What’s the secret to elegant curves, compound angles, replication, & seamless joints? It's not magic, it's jigs! Jigs can help you cut a circle, center a mortise, or cut a taper. A jig is any tool that helps you make something else, enabling you to repeat the same action exactly. And you make them yourself! Jigs can be a simple set up or a multi-day build. They are a woodworker’s best helper in the shop.
In this workshop, students will get an overview of just some of the many jigs found in a workshop: from crosscut and taper sleds to circle cutters and router jigs. While you won’t get a step-by-step to build any one in particular, you will get an understanding of the considerations that go into how and why you build different types of jigs.
The instructor will give live demonstrations of different jigs in use as well as a photo presentation of various ways that these jigs have been used in multiple projects. She will discuss materials, hardware, and resources to set you up for your own jig-making party.
Alicia is a furniture maker, design, and educator. She designs and builds custom furniture in wood and concrete in her studio in Richmond, VA. In her previous life, she was a Blackhawk maintenance test pilot in the Army where she served for 10 years. She sees woodworking as a collaboration – both with the material and with the user. After the military, she attended Vermont Woodworking School for two years, interned with Wendy Maruyama, and earned an MFA in Craft and Material Studies at VCU.
See more images of her work below, and also by visiting her website aliciadietzstudios.com or on instagram @aliciadietzstudios
