Mark2000

As several people have already commented, jig making is part and parcel of the craft. Would the use of a shooting board be deemed as cheating? If you can cut perfectly fitting mitres straight from the the tenon saw, or pare the long mitre of a secret mitre dovetail joint without a jig, then hats off to you.

As an amateur maker from across the pond, I have always enjoyed the problem solving aspect of the craft, and jig making for me falls into this. Even using an offcut with a 45 degree face to support my chisel as I cut a tiny chamfer on each corner of a desk I recently made. If you are confident you can pull it off free hand then fine, but I guess for most of us if there is a good chance of making a pigs ear of things without a jig, then we make one. Or as others have said its practise, practise, practise. It really depends on what you want to do.

As for Matt's jig, he is not the first to use this. There is a book by Robert Ingham a very well respected British cabinet maker called "Cutting Edge Cabinet Making" GMC publications - I think Taunten might be distributing some of their books in the US. Anyway - he uses a similar jig in perspex. He also uses a mix of hand & power tools to make some amazingly intricate boxes & furniture. For those of you who want to "cheat" I recommend this book as a great read, or for more "cheating" - Making Woodwork Aids & Devices by Robert Wearing - Again GMC publications. If you are proud of what you make and it's fun then that's what it is all about as far as I am concerned. Nothing like opening a can of worms though.