Building a Jig

by Carol
(Montana)

I am making a framed piece to hang in front of a window. It will be 28" x 34". Do I make my jig the exact size of the pattern? Or, should I buy/assemble the frame first and use it as my jig? I've bookmarked your site and hope to be visiting it often. It is very good!

Answer

Hi Carol,

I'll answer the second part of your question first. NO...don't use your frame for a jig. It would get terribly stained and just plain dirty from the flux, solder, patina, etc, plus it would be nearly impossible to construct your window in a frame.

Here's what you need to do:
Nail down two framing strips, one along the top or bottom and one along one of the sides along the outside lines of your cartoon. These strips are usually made of wood and should be about 1 1/2" x 1/2". If you're right handed, put the strips along the top and right side, if left handed do the bottom and left side.

When you're done constructing your window, put strips along the other two sides. They should fit flush up to the outside lines on your cartoon. This is the time to do some measuring, to make sure the window is "square" and the dimensions are correct.

Now you can solder, clean it up and patina the panel if using foil, or putty if using lead. Once the window is completely done, you can frame it.

You can see how it's all set up here. Scroll down to "Setting Up Your Cartoon".