A right angle joint jig for guiding the formation of a slot in a top surface of a wood panel and bolt hole in an end surface of the wood panel, the bolt hole aligned for a bolt to thread into a slot nut in the slot. The jig has a vertical front member that attaches to a front side of a worktable and a top panel that is pivotally connected to the front member from a horizontal use position to a raised position. An adjustable router guide frame attaches to a top side of the top panel to guide a plunge router in forming the slot in a workpiece placed on the worktable under the top panel. An adjustable drill guide attaches at the front side of the jig to vertically position a drill bushing for a drill bit to form the bolt hole in the workpiece.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a jig for modifying a workpiece to receive mechanical fasteners for joining the workpiece to another member. More particularly, it relates to a woodworking jig for modifying a piece of wood to receive mechanical fasteners for joining another member to an end or periphery of the piece of wood.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a right-angle joint jig comprises a front member, a top panel, an adjustable router guide frame, and a drill guide. The front member is adapted and configured to be movably connected to a worktable for locking vertical adjustment movement. The top panel is connected to and extends rearwardly from an upper end of the front member, the top panel being adapted and configured to retain a workpiece between a bottom side of the top panel and a top side of the worktable when the front member is so connected to the worktable. The adjustable router guide frame is connected to a top side of the top panel. The router guide frame is adapted and configured to receive a plunge router having a horizontally oriented base and a plunge router bit with a rotational bit axis at fixed position relative to the plunge router base, so that the plunge router base is disposed on a top surface of the top panel within an adjustable horizontal planar guide frame area circumscribed by the router guide frame. A horizontal range of movement of the plunge router so received and disposed is determined by the guide frame area. The top panel has a small enough vertical thickness dimension to permit the plunge router so received and disposed to plunge the router bit into the workpiece so retained to an operative vertical level below a top surface of the workpiece, the router bit being operable by the plunge router to remove material of the workpiece disposed in a path of the router bit at the operative vertical level through the horizontal range of movement of the plunge router so as to form a slot over an area determined by a diameter of the router bit and said horizontal range of movement. The drill guide retains a drill bushing and is adapted and configured to produce vertical adjustment movement of the drill bushing relative to the workpiece so retained between the top panel and the worktable and to lock the vertical adjustment movement of the drill bushing at a selected vertical position of the drill bushing in front of the workpiece. The drill bushing in the selected vertical position is adapted and configured to guide a drill bit inserted therethrough so that the drill bit is operable to form a bore hole in the workpiece at a selected position on the front side of the workpiece.

A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that elements of the figures above are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The dimensions of some elements in the figures may have been exaggerated relative to other elements to help to understand the present teachings. Furthermore, a particular order in which certain elements, parts, components, modules, steps, actions, events and/or processes are described or illustrated may not be required. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that, for simplicity and clarity of illustration, some commonly known and well-understood elements that are useful and/or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may not be depicted to provide a clear view of various embodiments per the present teachings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various examples of embodiments of the disclosed right angle joint jig and method of forming a right angle joint, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration various examples of the disclosed subject matter. Other specific arrangements of parts, example devices, systems, and environments, can be used, and structural modifications and functional modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the disclosed subject matter.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described herein, provided in the present disclosure is a right-angle joint jig and a method of using the right-angle joint jig to join two members together at a right angle using mechanical fasteners. By way of background, a common method of securely joining two members of a load-bearing structure, such as an article of furniture, is to form a bore hole extending through each member, align the bore holes, insert through a first end opening of the aligned bore holes a bolt shaft of a bolt, and connect a nut or other mating fastener to an end of the bolt opposite the head, at an second end opening of the bore holes opposite the first end opening. However, sometimes the desired configuration of two members to be joined does not provide any combined dimension of the two members that is short enough to be conveniently spanned by the length of a bolt. For example, in a typical right-angle joint between two generally “flat” wood pieces (i.e., wood boards or panels), a narrow “edge” face of a first piece abuts a broader “front” or “rear” face of a second piece, the edge face being normal to a long length or width dimension of the first piece that is longer than any practical length for a bolt. (For purposes of this disclosure, such a length or width dimension may be referred to as a “long dimension,” and directions extending along a long dimension as “longitudinal.”) In such cases, it is common to set a mating fastener transversely into a fastener cavity in the first piece formed at an interior point along the long dimension, where the mating fastener aligns with a bore hole that extends longitudinally into the first piece from the edge face. This allows the mating fastener to mate with a bolt that is inserted into the bore hole through the edge face. The fastener cavity is operative to restrain any longitudinal movement of the fastener set therein, while the bore hole is sized to restrain any transverse movement of the bolt set therein, so that the fastener and bolt are held in place in the slot cavity and bore hole, respectively, when inserted therein and mated together.

