Our team can't agree on jigs for making matching sets

Half think it's cheating, half say it's smart shop practice... what's your call?

3 comments

3 Comments

Come on, jigs turn craft into factory work. Where's the skill in clamping everything down and running a router? You end up with copies, not pieces. A real cabinetmaker can match parts by eye and hand. That pride gets lost when you rely on a jig for everything. Feels like cheating the craft itself.

vera_nelson381mo ago

Agree 100% with gavinmurray, jigs do make everything feel like factory work. Tried a fancy jig for drawer joints and it just felt like pushing buttons, no real skill involved. Miss the satisfaction of fitting pieces by hand where each cut shows your own touch. That pride totally vanishes when you rely on templates for every single step. Honestly, it turns a creative hobby into boring assembly stuff.

thomas_hall1mo ago

Calling jigs cheating is just wrong, honestly. They're basic tools to make sure parts match, like when you're building a set of chairs and all the legs need to be the same length. Using a jig saves time and cuts down on mistakes (which we all make, let's be real). It's not about cutting corners, it's about being consistent. Any good shop uses jigs for repeat work, that's just smart.

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