My bet is that in the machine shop, and in the machinist' world, the
difference is probably more pronounced/important/politically correct than it
is in woodworking.

There is, at least semantically, a difference. To paraphrase, precisely, one
of my old books: "A jig is a device used to maintain mechanically the
correct positional relationship between a piece of work and the tool or
between parts of work during assembly, and a fixture is a device for
supporting work during machining."

Then again, I/it could be all wet.

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www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 9/21/03

"MHaseltine" wrote in message
Last Saturday I was at an auction and was looking at the tools which
happened
to be inside . Another person was also broswing. The owner had made a
number
of wodden jigs for his table saw ranging from a miter sled to a tennoning
jig.
Just to make conversation with the other person, I stated that the owner
and
been rather prolific and had a lot of jigs to go with the saw. The person
gave
me that knowing look and said "their fixtures - you need to be careful and
not
call fixtures jigs" Well, my response was I'm a bit of a newbie at his
(which
is true) but everything I have read and heard refers to these things as
jigs -
fixtures is a new way of naming these things"

Well, my silly question is, "Are these jigs or fixtures?"

Michael