With reference toFIGS.1and2, there is illustrated a joint assembly of a pair of members connected by a right-angle joint, which can be formed using a right-angle joint jig according to this disclosure. In particular, the illustrated joint assembly JA comprises a pair of members A and B in the form of flat panels. For example, the members A and B can be panels of a suitable material for use in constructing furniture items, such as bookcases, sofa or bed frames, including for example murphy bed frames. Suitable materials for the members A and B can include wooden materials, for example, cut lumber or manufactured wood materials such as medium-density fiberboard (MDF) or plywood. As shown in the exploded perspective view ofFIG.1, a pair of bore holes BH are formed in each of the members A and B for receiving a bolt BT inserted into a front face FF of the member B, through a thickness dimension t of the member B, and into an edge face EF of the member A, along a long dimension LD of the member A. The member B preferably includes a countersunk area around its bore holes BH (omitted for ease of illustration) to accommodate a head of each bolt BT, and according to an embodiment, a suitable cap or cover (not shown) is inserted into the countersunk hole to conceal and/or protect the bolt heads once the joint assembly JA is assembled. The member A includes a slot ST for each bore hole BH, the slot ST being a downwardly extending cavity of generally uniform horizontal cross section corresponding to the shape of an opening of the slot ST on a top face TF of the member A and extending into the member A in a normal direction to the top face TF so as to align with and intersect the corresponding bore hole BH (as best seen in the top plan view of the member A shown inFIG.2), for receiving a slot nut N in the corresponding slot ST. In an embodiment, a peripheral space around the slot nut N in the slot ST can be potted/filled with a suitable adhesive/glue, such as after the corresponding bolt BT has been threaded into the slot nut N in the slot ST. Gluing the slot nut N in place in this manner can have several benefits, including reinforcing and stabilizing the right-angle joint, promoting durability of the joint by preventing shifting movement of the slot nut N or bolt BT that could otherwise cause wear of the members A, B and/or fatigue of the fasteners N, BT themselves, and facilitating reassembly of the joint assembly JA by preventing the slot nut N from falling out of the slot ST or becoming misaligned when the bolt BT has been removed for disassembly of the joint assembly JA.

