I made this jig to help me cut checkers for a checker board.
When I built Giacomo’s Toy Box
I had planned to add a compartment under the lid to hold checkers for the
checker board. I never added that feature and, consequently, never
cut any checkers for it. But, I have two other projects
planned that involve making checkerboards, so I may actually use this jig yet.
The jig is just a fancy way to hold a dowel while I run it through
the bandsaw. When the jig is fully assembled, there is a slot in the block
of wood that allows the bandsaw blade to penetrate. Once the cut is made,
the blade is backed out of the jig (or the other way around…) and then the
jig is taken apart. One section of the jig has a forstener-drilled hole that
holds 3/8” of the dowel. That is how thick I wanted the checkers to be.
You just dump the checker out, reassemble the jig and push the dowel all the way
into the jig again. Then you’re ready to run it through the saw again and
cut another checker.
This jig is probably more of a testament to overdesign than anything
else. There are surely easier ways to cut equally sized checkers. But, this
does work and I actually kind of like the look of it and the way it all fits
together like some sort of puzzle. When people are in the shop they always
seem to ask what the heck it is when they see it. It’s worth keeping for
that reason alone, even if I never cut a single checker with it.
