Oh, I need to drill a bunch of holes, all the same, in 8 parts. What a pain! And, I need to cut these other 5 pieces all to match. What a hassle to measure, mark, and cut each one! Is there a good way to make the job easier?
How about a quick cheap fixture to speed things up? And, to make all the parts much more consistent.
Yes, I Need A Quick Cheap Fixture!
Holding parts in place for repeat operations is not complex, especially when it facilitates doing the same process over and over. Hey, just make a cheap fixture so you only have to measure and mark the first one!
Fixtures (or Jigs as some people like to call them) can be pretty simple, and they don’t need to be pretty. The image here shows a simple drill fixture. It is a small chunk of metal to clamp on one jaw of the vise. The vise is clamped to the drill press table, so the repeat drilling becomes a simple matter of switching parts. And, you don’t have to measure again.
In this case, I had to drill the same hole in 12 parts. So, I measure the first part carefully, then secure it in the vise on the drill press table. Start drilling by moving the vise around on the table until the hole is in perfect position.
Next, stop everything and carefully clamp the vise to the table. I use 2 clamps on the vise so it will not wander. (In this photo, they are the big silver clamp ends, but you can’t see the whole clamp in the photo.) The T-Slots are also a great way to clamp a vise.
Next, put the small piece of metal against the edge of the 1st part, and secure it to the vise jaw (see it here with the little orange c-clamp). With the vise secure in place, and the new stop piece secure to the vise jaw, simply remove the 1st work piece and put in the next. Hold it securely against the stop. While holding the new work piece in place, simply close the vise.
Is it easy? No measuring or marking is necessary for the remaining 11 pieces. Best of all, when the drilling is done, all the pieces are the same. That is exactly what we wanted, right?
Quick To Make, Easy To Use
If I take a few minutes to set up the jig, it does all the repeat measuring for me. Sure, it takes a few minutes to make it, but mostly it is pretty quick in comparison to all the measuring, marking and fiddling for all the repeat holes. With a jig, the pieces all come out just like the first – so take some time and set the first piece up perfect.
Since fixtures (or jigs) are a simple trick to make life easier, I use them a lot. Jigs and fixtures work for drilling, sawing, grinding, welding, and for lots of other applications.
It pays to be creative, too. Place an extension, or an extra stopping piece on the table, like in this second photo. The angle block (white-ish) is not usually for this kind of thing, but placed like this, it makes a perfect stop. This one cheap fixture worked on all 4 corners of these crane bolt plates because the hole positions are all the same relative to the corner. Even though the whole stack of plates were drilled at once, this fixture made it easy to just flip the stack, and keep all the plates lined up.
This is just another simple example of a cheap fixture for drilling, but the same can easily apply on a saw, or for grinding, or welding, or whatever.
Make A Cheap Fixture With Shop Scraps
As another example, the next photo shows a simple, cheap fixture for a chop saw. This is all made from scrap material from around the shop – a short bit of plywood, and some 2×4 scrap boards.
Screw the saw to a board like this piece of plywood. Mark the first piece carefully, then set it in perfect alignment on the saw. Hold it secure. (You can use a second person to help, or you can clamp it to the saw.)
The two additional pieces (2×4 wood chunks) screw together in an “L” shape. That “L” then made it easy to screw to the plywood at the correct spot – with the tall “L” end just touching the end of the first piece to cut. It is that simple.
Truly, the “L” boards did not need to be that long, but that is the size of scrap that was there in the bin. Run-Whacha-Brung is a fun moto we like to use.
Each piece to cut is now the same length just by pushing it up to the wood block, then cutting. For this project, 160 pieces of PVC pipe are all cut to the same length for an Eagle Scout Service Project.
Be Creative
Simple fixtures like those on this page will work for almost any type of cutting, drilling, welding, painting or sanding etc.. Just a quick way to repeat a process for several pieces – and make them all the same.
Here is another example using a chop. Rather than making a jig with a hard stop like above, this cheap fixture serves as a visible alignment. When cutting any length, I just align my mark with the edge of the clamped bar to know exactly where the blade will cut. I don’t have to pull the blade down to set the position of the workpiece.
Keep thinking, because there are a lot of ways to use these similar ideas.
Then there are more ways to avoid duplication of effort. See this other article showing a method which uses a first piece (or the mating piece) as the fixture for the second and more – in this example for drilling holes to match.
While the above emphasis is on fixtures for repeat operations, if the parts are big or if things are a bit wangly, a fixture to hold things in place for a single operation can also make a project turn out better. A good example is for welding parts together, like a trailer frame. Something like that requires many pieces all held in position at once – which is much easier with the right jig (or cheap fixture).
Yeah, all the setup can be a hassle, but it is worth the effort for better end results. Go for it.
Shameless Plug For Clamps!
By the way, I cannot say enough about the need for a variety of great clamps. C-Clamps, Scissor Clamps, Bar Clamps, and all the others too. They help with all sorts of things in the shop – perhaps especially for creating a quick, cheap, effective, and temporary fixtures.
Then, to manage all the excellent clamps, we have this article in our Solutions! category. Space saving storage solution for clamps with easy access. See the full Solutions! category for more great ideas.
Good luck making a cheap fixture for all your repeat and complex processes.
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