Trend Varijig

[Spectric]

Just purchased one of these because I have some recessed apertures to cut and thought this would be easier than making half a dozen jigs . VARIJIG - Varijig system adjustable frame


Anyone got any experience or thoughts about them ? I am finding if setting it for a small apperture, 96mm square that the jig is not square but if set at larger apertures it is ok. I have cut a piece of MDF at 96mm square and used it to set the jig but this just shows the jig is not square and it seems that with the screws all loose it is ok butthe screws pull it out of square, anyone experienced this synario or am I just using the jig in a size it is not designed for ?

 

[Nelsun]

I had one a good while back but never got on with it. It was that long ago that I'm vague on the reasons... but squaring it up was a PITA and the measurement scales either moved or weren't consistent (I did say vague!).

Ended up with the MFS (Festool) which was a fiddly pain to put together but reliable in use once that was done. I think there's another similar option out there but I can't remember who by.

 

[Spectric]

This could be another one of those good ideas but not fully thought through or developed. I am not bothered with the scales, in my opinion just a waste of time because I measure or use a piece of wood the size I want but the whole purpose is to cut apertures with 90° corners and not parallelograms.

 

[ChaiLatte]

It relies for overall squareness on the squareness of each of the four 'arms'. Could you check those individually with a good square? In other words, check squareness of the end of the arm to its face and also that the vertical part of the 'C' shaped bracket is square to the run of the arm.

Have a good look for burrs on any of the surfaces that touch.

The four arms look to be identical, so perhaps number them and assemble in various combinations to see if one is better than the others - it could be an unfortunate stack up of tolerances.

If you say it goes out of square on tightening the fasteners, again check all combinations of arms, but just making a single joint (i.e. just using two arms). That might narrow down the search area.

Looking at the way it is constructed, you would set the overall dimension using the silver screws, but then you need to slacken the black screws and make sure the end of the arm presses against the face of the other arm before snugging them up again. If there is any gap there, rotation can take place leading to out of squareness.

On a practical note, if you do determine it has a minimum reliable size, just use filler pieces inside it to make smaller sizes (i.e. use a 50mm rip on each side and set it to 196mm to achieve your 96mm).

 

[Spectric]

I think it is going to be a game of illimination and marking the four arms is a good idea so that once it is correct then it can always be assembled in the same way.

 

[Spectric]

Well after having some time trying to sort this jig out I am begining to think it is just the wrong approach and that it will be better to just make the jigs myself so I know they are spot on. The let down on this Trend jig is the way the rails connect, the idea is to just loosen the bright screws and set your dimensions but this does not work and you have to loosen the black screws as well and clamp it to a piece of wood of the size you want before tightening all the screws and it then gives 90° corners. This is just too time consuming and messy for the way I work so this Trend Varijig gets the thumbs down and belongs in the same category as Mikes Holtzman P/T, do not purchase.

Woodpecker does a similar offering and it has a major advantage in that the rails connect end on in a better fashion than the fiddly 4mm screws used by Trend but to expensive for what it is

https://www.sautershop.com/woodpeckers-variable-router-jig-457mm-x-457mm-w-vrj-19

 

[Nelsun]

Trend do have a habit of whacking their logo on things that really aren't much use in practice. Which is a pity as they're a big UK name... or were.

And that Woodpecker jig looks even more faffy than the comparable Festool "MFS 400" offering... and it's even more expensive too. Both the smaller MFS 400 and 700 jigs have almost doubled in price since I cried once back in 2017.

Aliexpress (or similar) may yield aluminium extrusions that could work - if you can find compatible connector nuts and such?

 

[starfish]

I wonder if this would be usable

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/10050...a2g0n.ppclist.product.0&gatewayAdapt=Pc2Msite

 

[Spectric]

Looked ok but

 

[Spectric]

If they actually thought about it then a much better idea would be two set squares, each one slotted so you start of with two 90° fixed angles.

 

[starfish]

That's odd as they say they ship to UK for me £72 all in.

 

[ChaiLatte]

...two set squares, each one slotted so you start off with two 90° fixed angles...

But at the other ends to the fixed angle, the two halves would have to overlap to form the two opposite diagonals of the rectangle. That is maybe more expensive to manufacture and less versatile in use. It would also maybe be bigger to ship and store when not in use.

As you see, the Trend one uses 'vertical' clamping. All the other versions use 'horizontal' clamping, so the two surfaces that need to be square are pulled into contact when tight, but free to slide when loose.

If it was possible to replace the silver screws in the Trend one with eccentric clamps similar to these:

https://www.wixroyd.com/en/catalog/...-side-clamping/fixture-clamps/12112/g+m+c+s+a
it would allow sliding adjustment but pull the two arms together when tightened.

 

[Not-Entirely-Useless]

Just purchased one of these because I have some recessed apertures to cut and thought this would be easier than making half a dozen jigs . VARIJIG - Varijig system adjustable frame


Anyone got any experience or thoughts about them ? I am finding if setting it for a small apperture, 96mm square that the jig is not square but if set at larger apertures it is ok. I have cut a piece of MDF at 96mm square and used it to set the jig but this just shows the jig is not square and it seems that with the screws all loose it is ok butthe screws pull it out of square, anyone experienced this synario or am I just using the jig in a size it is not designed for ?

Other people here will have more experience than me, but why not make one? I did, based on an approach from the Hooked on Wood YouTube channel - plywood and t-track - and it works well. The only issue is that I've made it too big. But it's easy to make another and it is, at least, square

 

[Spectric]

I did, based on an approach from the Hooked on Wood YouTube channel - plywood and t-track

I am looking at something similar, maybe using the microjig slots or back to real basics and just make a fixed jig for the job.

 

[Spectric]

Well having pondered over this for a while and yes I could have made my own jigs I decided to give the Benchdogs version a go after having the discount carrot dangled when they had a sale. Yes not a cheap option but worth every penny and it makes that Trend Varijig look like some badly designed junk from the east. This jig is very well engineered, dead square and clearly marked. I noted the one mentioned by @starfish from Aliexpress which looks to be of the same design and I bet is still better than the Trend version for 75% less cost but buying through this route is as we Know like Russian roulette and they do plagarise images of brands like woodpeckers. So if you are looking for a router template jig for apertures then I can say the Benchdogs version will not let you down and is like there other products that verge on the over engineered.