"Bump Jig" definition and source

[Cowboyleatherman]

Bump jigs are used in leather craft however the term "bump jig" is readily used in wood working and machinery bumping the jig against the wood/metal but called a "positioning square" to make it simple to square or find the true angle of an object to cut, position, or shape. In terms of the word, its relatively new word in leathercraft but other tools in the wood working/machinery trade have been around for a long time and have been used in leatherwork. Mascon Leather & Zeebeeleather has introduced the relatively new term to the industry combining tools of other mechanical trades to the leather industry combining old tools to the leatherwork help tools as helpful guides.There is no term or definition as so called a "bump Jig" as a defined term in any dictionary or thesaurus at this time. 

This is not a new concept, but the combination of old with the new is great. Because it takes the guessing game to a whole new level of precision if used correctly as well as understanding your measuring tools and jigs. 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Cowboyleatherman
Correction

[chuck123wapati]

ok and...... ? macon and zeebee have some expensive stuff 2 squares for 95 bucks what makes them worth that much they are just aluminum squares. 

[Doc Reaper]

I paid like $38 and they are not square, spend the money for a good set, and slowly get the accessories but watch the vids and see what you can get without pawning off your first born

[chuck123wapati]

8 minutes ago, Doc Reaper said:

I paid like $38 and they are not square, spend the money for a good set, and slowly get the accessories but watch the vids and see what you can get without pawning off your first born

See now that is what i worry about. 

But! lol I gots me some tools, i can make em outa bout anythin fer a little bit o nuthin. 

[Doc Reaper]

16 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

See now that is what i worry about. 

But! lol I gots me some tools, i can make em outa bout anythin fer a little bit o nuthin. 

I didn’t purchase Zee Bee products, it was some guy on Etsy and he was mad because I reported that the jigs weren’t square, his reply was “That Little bit off won’t even show!”

He should of offered to send a different set, the set I have is off by enough to see, stay away from Etsy, you will save money

[dikman]

Pretty poor response, he's admitting his products are in the "close enough is good enough" class!

As for the OP, it left me scratching my head, wondering what was the point? That you can use tools from other trades for leatherwork? Nothing new there.

[mike02130]

5 minutes ago, dikman said:

Pretty poor response, he's admitting his products are in the "close enough is good enough" class!

As for the OP, it left me scratching my head, wondering what was the point? That you can use tools from other trades for leatherwork? Nothing new there.

Are you familiar with Mascon and his YouTube?  I think what the OP is coyly saying, is that Mascon is not all that he believes he is.  He is quite the showman and a large portion of his followers are a younger Reddit crowd new to leather work and easily impressed.  If one didn't know better, they may think that he invented the word bump jig, it's design and their use.   I suggest you watch his hustle and you may be scratching your head less over the OP's post and scratching more over the Mascon's sale's pitch.

[tsunkasapa]

Never saw the need for anything like that, not even for woodworking. Leatherwork? Not in the least.

[Grumpymann]

Corter Leather Has a good example. And a good  (IMHO) take on the bump jig thing here.

 

[battlemunky]

I think, from Mascon's POV, that if you are making things repeatedly and using card stock templates, once you get the hang of using bump jigs you can reduce variation and improve your overall quality. It does suck that he is selling such mundane items for such premium money, but that is why I don't have his brand...

From Corter's perspective, if you have been using card stock templates and are as good with cutting out with an exacto knife, why waste the effort in time and expense fiddling with bump jigs. After all, his statement about how the leather is going to morph once you stick some cards in it and start carrying it (wallets, specifically but applies to most items too) so being exact to the point of using hundred dollar bump jigs just seems like a luxury.

My most sincere hope is that they don't start wallowing in the mud and things get all dramatic. I enjoy both of their channels and have learned a ton from both. I really don't want a "bump jig" rift to form between two crafters I really appreciate.

Mascon & ZeeBee's leather ruler has my interest piqued, not gonna lie. So. Much. Money. though...

[Cowboyleatherman]

On 9/10/2022 at 12:53 PM, chuck123wapati said:

ok and...... ? macon and zeebee have some expensive stuff 2 squares for 95 bucks what makes them worth that much they are just aluminum squares. 

Reading the comments are great. I had watched Corter Leathers video on it and loved it before I posted my comment. Working in my own studio I really have learned that when somebody can see through all the bull, thats what matters is that the concept of a jig , but its usefulness is over the top unless your actually trained in it and utilize it in your everyday work. I wont use them. Unless your in the shop actually using the jigs for anything technical and already know how to use them and the tools they modified the design from, their basically useless. There are better tools to use in the shop as for myself.

Mascon Leather only does smaller items which is no big deal, he can be considered as an influencer and is successful in his niche, which to me is not an issue. I know he has had experience in wood working as myself.  But the tools I would find hard to use in saddle work and other types of work unless the people using them finds them masterfully useful.  Over the years I had to learn all types of leather working tools and even ones I don't use in the leatherworking trade, and I am still learning. In some ares of leatherworking I have had to learn armor, tailoring, metalworking, Jewelry, design, photography, sewing, book binding, carving, metal smiting etc, customizing my own tools and such. 

But then we are also learning new tools and improving old tools. And coming into the new era of leatherworking and the work needed, we still are always improving. 

I made the comment because in a way I can see some uses for what they could be used for as far as measuring and learning that part of the process. I love the other comments in this section and I welcome any feedback as far as positive or negative as the uses. I thought they were too much for my taste when I checked them out. And I am glad Corter Leather made his video.

I just want a video to suggest the concept changes and other master leather-workers to really give some of their feedback on how the tools and things can be improved if any. Because as I understand it, when watching Mascon's video on them, they have a combination of rulers of metric and standard that can come in handy. But I am made on precision as well and would not be sure how they would fit in my shop. 

Edited September 19, 2022 by Cowboyleatherman