Here's a special collection of the best articles ever published in Fine Woodworking about a wide range of holders, helpers and guides no woodshop should be without.

Designed by woodworkers for woodworkers, these jigs will help you use table saws, handsaws and routers more safely and accurately -- to produce better finger joints, miters, mortises and more.

You'll find 57 practical, proven jigs -- tested, refined and perfected by hands-on woodworkers -- each one designed to help you perform crucial techniques more effectively.

In 116 information-packed pages, you'll discover some of the most ingenious tools ever invented -- plus all the advice you need to make them work like a charm.

Here's an example of what you'll find.

• How to choose the right materials, fasteners and clamps to make accurate jigs in a hurry
• A guide to creating shop-made table saw inserts to ensure safer, cleaner cuts
• Simple jigs that let you cut recesses for keys and splines
• A picture frame jig that guarantees a 90-degree joint
• Techniques for building six basic jigs for hand held routers
• How to create a shop-made sled and hefty push block for your router table to hold stock steady and eliminate tear-out
• Four bench jigs for hand planes that make it easier to do hand work

From cover to cover, Essential Shopmade Jigs features so many clever tools -- and valuable insights on how to use them -- it will become an indispensable reference you'll come back to time and again.

Basics

How to Make Jigs
Choose the right materials, fasteners, and clamps to make accurate jigs in a hurry.

Phenolic Plywood
This material's smooth, durable surface makes it ideal for building better jigs.



For the Tablesaw & Bandsaw

Zero-Clearance Inserts
Safer, cleaner cuts begin with shopmade tablesaw inserts.

Basic Crosscut Sled
A no-frills sled that will ensure square cuts.

Ultimate Crosscut Sled
This large sled and sled horse delivers the capacity of a sliding tablesaw for a fraction of the price.

Box Joints for Drawers
A crosscut jig and dado blade let you create quick and sturdy drawer boxes.

Two Tapering Jigs
One works with thin stock and sheet goods, the other lets you dial in the right taper.

Miters, Keys, and Splines
A picture-frame jig guarantees a 90-degree joint. Other simple jigs let you cut recesses for keys and splines.

Tall Bandsaw Fence
Support stock for resawing or slicing veneer.

Easy Tapered Laminations
One jig works on bandsaw and planer to make tapered plies a snap.



For Handheld Routers

The Basic Six
Build these simple jigs first.

Dovetail Jigs
The easy way to create a complex joint.

Versatile Mortising Jig
An adaptable clamping surface holds curved and straight parts.

Router Box
A jig for cutting angled or straight mortises in narrow stock.



For Router Tables

Five Workhorse Jigs
These simple jigs offer improved control and let you do more with the router.

Fences for Every Need
A basic fence with good dust collection, plus specialized fences to help tame tearout or cut complex profiles.

Routing the Ends of Narrow Stock
A shopmade sled and a hefty push block hold stock steady and eliminate tearout.



For the Bench

4 Bench Jigs for Handplanes
Make accurate handwork easier.

Miter Shoot
Fine-tune miters and mortise-and-tenon joints.

Jigs for Big Curves
Help when you need fair curves and ellipses.



Departments

Editor's Letter

Quick Tips

• Safe ways to rip thin stock
• Router template for mortises of many sizes
• Tablesaw support for ripping plywood

On the Market

• Practical jig for routing circles
• New dovetail jigs
• Precise pocket-screw jig

Q&A

• An aid to aligning box hinges
• Jointing without a jointer
• Cutting multi-sided shapes

5 Essential Jigs for the Router Table
Great fixtures and fences offer better control and new possibilities

By Peter Schlebecker

In a recent article, I wrote about the router table I built for the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship ("Rock-Solid Router Table," FWW #195), the school where I teach and manage the facilities. The primary goals of the design were sturdiness and a tabletop big enough to handle a wide array of workpieces and jigs. That article was about making the table; this one is about the accessories that go with it.

Easy to make and use, these five jigs and fixtures are some of the most useful router-table jigs at the school. With them, we repeat shapes consistently, quickly, and precisely. We make stopped cuts in angled workpieces, creating invisible and strong joinery. Profiling narrow stock is easier and safer. Edge-jointing a stack of veneers can be done effortlessly.

Of course, if you don't have a router table like mine, you still can use these jigs. But if your table surface is small, you may have to scale down the jigs accordingly.

Click here to download the complete article.