Quick Jigs for Flat and Square Glue-ups

Anyone who has glued up a few doors knows how frustrating it can be attempting to build assemblies that turn out both flat and square. As I’m working on a cabinet article for the April issue of the magazine, I’m happy to have a few quick jigs on hand that make the process much less nerve wracking.

The jigs are nothing more than a section of melamine outfitted with two plywood or hardwood fences screwed in place at a perfect right angle to each other. For the doors, I simply apply glue to the joints and set the assembly in place against the fences. Clamps are then applied so that they span from the outside of each fence to the opposite side of the workpiece. Because the fences are square, the door is guaranteed to be square.

In addition to helping ensure that the assembly is square, I also can clamp the door down to the jig’s surface, using it as a caul, to make sure the door stays flat. I’ve built similar jigs out of plywood, but the melamine tends to stay flatter over time, and the slick surface makes glue removal a snap (if you do go with plywood, make sure to wax all the surfaces).

I use these same jigs to glue up doors of all sizes, small boxes, drawers and countless other projects in my shop. With a little planning and the use of shaped glue-up pads (and/or fences), these same and similar jigs work well on curved assemblies.

After a particularly frustrating glue-up years ago, I spent $20 on a sheet of melamine and made a stack of these jigs in various sizes. Having them on hand has saved me tons of time and frustration over the years.

By the way, we came out with “55 Best Shop-made Jigs” last year. It’s a great CD that is packed full of jigs for your shop.  Click here to buy the CD now, which is currently on sale for $14.99.

– Matthew Teague