Turning toFIGS.3-8, a right-angle joint jig10is illustrated. With reference toFIG.3, the jig10includes left and right front legs12a,12b,a top panel14, an adjustable router guide frame16, and a drill guide18. The front legs12a,12bare joined to a front side of the top panel14at laterally spaced apart positions, such as at opposite lateral sides of the top panel14, the front legs12a,12band top panel14collectively forming a base15of the jig10, the base15being attachable to a front side of a suitable worktable at a rear side of the front legs12a,12b.More particularly, the front legs12a,12bare pivotally joined to the top panel by hinges13a,13bso as to allow the top panel14to pivot upwardly and forwardly from a generally horizontal use position, in which the top panel14is parallel to a top side of the worktable so attached; to a raised position, in which the top panel14is inclined upwardly away from the worktable, such as by nearly ninety degrees or ninety degrees; providing clear overhead access to facilitate placement and desired alignment relative to the drill guide18of a workpiece on the worktable under the use position of the top panel14. The top panel14can then be pivoted downwardly and rearwardly back to the parallel use position, with a bottom side of the top panel14abutting a top side of the workpiece (which in a typical workpiece will be planar and parallel to a top side of the worktable, but use of the jig10with workpieces having other shapes, including irregular shapes, is not intended to be excluded from the scope of this disclosure) to align and stabilize the workpiece for boring and routing. In other embodiments not shown, front legs of a right-angle joint jig similar to the jig10can be fixedly joined at right angles to a top panel to form a one-piece base. In either case, the front legs12a,12b(or analogous fixed front legs of a one-piece base) are adapted and configured to be connected to a front side of the worktable with freedom of vertical adjustment, so that the bottom side of the top panel14(or analogous fixed top panel of a one-piece base) can be vertically raised to or above the height of a workpiece on the worktable, allowing the workpiece to be slid under the top panel to a desired position for boring and routing.

More particularly, as shown inFIGS.3and5, the front legs12a,12binclude open-ended slots20a,20bthat extend upwardly from their respective lower ends for receiving a pin of a corresponding vertical adjustment lock22a,22b(shown also to include twist knobs that screw onto the pin). The slots20a,20ballow the top panel14to float over a workpiece (shown as the member A of the joint assembly JA that was illustrated and described with reference toFIGS.1and2, also referred to here as the “workpiece A”) that is placed on a worktable T and aligned for drilling a bore hole and routing a slot as will be described in more detail below, while the locks22a,22ballow the vertical position of the top panel14to be fixed. For example, securing the locks22a,22bcan lock the vertical position of the top panel14with its bottom side at the height of the workpiece A, so as to passively clamp the top panel14over the workpiece A for drilling the bore hole BH. (In the illustrated embodiment, such passive clamping would fix the vertical positions of the hinges13a,13bbut rely on the weight of the top panel14to grip the workpiece A at positions displaced from the hinge axes; thus, as desired, active clamping can be provided by clamps58, as shown inFIG.3and described further below.) The locks22a,22bcan also be used to secure the top panel14at a vertical clearance position above the workpiece A, to allow the workpiece A to be freely moved horizontally for alignment with the jig10prior to drilling and routing, and/or to be freely removed from under the top panel14after drilling and routing, particularly in alternative one-piece base embodiments as described above, in which a top panel cannot be pivoted to allow a workpiece to be removed. In the illustrated embodiment, the worktable T includes horizontal sliding tracks23along its front face, to which the locks22a,22bmay be engaged, further allowing a lockable adjustment of the lateral position of the entire base15of the jig10when used with the worktable T or a similar worktable.

The router guide frame16includes a front guide member24, a rear guide member26, a left guide member28, and a right guide member30. The front and rear guide members are movably connected to the top panel14for locking forward and rearward position adjustments and the left and right guide members28,30are movably connected to the top panel14for locking leftward and rightward position adjustments. In the illustrated embodiment, position adjustments of the rear, left and right guide members26-30are provided by lockable sliding connections between each guide member26-30and a respective track segment32set into the top panel14. The front guide member24, on the other hand, is not connected directly to the top panel14, but rather only to the left and right guide members28,30. In particular, the depth (forward-rearward or anteroposterior) coordinate position of the front guide member24is locked to that of left and right guide members28,30, while the latter are free to move laterally relative to the front guide member24by respective slot joints34,36. In turn, forward and rearward adjustments of the front guide member24are provided by respective locking slot joints38,40formed in the left and right guide members28,30and connecting the latter to the top panel14. It will be understood that the linkage just described is one of many possible arrangements of front, rear, left, and right guide members and a top panel that would allow for locking forward and rearward position adjustments of the front and rear guide members relative to the top panel and locking leftward and rightward position adjustments of the left and right guide members relative to the top panel. For example, it could be a rear guide member instead of a front guide member that has its depth position locked to that of a pair of left and right guide members, while a front guide member is directly connected to the top panel by a sliding joint. In other embodiments, it could be front and rear guide members that have two lockable degrees of freedom relative to a top panel, one of the left and right guide members being directly connected to the top panel by a sliding joint, and the other having its lateral position locked to that of the front and rear guide members. In still other embodiments, each of four guide members could be directly connected to the top panel, each of a left and right pair of the members having one degree of freedom to move in a lateral dimension and each of a front and rear pair of the members having one degree of freedom to move in a depth dimension orthogonal to the lateral dimension.

