Akeda purchase opinoin

[Scott Michalski]

I have been researching the Akeda jig and see people here prefer the 24 inch to the 16 inch. My dilemma, I am trading in a gift (wife got me a lamello classic as a suprise present!) and the smaller would be an even trade---I feel a bit guilty about trading in such a generous gift and ASKING for an even bigger one! Price diff is $170.

Does anyone have the 16 inch and wish they had the bigger? Will I regret getting the smaller one?

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Brodie Brickey]

Scott,

What dimension of wood do you regularly work with?

Can you really see yourself doing dovetails for a 2 foot wide or at least over 16" board?

[Michael Heffernan]

Scott,
Even though the 24" Akeda is a jump in price, I think it is worth it. I have the 24" and am glad I went with the larger jig. Even if you don't typically dovetail wide stock, the nice thing about the 24" is that you can work from both ends of the jig. This is a great feature when making half blind dovetails. You can cut the tail boards on one end and the pin boards on the other, nearly a single pass operation. I make a lot of drawer boxes, 6-12" deep and I set my jig up for production type HB dovetails. You can also set it up for through dovetails and box joints the same way. And, if you ever have a project up to 24" wide, you'll be glad you went with the larger jig.
Either way, these jigs are intuitive, easy to set up, and precise. And the fact that you can repeat a DT at any time makes it, IMO the best jig on the market.

[Al Navas]

Normally, most people think smaller projects. But the larger ones, such as the Leigh D4 in my shop, allow carcase work, too:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/Sandal_Woods/Tables/CarcassdryfitwithslidingDTpanelinpl.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/Sandal_Woods/Tables/Changingtable-Waterloxandtopon.jpg


Getting ready to cut the sliding dovetail socket:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/Sandal_Woods/Tables/PreparingtocutslidingDTslot.jpg?t=1194388520


It really depends on what is planned for future projects. But, in the event something comes up that one did not think about, having the largest capacity gives one great flexibility!

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