Yardstick Paracord Jig

Intro: Yardstick Paracord Jig

This tutorial will show how to make a simple Yardstick Paracord Jig made entirely from a....... yardstick.
It uses approximately 32 inches of a yardstick which can be found at your local hardware along with a few other supplies. Its very portable, light and compact.  It is adjustable from 4 1/2 to 10 inches. The general idea for this jig was not completely mine, however the use of using ONLY a yardstick is. I have not seen one anyhow. I hope you have fun making this as I did.   

STEP 1: Materials and Tools

Materials:

1 - Yardstick
1 - 1 1/4 inch bolt and wingnut
2 - Cable clamps
1 - Side Release Buckle
2 - 1/4 screws
Glue

Tools:

Handsaw
Drill
Drill Bits
Miter Saw

STEP 2: Step 1

Cut the section of yard stick as shown.
This will be the top of the jig and used to
measure your bracelets as you make them. 

STEP 3: Step 2

STEP 4: Step 3

STEP 5: Step 4

STEP 6: Step 5

STEP 7: Step 6

Here I used a Square to keep the cut straight and another piece of yardstick to hold the piece I was cutting down to keep my fingers away from the blade. Hold the piece being cut down firmly or it may move causing an unstraight cut.

STEP 8: Step 7

STEP 9: Step 7

STEP 10: Step 8

Predrilling prevents wood from splitting when putting the screw in.
The 1 1/4 inch bolt and wingnut will be used in the next step so the hole behind the clip will need to be drilled all the way through. 
In the photo the buckle does not look flush althought it was.

STEP 11: Step 9

Use the 1 1/4 inch bolt to hold the 2 inch piece and the longer bottom piece together. This will be your adjusting screw for make your bracelets. At this point your jig is complete and ready for use. I lightly sanded the edges and with medium sandpaper which is optional, but makes it feel much better in the hand.  

STEP 12: Finished Jig

Comments

[BurnerJoJoDancer]

Took about an hour. Great Instructable! Thanks!

[AL1EN]

Nice! But I do have one question. Why not just cut 2 pieces 13" long (or as long as desired), then only add 2 1" pieces to it?

[RuthS88]

The reason you wouldn't just cut 2 pieces at 13" is that you need to use the yardstick measurement markings. The first inch markings would be covered up by the 1" piece at the end if you just cut it 13".

[ccmain57]

This is very cool. I'm going to get the materials and make one today.

Thanks C

[chilihook]

Made this jig in 15 minutes for about $5. Cut down on my time making this bracelet by 20 minutes. Thanks for the instructions!

[Crafts101]

thank you so much! You just saved me $15

[Infidel8654]

Only saved you $15 if you already had everything to make this simply lying around the house and you don't figure in the time it takes. To go out and purchase all of the needed parts this is only saving you about $9. During the time it takes to make one of these I can make a few paracord projects and net a whole lot more than $9. And then read all the comments from those who've made this and found out it only works for one size of buckle, so I guess it's good if you only make one thing.

[Sickman99]

What else can you use besides glue to put the small blocks on the yardstick I don't want to wait for it to dry

[cool man1]

duck tape

[4eyedjack]

I feel that you should advise up front that the dimensions given for the buckle attachment blocks at each end are only valid for the smallest paracord buckles. Anything over 3/8" cannot be used.

[DebraK]

I made this and don't know what happened. When I added the cable clamps the wood split and fell apart. If this would have worked it would have saved me some money.

[JohnnyC4]

I glued all of mine and then pre-drill for the Cable clamps holes did not predrill the first one and split and Fell apart to and the boys at my church loves them

[Jay1376]

Thanks for the instructable, real easy to follow. Planning to build your other instructable.

[SparkySolar]

Thank you for the nice instructable

Rima

[Hotpinkleg]

love it!

[mung1]

Hi D,
Awesome tutorial for such low cost. For people who don't have access to a miter saw can you post example of how that end product would look like, especially the underside of it. Do you also unscrew the clamps when done? Is there another hook that makes it easier to unclasp besides a cable clamp?

thank you :)

[timingworks]

I believe that you leave the buckles clamped to the jig, using another buckle to make the bracelet. Great "ible" BTW. Does the machine screw head cause the jig to wobble when placed on a table?

[TheAntiHeroHimself]

Excellent idea! I've got a few yard sticks laying around, I think I'm gonna go try my hand at this!

[Im the Doctor]

Amazing project I can't wait to make it for myself can you make an ible on how to change the size of the buckles. Great job can't wait for more!!!

[ahirsch4]

Thankyou this is very helpful, I will defiantly be making one of these tomorrow. I looked at jigs on the web and their $30+ and you can make this one for under $5. Hands down one of the best ideas ever to come with making paracord bracelets. Helped a lot. Thanks.