With reference toFIG.3, there is shown projected onto the top panel14a base frame outline R of a plunge router (the plunge router having the frame outline R also being referred to here as the “plunge router R”), at left and right lateral clearances C1and C2and forward and rearward depth clearances C3and C4from the respective left, right, front, and rear guide members28,30,24,26. The plunge router R will be understood to be adapted to have a routing bit attached thereto that extends downwardly at a fixed position within the area circumscribed by the frame outline R, which can for example be the center of the area (not shown). It will be readily understood that the sum of the lateral clearances C1and C2plus a router bit diameter determines a width, and the sum of the depth clearances C3and C4, plus the router bit diameter, determines a depth (anteroposterior dimension), of a generally rectangular slot (with rounded corners of a radius corresponding to that of the routing bit used) that can be formed in a top side of the workpiece A by operating the plunge router R while moving it through a full range of motion permitted by the guide frame16. Likewise, it will be understood that the position of the slot can be adjusted without altering its width or depth dimension by shifting the left-right pair of guide members28,30together by an equal left or right lateral distance and/or by shifting the front-rear pair of guide members24,26by an equal forward or rearward distance. As shown inFIG.4, one or more rulers42(one shown, oriented laterally) can be set into the top panel14to facilitate measuring guide member adjustments in the lateral and/or depth dimension. Applying the foregoing adjustments, a user can set the guide members24-30plunge router R to form a slot through a desired area of a top side of the workpiece A. The top panel14includes an opening43to expose an area of the top side of the workpiece A to a routing bit of the plunge router R. The opening43can be sized to permit the formation of any desired slot within the exposed area. Alternatively, in embodiments, the top panel14(or at least portions of the top panel14in a region adjacent the opening43) can be formed of a “routable” material, such as a suitable wood material, that can be removed by the router R so as to expand the opening43as needed to form portions of a slot that extend beyond an area currently exposed by the opening43.

The drilling aspect of the jig10will now be described in more detail, continuing to refer toFIGS.3-5. With particular reference toFIG.5, the drill guide18is shown to include a housing44and a drill bushing46retained in the housing44. The housing44has a vertical slot48formed in its lower end which cooperates with an adjustment lock50(shown as a twist knob screwed onto a pin received in the slot48) to form a slot joint connecting the drill guide18to the worktable T with locking vertical position adjustment. As illustrated, the adjustment lock50is engaged to one of the horizontal sliding tracks23on the front face of the worktable T so as to also permit lateral positional adjustment of the drill guide18. The drill guide18can include alignment indicia52, such as lines marked or engraved thereon as illustrated. The indicia52can include vertical and horizontal lines on a front face of the housing44, the horizontal line extending from the front face over lateral faces of the housing44, and the vertical line extending from the front face over a top face of the housing44, each line extending to the rear side of the housing44to indicate the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the center of the bushing46. Corresponding lines or markings can be drawn on a front face of the workpiece A (not shown) to indicate the center position of a desired bore hole. Prior to lowering the top panel14onto the workpiece A (or otherwise clamping the workpiece A to fix its position relative to the jig10and/or the worktable T, as described below), the workpiece A can be moved manually so as to align its vertical or top surface line or marking with that of the indicia52, thereby horizontally aligning the center of the bushing46with that of the desired bore hole. Then, the vertical position of the drill guide18can be adjusted and locked using vertical adjustment lock50to align its horizontal line with that marked on the workpiece A, thereby vertically aligning the center of the bushing46with that of the desired bore hole, followed by drilling the a bore hole in the workpiece A with a drill bit inserted through the bushing46to form a bore hole centered at the desired lateral and vertical coordinates.

