Forming Brass / Mini Chop Saw Jig

[smac61]

Not sure if this is of any interest to anyone but I made a stoopid easy jig for the mini chop saw [LINK]. Works like a champ.

Drill into the side of quality plywood, as close to the edge as possible, with a 3/8" forstner bit
(Outer ply was removed in this photo)


Cut the outer layer off exposing the channel.


Play with the depth by sanding / cutting face to get your exposed length.
Probably better off doing this in step one while drilling. (unnecessary with the adjustable version)


Little pipe strap laying around for a guide.
I pulled the chop saw vice as it was just in the way anyhow, if you choose to do this,
make sure to fabricate a stop for the saw so as not to saw your base.
I just used the original vices knob with a spacer.


Ready to go!


Second edition - adjustable cut!


In use: http://youtu.be/ws5H9q3CTe8

[skidog556]

Pretty cool, easy too!

[Jailer]

I like the screw for an adjustable cut. I might just have to add something like that to my jig.

[Bob J]

Very cool! Thanks for posting this!

[smac61]

Very cool! Thanks for posting this!

No problem. I hope this thread can highlight all sorts of ways to make 300 BLK brass (inexpensively)

I am going to make a few minor adjustments that I'll post when done.

Jailer, tell us a bit about how your setup works. I'm guessing you index off of the front of the saw base looking at the overhang...

[Jailer]

Yup, indexes off the front of the base and the side of the saw vice. Makes for quick brass trimming. I can do around 12 or so per minute on average.

I made a short video showing how I do it. I went slow in the video so you can see how it's done.

http://youtu.be/5ukuy8CRfko

[L1A1Rocker]

This is the jig I built. I just center drilled a 2by2 with a 3/8 end mill and cut it in half. I've got the vise attached for a reference to measure against. I actually remove the vise when using this jig.

[smac61]

This is the jig I built. I just center drilled a 2by2 with a 3/8 end mill and cut it in half. I've got the vise attached for a reference to measure against. I actually remove the vise when using this jig.

Nicely done. I originally thought about securing my jig to the base as well but I'm finding I actually like loading the jig away from the saw. Dumping the finished brass seems a bit handier as well. Your method is probably the most economical in motions though.

Maybe I should run my saw continuous and down and run my jig along the guide like an upside down table saw?

Wheels turning...

[AR-300]

I have a bunch of M249 belt-fed links
just link up some brass
set the stop on your table/chop/jig saw and run it through!

[Wyldman]

Brilliant! Thank you for posting this. It has the wheels spinning in my head, too. When I first saw this thread, I had doubts about the mini chop saw, especially after reading some of the comments on the Harbor Freight & Amazon sites, concerning motors burning up. After seeing Jailer's video, I'm not too worried about it and have placed my order for the saw and started making the jig. This is going to be much easier, and cheaper, than any other solution I have seen.

Good job, guys, and thanks again for sharing!