Had to choose between a dado stack and a router jig for a big run of cabinet shelves

I was building 15 identical bookcases for a library job in Springfield and needed to cut 200 shelf dados. My old dado stack was worn out, so the choice was buying a new $180 stack or spending a day building a router jig. I went with the jig, using a 3/4 inch straight bit and some MDF. It took me a solid 8 hours to build and dial it in, but every single dado came out perfect and identical. Anyone else ever go the homemade jig route for a big production job?

3 comments

3 Comments

andrew_miller9021d ago

What kind of router jig did you build for those 200 dados?

taylorlewis1d ago

Two hundred dados is just crazy to me. I can't imagine setting up a jig for that many cuts without losing my mind halfway through.

uma_nguyen2421d ago

Feel your pain, man. Cutting that many dados by hand sounds like a special kind of torture. Hope your jig holds up better than my last one did.