the absolute minimum of
waste timber. Precision jointing with
the Joinaboard jig is very quick to
achieve because both halves of the
joint are cut at the same time.
The Joinaboard can also play a major
role in the area of decorative
jointing. Often a somewhat
contentious area, where the two
camps, one expressing the view that
all joints must be hidden while the
other is for exposing them, the neat
dovetail joint produced by the
Joinaboard offers an attractive
compromise between the two.
26
INProfile
By carefully planning the position of
joints when installing decorative
flooring or panelling, it is often
possible to emphasise the joint either
subtly or, by using timbers of different
colours or grain patterns, more
strikingly. In furniture design the joint
can be proudly shown off as part of
the delight of the object, while end to
end dovetails of the quality produced
by the Joinaboard jig, sit perfectly at
home within panels or table tops,
adding to the interest and attraction
of the piece itself.
The Joinaboard jig has several well
thought out features. The usual
problem of breakout is avoided by
cutting both pieces of timber with
their ‘face’ sides pressed
together. In use the
Joinaboard jig is clamped to
the workpiece rather than a
fixed bench (although this can
be done for some
applications). Therefore the
jig can be taken to the job
rather than bringing each
piece of timber to the
workshop or bench.
Supplied with the Joinaboard jig are
all the necessary parts that you
require including a 1/2 inch shank
TCT dovetail cutter, guide bush and a
comprehensive instruction book. All
you need to supply is a suitable 1/2
inch collet capacity router (if you
cannot fit a suitable guide bush, use
the Trend Unibase. This allows the
guide bush supplied with the jig to be
fitted to any router).
Using the Joinaboard jig couldn’t be
simpler, clamp the jig in position on
the wood, position the template to
suit the width and cut the joints. IP
The cutter tip is set to a height of 30mm
above the router base.
Autumn 2000