“In February, I will have a new version of my Advanced Box Joint Jig ready”
Well, not quite. This is why I’m not going to make promises like this anymore. The new jig will not be ready at that time, for various reasons. The foremost cause of the delay is that I have once again scrapped the plan and moved on to another one. Long story short, the new model will not use a shelf standard, and will not have any metal parts, other than screws and washers. This will be good news for many, I expect.

So, you probably want to see something real. Here are some pictures of the prototype:

I’m doing the changes on my old jig, rather than building a new one at this time. As you can see, the advance lever is much less complex and uses a wooden spring to return it to the ready position. Also, the locking blade in now made from hardwood, and is saw tooth shaped to self centre in the slots in the division plate.
The division plate is now solid hardwood:

The slots are cut straight from top to bottom, 1/8″ deep and a the width of a thin kerf saw blade (.060″).
I have tested this through many cycles and have not found a problem – it is very rugged.
Cutting the division plate will be similar to the previous model, but I’ve come up with a way to make it a lot easier to cut accurately. More on that soon.

As this is significantly easier to build than the previous model, I will be producing new plans for the smaller size as well, and these will replace the model that I currently sell. I will also make plans for a larger, heftier model, that is capable of cutting box joints in stock that is 24″ wide.

In other news, my plan to update the site once a month has not really worked, as you’ve probably noticed. I have instead been adding some minor content and still doing a weekly video, which I have posted on the home page. I think that this is a good way to go, and as for larger projects, I can post those when they are done. A good example will be the new box joint jigs, as I will be getting both plan sets complete, as well as construction videos and a full article on the bigger model ready before I post the project. As I said above, I’m not going to pin down any firm date as to when that will happen, but I can say that I am diligently working towards it. Stay tuned for other interesting project in the meantime.

Also, if you have been following this blog from the start, you’ll know that one of the major drains on my free time was getting my house renovations complete. I am happy to report that everything is now finished, and I am on track to list the house in early spring.
Of course, getting rid of this place will certainly not be the end of renovation articles on this site. Wherever I go will undoubtably need some sprucing up, and depending on where I get to, I’ll either be building a shop space, or building an entire shop, from the ground up.

It should be an interesting year.