To help guide the positioning of the workpiece A for drilling and/or routing, the jig10can include a sight guide insert54as illustrated inFIGS.6-8. The sight guide insert54is shown separately inFIG.6as a disk made of a suitable translucent material (such as acrylic), having crosshairs56visible on or through its top surface (such as by being marked or drawn thereon or on its bottom surface). With the sight guide insert54set into a countersunk space on a bottom side of the top panel14(as shown inFIG.8) and the drill guide18mounted to a lateral position along one of the sliding tracks23to align the lateral coordinate of the center of the drill bushing46with a longitudinal (forward-rearward) one of the crosshairs56, a line or marking made on the top side of the workpiece A to indicate the desired position of a bore hole axis can be aligned with the longitudinal crosshair56to ensure that the workpiece A is correctly positioned laterally and correctly rotated in the horizontal plane (the latter may not be ensured simply by abutting a front side or edge of a workpiece against the rear side of the drill guide housing44or otherwise aligning the front side or edge of the workpiece laterally, as an end face of the workpiece may not be perpendicular to the desired bore hole axis, such as due to an imperfection resulting in the workpiece end face not being perfectly flat or not being perpendicular to its own lateral sides, and/or when it is in fact desired for the bore hole axis to be oblique to one or more sides of the workpiece) to align the desired bore hole axis with the center of the drill bushing46.

The jig10can further include one or more workpiece clamps, such as the workpiece clamp58shown inFIG.3or the workpiece clamps60shown inFIGS.4and5. The workpiece clamp58is connected to a top side of the worktable T and includes a clamping end59that is adapted and configured to rotate downwardly in a vertical plane so as to press down on the top panel14of the jig10when the clamp58is engaged, thereby applying a holding force to a workpiece positioned between the worktable T and the top panel14. When disengaged, the clamp58can be rotatable in a horizontal plane and/or movable along the track23in lateral directions to be positioned as desired for clamping down either against the top panel14or against a workpiece directly, when a portion of the workpiece extends beyond the lateral span of the top panel14.

Each workpiece clamp60shown inFIGS.4and5is connected to the worktable T in a fixed position at one end and includes a clamping end62that is adapted and configured to rotate downwardly in a vertical plane so as to press down directly against a workpiece that extends laterally beyond the lateral span of the top panel14.

A right-angle joint jig10′ according to another embodiment is now described with reference toFIGS.9and10. The jig10′ includes a front panel12′ and a top panel14′, the front panel12′ having a top side joined to a front side of the top panel14′ to form a base15′ comprising the front panel12′ and the top panel14′. The jig10′ further includes an adjustable router guide frame16′ movably connected to the top panel14′, and a drill guide18′ connected to the front panel12′. The base15′ is attachable to a front side of a suitable worktable T′ at a rear side of the front panel12′, such as with the front panel12′ affixed perpendicularly to a top side of the worktable T′ as shown inFIG.9. More particularly, the front panel12′ is pivotally joined to the top panel by hinges13′a,13′bso as to allow the top panel14′ to pivot upwardly and forwardly from a generally horizontal use position (shown inFIG.9), in which the top panel14′ is parallel to the top side of the worktable T′ with the base15′ so attached; to a raised position (not shown), in which the top panel14′ is inclined upwardly away from the worktable T′, such as by as much as nearly ninety degrees or ninety degrees. The top panel14′ in the raised position allows clear overhead access to facilitate placement and desired alignment relative to the drill guide18′ of a workpiece on the worktable T′ under the use position of the top panel14′. The top panel14′ can then be pivoted downwardly and rearwardly back to the parallel use position, with a bottom side of the top panel14′ abutting a top side of the workpiece A to align and stabilize the workpiece for boring and routing. It will be understood that the jig10′ as shown inFIG.9is particularly adapted and configured for stabilizing in this manner a workpiece of generally uniform thickness with generally planar and parallel top and bottom sides, such as the member A as shown (described and illustrated above with reference to joint assembly JA ofFIGS.1and2). In other embodiments not shown, a front panel of a right-angle joint jig similar to the jig10′ can be fixedly joined at right angles to a top panel to form a one-piece base. In either case, the front panel12′ or analogous fixed front panel is adapted to be connected to a front side of the worktable with freedom of vertical adjustment, so that the bottom side of the top panel14′ or analogous fixed top panel of a one-piece base can be vertically raised to or above the height of a workpiece on the worktable, allowing the workpiece to be slid under the top panel to a desired position for boring and routing.

