Project 14542EZ:

Shop-Made Dado Jig

Although it might look complicated, this jig is fairly easy to make. Made as directed, it
will handle boards up to about 12" wide. It can also be modified to handle larger boards
or to accommodate your router. Just remember that the router base runs on the two
fences, so their surfaces must be in the same plane and the heads of screws and bolts
must be recess out of the way.

Shop-Made Dado Jig Complete Schematic

Shop-Made Dado Jig Step-by-Step
Instructions
1. Cut the material to size.
2. Plane the surfaces and edges flat.
3. Make repeated cuts on the table saw to notch the fixed fence for the fixed stock.
4. Use a chisel to trim the notch shoulders for a tight, square fit.
5. Make a half-lap in the adjustable fence to bring its surface to the same plane as the
fixed fence.
6. Clamp a fence to the router base for routing all the slots in the stocks and fences.
7. Rout the narrower, through-slots, lowering the bit about 1/8" for each pass.
8. Rout the recesses for the bolt heads and T-nuts.
The little “clamps” are jury-rigged, but they work. The T-nut on the end of the blot
serves as a clamp pad; the jam nut keeps the pad from loosening as it bears against the
workpiece. Cut the adjustable stock so that the clamp can be retracted behind the edge of
the stock. As is often the case when making jigs, mistakes can occur. The extra notches
shown on the jig in the photos were a mistake, so you won’t find them in the drawing.

These plans were originally published in Volume 15, Issue 5 of The Woodworker’s Jour-
nal (Sept./Oct. 1981, page 28).