Dovetail Jig Suggestions?

[Darrin Davis]

I've got about $500 burning a hole in my pocket and have always wanted a nice dovetail jig. I like the one that Norm uses "Leigh 24 inch". Does anyone own one of these or does anyone suggest something they like better. Money is not an object but I don't want to spend it just becuase one costs more than the other. I want one that I will really like.

Thanks in advance!

[Jacob Mac]

I think the three heavyweights are Leigh, Akeda, and Incra. Best to try them out if you can. I have an Incra fence and it is pretty nice. It certainly works as advertised.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I know that the Leigh Jig has a good and long reputation and you'd have no trouble re-selling it in the future.

[Jim Eller]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=98823&highlight=dovetail

[roman fedyk]

I think for the money, the best bet is the Akeda 24". It is so easy to use you will use it and not have to sell it later on because it is too difficult to use. This is especially true if you do not use it everyday. I am one of those folks that wants things as easy as possible when it comes to using my tools. I am not interested in bells and whistles that complicate things. So I was really happy when I got my Akeda and did not have to assemble anything!!! The Leigh on the other hand had bags and bags of parts for me to put together. Why? I assume it's cheaper to ship and all those parts hanging off of it would get damaged.

I am a jig junky. I have them all. But the only one that gets used is the Akeda.

I think that says it all.....

[David Moody]

Don't forget the PC Omnijig. I have had mine over a year now and it has been quite a capable workhorse.

By the way, though it isn't in the picture, I do use the sawdust vacuum attachment on the front. It works quite well and should be a mandatory part.

[David Christopher]

Darrin, I have the leigh super 18 and it is real simple to use and has great instructions

[John Harden]

I'll get my plug in for the Leigh and PC. I've used both and in my opinion, you can't go wrong with either.

I REALLY like Leigh products. Excellent quality and design. I own their FMT and couldn't be happier with it.

Haven't used the Akeda or Incra, so I can't offer an opinion.

It really helps to get some hands on time with them. You might try to find someone in your area who has jigs you're interested in and give them a test run. A picture is worth a 1000 words, but 15 minutes of using something is worth 10,000.

Regards,

John

[Chris Tsutsui]

Just a thought, but $500 is a lot and can go towards something else if you can get a used jig on craigslist.

I've seen older Leigh D4s for $150, and a 24" Omnijig for $50-$100...

BTW, I think it's cool you teach high school woodshop and your hobby is woodworking as well.

[Karl Brogger]

Money is not an object

I think this might be my next dovetailer:
http://www.lagunatools.com/core/media/media.nl?id=300&c=860860&h=ad11a98facad65c3d3db

http://www.lagunatools.com/specialty/specialty-dovetail;jsessionid=0a01074e1f43e318ce90f8a6453289 928b26ad61230f.e3eTaxeKbh0Te34Pa38Ta38PaN50

[Harold Burrell]

I think this might be my next dovetailer:
http://www.lagunatools.com/core/media/media.nl?id=300&c=860860&h=ad11a98facad65c3d3db

http://www.lagunatools.com/specialty/specialty-dovetail;jsessionid=0a01074e1f43e318ce90f8a6453289 928b26ad61230f.e3eTaxeKbh0Te34Pa38Ta38PaN50

There is a word for that..."cheating"

;)

[Karl Brogger]

There is a word for that..."cheating"

;)


http://www.supermotojunkie.com/images/smilies/rolleyes3.gif
Depends if you want a drawer, or if you want to build a drawer.

[Don Dorn]

Some would say it's cheating to use a jig at all. If I'm doing one, I'll do it by hand, but I'm not a purist in that if I have a few, I get the jig out. Mine isn't near as fancy though - it's a PC 4212, but gets the job done. Not versitile enough for the OP I don't think.

[Mike Heidrick]

I own and love the older model Porter Cable 24" Omnijig. New one looks slick.

D4R gets a lot of press as well and I love my FMT from them so I would not hesitate to use one either.

Those are the only above table router DT jigs I would consider personally but that is just me.

Incra fence on a router table is pretty popular as well.