Lock Miter Master - update

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Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
Yesterday I received a manufacturing proof copy of my new jig for setting lock miter bits. It was raw aluminum and had not received its colorful red anodizing, but it looked great anyway and worked fantastically. During the process of giving it a thorough wringing out, I came upon an additional capability! No release date yet, but it is getting closer!

A secondary set of reference lines on the Lock Miter Master allows you to easily create an offset locked miter joint- where the miter line is no longer at the corner. It can be shifted to either side of the miter line (see first pic) with a simple change in the setup before cutting one of the boards.

During yesterday's testing I discovered that if I adjusted the setup for an offset on both boards instead of just one, it would leave a nice little rabbet at the corner that can be filled with some type of contrasting colored spline up to 1/4" X 1/4" (maybe larger?). The insert can be left square or rounded. I didn't include a photo of the actual joint because it was hard to see so I drew it in SketchUp and added a spline.

Offset lock miter joint (dry fit) with a 1/8" offset:

IMG_4527.JPG


Drawing of lock miter joints with a 1/4" X 1/4" rabbet that resulted from dual offsets:

Dual_Offset_Corner.jpg


Dual_Offset_Corner-rounded.jpg
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Alan, as a proud owner of the IBox, I am very pleased to learn you are developing another useful tool; and based on what you have shared in this thread, I am already intrigued!

Cheers,
Donn
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
Will it do large and small lock-miter bits as well as 22.5 degrees?

Short answers: Yes and No.

Actually there isn't much difference in the sizes of available lock miter bits. The plan at this point is to make two sizes of jig so an appropriately sized table insert can be used. In reality, the smaller of the two jigs can be used to set ALL sizes of lock miter bits and shaper cutters on the market (unless there is a gigantic shaper cutter I don't know about). Lock miter bits actually come in a limited number of sizes and work over a very limited range of stock thicknesses- approx 3/8" - 1-1/4".

A 22.5° miter is a totally different animal than a 45° lock miter. It actually requires two bits to make which are sold as a set. I have actually designed a single bit that will cut 22.5° lock miters, though I haven't found a manufacturer for it. It makes a lock miter that looks a little different than what the bit sets cut. It would also need a different jig similar to the Lock Miter Master to set the bit and fence.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Cool - the set up issues I have read about so often is one thing that has kept me from acquiring a lock miter. From your description this looks like a(nother) winner.

Henry
 

Skymaster

New User
Jack
Now that iz interesting. Having a brand new lock miter bit for my shaper for years, this may just make me open the package :}:} Keep me posted.
Jack
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
hum is red a hint.... hint..... hint

i look forward to buying it they should put your name on the side of it

If red was a hint, it could be INCRA, Woodpeckers, Freud, hmmm any other manufacturers use a lot of red? Milwaukee? But red is not a hint. :) It will have my licensee's name on it. Hopefully my name will be on the packaging or manual somewhere.
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
Alan, It has been two weeks since your last update... any new updates??? Lol!

We made a few minor (cursor appearance) tweaks and froze the design. The first production run has been ordered, but don't know when they will be delivered. It does not require a complex milling operation. It probably takes more time to jig the material and un-jig the parts.

I've almost completed the paperwork and if I am able to get it submitted sometime tomorrow, hopefully it will be formally and legally, "Patent Pending" sometime next week! I've written an illustrated manual that will likely form the basis for a formal (online?) manual to accompany a video. I think I know who is/will be doing the video, but have no info on its status.

Release date? Soon?
 

Mike Wilkins

Mike
Corporate Member
Sounds like a winner to me. I tried to use this bit on one frustrating occasion, and put it back in the box. I will one of your first customers when it comes to market. Thanks in advance.
 

zapdafish

New User
Steve
Sounds like a winner to me. I tried to use this bit on one frustrating occasion, and put it back in the box. I will one of your first customers when it comes to market. Thanks in advance.

ditto. The bit to me is like a bit that cuts grooves for plywood. Sounds great till you actually try and use it and find out just how useless it is ( in my hands ).
 
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