Go, Go, Gadget

I don’t like gadgets for my woodshop (or my kitchen) and find most to be a waste of money and space. Jigs, though? I love them and can’t get enough. 

Gadgets and jigs have the same purpose: making a single task easier and faster. Both are worthy goals; both promise to help you get things done, and both are typically inexpensive. I think what makes “gadgets” such a tacky word is an implied pedigree that includes such gems as the Salad Shooter, Flowbee, Veg-O-Matic, and Clapper. 

So, imagine my surprise when an ad popped up online touting a workshop gadget identical to, but far better than, a quick-and-dirty 90-degree drill jig I made myself a few years ago. I still use that jig, but seeing this new commercially produced gadget had me drooling. 

Turns out that, although I’d not run across them before, there are a lot being offered, some by familiar major tool makers. (Not a Ronco, Popeil or K-Tel among them.) Like my drilling jig, they use the same principle of having 90-degree holes that help you hold a hand drill at a solid, steady right angle. Place or clamp it on the workpiece, insert the drill, and boom: perfect hole. But wait; there’s more. 

Where my old jig was just scrap wood and subject to wear, these have hardened steel bushings set into sturdy resin, nylon or plastic bodies. Most have several common-size holes in a single line, with a V-groove or stepped stops on the bottom to align the guide on cylindrical workpieces or wood edges. Some don’t have the inline locating groove but instead offer a smaller number of steel bushings set up on adjacent angled sides, letting you drill holes at 90, 45 and 30 degrees. 

Now how much would you pay? Surprisingly, not much. Most of these drill blocks offering a half dozen or so holes sell for around 10 bucks or less. As you can see in the above image, I bought a few of them to run through their paces, and there wasn’t a lemon in the bunch. Wish I could say as much for every Pocket Fisherman someone has gifted me.