INCRA Jig - Manual (Page 9)

9
Fine-tune fence position and install template
To center the router bit on the test board, loosen the clamps
that secure the base panel to your router table. As you hold
the board against the fence, tap the base until you see an
equal gap on both sides of the cutter, Figs. 33 & 34. If your
test piece is thick enough, you can flip it over and repeat the
test cuts to confirm that the cutter is centered on the board.
Once you are familiar with the process, one set of test cuts
should do it.
Now that you have found the center of your board, you can
install the joinery template. Place a piece of template tape
to overlap the right side of the template near the end. Slide
the template into the receiving slot and align the mark
representing the suggested center cut with the end of the
INCRA Jig’s upper body. You’ll find the suggested center
cut listed under the diagram of each template pattern on
page 16. Hold the template in place as you press the
template tape to the lower body, Detail 33A.
TIP: Common cellophane tape works great too.
Now, let’s do
some joinery.
Fig. 34 Center board over bit
First: Hold centering
board to fence
Second: Loosen clamps and slide
base panel until you see an equal
gap on both sides of the cutter
(see Fig. 34)
Fig. 33 Align board with bit and install template
Third: Slide template
(lower numbers first) into
receiving channel.
Equal gap on both sides of cutter
Half Blind Dovetails
Half blind dovetails
Half Blind Dovetails
The easiest of the dovetail joints, half blind dovetails, add strength and
beauty to your projects. They are also the most versatile of the many
joints you can cut with your INCRA Jig. In fact, many of the decorative
joints we’ve designed over the years are just variations on the half blind
technique you are about to learn. Once you’ve mastered the steps
below, you’ll find these decorative joints (the Corner Post Dovetail on
page 11 and the Double Dovetail in the optional Master Reference
Guide and Template Library) quite easy to complete.
Install the template
After centering as shown on Pages 8 & 9, select and install the
Dovetail Template. (Refer to Page 16 and Figs. 33 & 33A).
Determine joint layout (pins or tails?)
The first step in making ANY dovetail, whether it be Half
Blind, Sliding, Through or Corner Post is to decide which
half of the joint will be the pins and which half will be the
tails. Refer to the instructions in Figs. 61 and 62 on page
14 to determine which series of cuts to use for each half of
the joint.
Cut the Tails
To cut the tails for a half blind dovetail, begin by cutting a
dovetail shaped rabbet on both ends of the two boards, Fig 35. The rabbet should be 7/32” wide as shown in Fig. 35A.
Don’t cut the full rabbet in a single pass. Instead, start with a light 1/32” scoring pass then use three or four light side by
side passes to sneak up on the final rabbet width. You can use the 1/32” scale in your INCRA Jig as a reference so
you’ll know how much you have widened the rabbet with each pass.
Fig. 33A
Fifth: Adhere template with a
piece of template tape
Fourth: Align suggested “Center Cut” mark
with rear of upper INCRA Jig body
Note: Template numbers
increase towards the back
of the INCRA Jig
Fig. 35 Cut dovetail shaped rabbets
Rout dovetail shaped
rabbet cuts on both ends
of the tail boards
Fig. 35A
Rabbet width
7/32”