More particularly, as shown inFIG.9, the front panel12′ includes open-ended vertical adjustment slots20′a,20′bthat extend upwardly from their respective lower ends for receiving a pin of a corresponding vertical adjustment lock (which is not shown but can for example be analogous to the knobs22a,22bof the jig10described above). The vertical adjustment slots20′a,20′ballow the top panel14′ to float over the member A on the worktable T′ to be aligned for drilling a bore hole and routing a slot as will be described in more detail below. For example, locking the vertical adjustment20′a,20′bof the top panel14′ with its bottom side at the height of the workpiece A, so as to passively clamp the top panel14′ over the workpiece A for drilling the bore hole BH. In the illustrated embodiment, such passive clamping would fix the vertical positions of the hinges13′a,13′bbut rely on torque produced by the weight of the top panel14′ to grip the workpiece A at positions displaced from the hinge axes; thus, as desired, active clamping can be provided by clamps analogous to clamps58as shown inFIG.3. Alternatively or additionally, a suitable clamp such as the clamps60shown inFIGS.4and5can be secured to one or more clamp mounts57on the front panel12′ such that the clamping end62is disposed to clamp down on the top side of the top panel14′ when the clamp60is operated, thereby locking the top panel14′ in its horizontal use position. Thus, by first locking the vertical adjustment20′a,20′bat a position wherein the top panel14′ in the use position is set with its bottom side at or slightly below the nominal height of the workpiece A above the table T′ and then operating the clamps60secured in such a manner to the front panel12′, the workpiece A can be clamped between the top panel14′ and the worktable T′ by the torque applied by the clamps60to the pivotal joints13′a,13′b, without the need for any clamp to be secured directly to the worktable T′.

As in the previous embodiment, the vertical adjustment slots20′a,20′bcan also be used to secure the top panel14at a vertical clearance position above the workpiece A, to allow the workpiece A to be freely moved horizontally for alignment with the jig10′ prior to drilling and routing, and/or to be freely removed from under the top panel14′ after drilling and routing, particularly in alternative one-piece base embodiments as described above, in which a top panel cannot be pivoted to allow a workpiece to be removed. Also similarly to the previous embodiment, the worktable T′ includes horizontal sliding tracks along its front face, analogous to the tracks23shown inFIG.3, which can receive an end of a suitable vertical adjustment locking bolt (not shown, analogous to vertical adjustment locks22a,22bshown inFIG.3) that extends through the vertical adjustment slots20′a,20′b, further allowing sliding adjustment of the lateral position of the entire base15′ of the jig10′ when used with the worktable T′ or a similar worktable.

