A drill jig holds material and guides the drill for accurate, repetitive holes. It can be custom-made from metal or wood and has a locking system to keep it in place. While it has lost popularity in mass production, it remains popular in home wood shops.
A drill jig does two important, repetitive jobs by holding material and guiding the drill for holes. This simple tool helps ensure accuracy when the same holes need to be drilled over and over again. The masks may already be made by a manufacturer or they may be made in-house. This drill press and hand drill attachment has lost its utility in manufacturing due to advances in technology, but remains popular in home wood shops.
There is no standard size or shape for a drill jig because it is custom made for an individual job. A jig is commonly made from a thin sheet of metal or wood and can be easily transported from one project to another. All jigs have two distinct characteristics that never change: they always hold and they always drive. There is usually a locking system on the jig, either to lock the wood in place to keep it from moving or to lock the jig to the wood so it doesn’t move. After it’s clamped down, the jig has a series of holes that show the drill where to make its incisions so that no matter how many pieces of wood you place under the jig, their drilling patterns will all be the same.
The jig usually comes to the user pre-made, or the drill operator has to create a jig himself. A pre-made drill jig guide is commonly supplied as part of a kit for a larger woodworking project. An example would be a simple jig that comes with a set of instructions for making a cabinet. Using a drill and a little ingenuity, experienced woodworkers who know their projects will require repetitive drilling can create homemade jigs.
Since crank or power drills have been in use, this jig has helped ensure a consistent product. Drill jigs have lost popularity, especially in mass production environments. Computerized mechanical tools such as the jig drill have eliminated the need for jigs because a drilling pattern can be programmed into a machine and the pattern can be repeated as many times as necessary. This does not mean that the drill is extinct, just that it is mostly found in the woodshops of amateur craftsmen. Jig drills are very expensive, so the drill jig will continue to be the guide for most home woodworkers.
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