Beadlock jig-what a pain

[Mike S.]

I'm in the process of building the coffee table for SWMBO. She seen the one Bruce Johnson made on TV and liked it so that's what I'm making. Anyway finally used the Beadlock jig and not sure what I did wrong but almost ruined the project. I did as the directions said and marked the legs and rails and then drilled the holds in two of the legs and the side rails. When I went to dry fit them everything was way off and cocked. All the holes were one hole off and it was crooked. I had to eyeball and re-drill a extra hole in the side rails to make it fit. Almost turned the oak into scraps. Still don't know what I did wrong. I guess next on the shopping list will be a mortiser and tenon jig.

Mike S. [e-mail]

[Justin]

I'd suggest looking at the kreg pocket hole jig. Granted that it's not exactly fine joinery, but i've found mine to be a quick and simple way to produce very strong joints. It's very well suited to the rail / leg joints you described. Here's their site :

Justin.

[TomL]

Mike, try again on some scrap to figure out what you did wrong. Odds are that the tool didn't make the mistake. Beadlock works well .....as advertised.

TomL

[Ace]

I love my BeadLock and Kreg Pro Pack jigs. I had to practice with my Beadlock. One thing I had trouble with is my tennon pieces had swollen up and were hard to get in the mortice slots, so I put them in the microwave for a few seconds to shrink them up. The same thing happens to biscuts too and you have to hammer them in or shrink them.

[Jim Ray]

Mike:

We sell the BeadLock and would be happy to walk you through its usage. Just give my tech department a call at 1-800-443-7937 - ask for Darin.

Jim Ray, President McFeely's Square Drive Screws