The drilling aspect of the jig10′ will now be described in more detail, referring toFIGS.9and10. With particular reference toFIG.10, the drill guide18′ is shown to include a housing44′ and a drill bushing46′ retained in the housing44′. The housing44′ is retained by a suitable vertical sliding joint, such as the illustrated tongue-and-groove joint70, in a drill guide base64. The base64is affixed to the front panel12′ by mounting bolts that are tightened and loosened manually by respective knobs69. In turn, the housing44′ can be biased upwardly relative to the base64by a suitable biasing component such as the spring73.

As illustrated, each of the drill guide housing44′ and the drill guide base64is ruled to show a vertical adjustment position of the housing44′ relative to the base64, the base64being affixed to the front panel12′, the front panel12′ being in turn only pivotally movable relative to the top panel14′ and therefore fixed vertically relative to a bottom surface of the top panel14′ in the use position, which in turn is disposed at the vertical position of the top side of the workpiece A onto which it is clamped. Thus, the vertical position of the drill guide housing44′ relative to the drill guide base64determines the vertical position of the drill bushing46′ relative to the top side of the workpiece A. In a method according to an embodiment, precise vertical alignment of the drill bushing46′ is additionally or alternatively facilitated by a visual marking (not shown) made on a front face of the workpiece A. Such a marking can be aligned visually by looking through a center of the bushing46′ and/or by inserting a drill bit through the bushing46′ and confirming that a tip of the drill bit touches the marking on the workpiece A before beginning drilling to form the bore hole BH. The vertical adjustment of the housing44′ can be locked by tightening the knobs69to clamp the housing44′ and the base64between a clear panel insert65and the front panel12′ of the jig10′, as seen inFIG.9. When so locked, vertical adjustment by pressing down or pulling up on the housing44′ by hand is substantially prevented by a static frictional holding force applied to the housing44′ by the clear panel insert65. In other embodiments, a frictional holding force can be provided in another way, such as, for example, by adjusting a set screw (not shown) retained by one of the housing44′ and the base64so as to engage the other, or by applying a clamping force (by means not shown) to the upper ends of the U-shaped body of the base64so as to flex them towards each other to grip the housing44′. In the illustrated embodiment, the drill guide18′ further includes a fine-adjustment dial71. Rotating the fine adjustment dial71turns a threaded bolt to produce a sufficient vertical force on a fine adjustment nut75retained in the housing44′ (as seen inFIG.10) to overcome the static frictional holding force, thus permitting fine adjustments to be made after performing and then frictionally locking an initial approximate direct manual adjustment.

Lateral position adjustment of the drill guide18′ can be performed by sliding the entire jig base15′ left or right along the track of the worktable T′ and/or by moving the workpiece A left or right on the worktable T′ (typically with the top panel14′ pivoted to a raised position, or in an embodiment with a one-piece jig base, with the jig adjusted vertically to provide a clearance between its top panel and a workpiece on a worktable). To assist with lateral alignment in a method according to an embodiment, a guide marking72drawn on a top surface of the workpiece A is aligned visually with a guide marking74formed on the top panel14′ and with a guide marking52′ formed on a top side of the drill guide housing44′. Typically, and as shown inFIG.9, there may be a clearance gap between the guide marking52′ and the guide marking72, in which case a suitable straightedge (not shown) can be placed spanning the clearance gap to assist with visual alignment of the markings52′ and72, by aligning each with the straightedge.

The preceding description of the disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. The description was selected to best explain the principles of the present teachings and the practical application of these principles to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It should be recognized that the words “a” or “an” are intended to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any reference to plural elements shall, where appropriate, include the singular.

It is intended that the scope of the disclosure not be limited by the specification but be defined by the claim(s) set forth below. In addition, although narrow claims may be presented below, it should be recognized that the scope of this disclosure is much broader than presented by the claim(s). It is intended that broader claims will be submitted in one or more applications that claim the benefit of priority from this application. Insofar as the description above and the accompanying drawings disclose additional subject matter that is not within the scope of the claim or claims below, the additional disclosures are not dedicated to the public and the right to file one or more applications to claim such additional disclosures is reserved.