A recent email has me scratching my head about how people see things, so here’s a quick question: how do you feel about me updating the box joint jig plans? Do you think it’s a rip off of the people that have bought the first version? Voice your opinion in the comment section at the end of this page.

I have the floor at this time, so I’ll give my point of view. First, I don’t really have anything to gain from the update. In fact, I’m watering down my income from it since I’ve put time and effort into the new version, while the first version was selling just fine. It probably would continue to sell, so why go to the trouble of an update? That lies at the heart of what I try to do here: put together projects that are the very best they can be, within the parameters that I feel are important. If I come to a better way of doing something, I’ll do my best to pass that on. In the case of the box joint jig, that involves a complete rewrite of the plan.

Second, I believe in moving forward, and not sitting on something that is “good enough”. You might have noticed that the appearance of this site has changed since I first made it (if you’ve been here from the start). Those changes will continue to happen, as I get more experience with website design and bring the site in line with the way I would like it to be. The same goes for any of the projects I’ve done here – if I see a way to make an improvement that warrants a new version, I’ll do it. There are already examples of that here: two versions of the box joint jig (soon to be three…) and two versions of router tables. This has caused some confusion for a few people, in that they are not sure which is the newest version. This is probably caused by experience with a lot of other sites, where they have no dates on the projects. Each of my projects has the date it first appeared on this site on the lead page, top right hand side. I say this here, because I find myself answering email questions about this.
Finally, the last reason for the update is that I have changed the way I do the SketchUp model to reduce the size of the file that needs to be downloaded. This is beneath the surface, and does not change the way the plans look – they are nearly identical to the old version, except in a much smaller file size. This is important for bandwidth cost and a few people have trouble downloading larger files.

So, that’s it in a nutshell. Like I said at the top of the page, feel free to let me know how you feel in the comments section below. Most people take comfort in things that don’t change (I’m no different), but progress marches on whether we like it or not.
The progress that I try to make here is to improve the projects, plans and overall experience the user has, and is not motivated by the kind of cost cutting to give you less and charge more that most product manufacturers engage in.
With all of that said, the only plan that will be revised (at least for the foreseeable future) is the box joint jig. The other plans may be “re-engineered” to reduce the file size, but will be exactly the same.

Onwards, to other news. I have just finished my wall hung drill press cabinet:

I mentioned it briefly here (scroll down), but haven’t found time until recently to get started on the project. I stayed true to the original design for the most part, but went with two drawers as opposed to four.

The drawers are about 2-1/2″ deep, 19″ wide and 9″ from front to back. I made these 100% from solid pine, using up scraps left over from doing the pine floor in my house. These have some interesting design features that I’ll go over in detail in the project article (coming soon).
I don’t have anything in the drawers yet, as I’m still thinking about how I would like to divide the space. These will hold odd drill bits and other small drilling accessories.

The slat wall front panel turned out nicely:

“L” shaped strips that fit in each slot were made to completely cover the panel. As things are made to mount on the front panel, these strips will be used for that. There will be holders for the most often used bits and accessories.

I’ve already made the first: linear holders for my twist drill set:

These are so much more convenient to use than the metal index they came in. I can easily see the size, and just as importantly, easily take the out the bit I want to use. I’m not sure if this is the place I want them to be on the panel, but the beauty of the system is that I can move them wherever I want.
More on this, and other holders when the project is posted.