The Importance of Attention to Jig Details

SINCE the design of drill jigs permits the adoption of an almost unlimited range of new ideas it is curious to note the lack of originality in the minor components. Most of the common accessories—clamps, screws, pins, bushings and the like—have remained unaltered for years. And yet, in all of them, there is some room for improvement. It is true that the measure of possible improvement is not great; often it is merely a pin here, a screw there, an alteration of an existing part, or perhaps only a rearrangement of some of the parts. But all these changes are within the scope of the operator himself; he should not wait for the jig producer to furnish him with ideas. As a matter of fact, if any little defect is allowed to continue unchecked it is the fault, not of the producer, but of the jig operator who, because he is using the jig in actual practice, is in the better position to see where it is wrong. At any rate, as far as the present writer can ascertain, nothing on this subject has ever before been published from the jig producing end. It remains, therefore, for someone at the other end—the jig operating end—to point out some of the defects of small accessories and how to correct them. These notes, although they chiefly concern the operator, are directed to the producer as well, because many of the ideas to be mentioned could well be incorporated in the jig before it is delivered to the shop.