ShopBot’s New Edge Clamp Joinery Jig

When we talk about CNC machines, we most commonly think in two dimensions with it. Where the whole spoil board here is intact, and we're used to looking at stuff being machined on the flat, on the CNC router. What we've got going here with ShopBot is a really cool addition to a CNC machine, and it lets us get our pieces mounted vertically. And it really changes the dynamic in an amazing way of what we can do on this machine. So, as an example. Here's a very cool joint that I created. Maple on this side, walnut on this side. And using software, created this design, allowed it to cut through so we can see the end of that tenon through the face of the walnut. Could do this because the maple piece was clamped vertically in the jig the walnut clamped horizontally, both at the same time, much the same way a dovetail jig works if you're familiar with that. Similarly, this joint with oval shape tenons. So one of the things that's really cool about this is that using the design software, we can make any shape we want here. These could be Xs or Os, or candy canes or Teddy bears, or whatever design you want, we can pull off here on the CNC machine. So here's how all of this comes together. The jig of course is fixed into the machine. We locate a piece vertically. There's a stop I'm working against here, that's part of the location. Locate our piece horizontally. Now, prior to you coming today, I already zeroed my X, Y, and Z. So once I have this set, we're gonna be ready to go. Set is, they're flush across the top, they're aligned here. They're aligned, the walnut is aligned against my vertical stop over here. And we are ready to run. Isn't that cool? I love the ability, one, with a CNC, we can do this work, walk away and do other things while the CNC is doing the joinery for us. And two, again, using your design software, the shapes, the myriad of shapes that we could create here to get amazing looking joinery. Now, a couple of qualifiers. There is dust collection, of course, for the ShopBot. And when we shoot video, we leave it off so that you can see the cool stuff that's happening down here. The other thing is that, with this particular arrangement the way it's set up now, what I'm lacking here is just a hole in my work surface, in my ShopBot table here that would allow me to project longer pieces down. So it's not a limitation of the system. All we need to do is create a recess in the table and then we could have pieces as long as you want with this end grain work being done in. And then. We get that. I love the look of that, and introducing those ovals, that little organic shape there. Cool looking joint and lots of surface area. So really, really incredibly strong. I'm convinced that the more you use this joinery jig, the more the ideas are gonna pop, where you come up with more and more innovative solutions and innovative designs that'll make your woodworking projects that you produce on your ShopBot CNC really original, really strong, really unique.