Built a jig for splicing billets

[Walski]

I have over a hundred pair of yew billets, and I've never spliced billets before, so I have a friend who's a cabinet maker, build me a jig.
It's a plywood sled with a fixed block of wood, that I add a spacer to and then a wedge to make the three cuts for a Z splice.
I first make sure the side of the billet that goes against the fence is relatively straight and flat (about 10"), clamp the billet so it doesn't move, and I get a perfect cut every time.  You may have to fine tune the two billets for a clean line appearance at the end.
I have a photo of the underside of the sled showing the guide attached, that fits the track on my bandsaw and a stop for the length of the cut.
I hope you find this helpful, because I couldn't find a design, except for the one shown in Billet To Bows from St. Charles, that I didn't know how to build.

[Walski]

More photos

[bownarra]

You can't beat a nicely cut handle splice Being able to splice billets quickly and accurately is a real boon. It looks like you got plenty of wood to go at!

[TimBo]

OK, so you make the first cut with just the block, then a parallel cut using the spacer, then connect the two cuts by using the wedge, right?  Sorry I am a bit dense...it took me a minute to think that through!  Thanks for posting - it looks like a super helpful jig.

[mmattockx]

That's a pretty slick piece of tooling. I am going to keep this in mind if I ever end up having to do a bunch of splices.


Mark

[Markus]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,25117.msg337701.html#msg337701

[Walski]

Markus, I like your jig better then mine, thank you for posting it.