Erik Christensen
03-07-2010, 8:29 PM
I ran into my 1st issue with the leigh d4r jig today.
I have made < 10 drawers with the leigh carbide dovetail bit I was using today. I was cutting a set of 3 5" drawers with half-blind dovetails in 3/4" baltic birch ply - the tails cut fine but on like the 4th side cutting the pins I noticed the router was catching on the fingers of the jig. It seems the brass template bushing had come loose. I was using a dewalt 618 router with a factory plastic base so I stopped the router, unplugged it and tightened the brass guide bushing - but while doing so noticed it was quite hot. Router bit turned with no catching on the bushing so I thought it was just me moving from one drawer to another - I have never cut dovetails in a production fashion so I assumed this was normal. A few cuts later same thing - but now i figure out why the brass bushing was not staying tight - it had gotten so hot it had melted the router base!
Not good - so now what do I do? Get a better router? Buy a new carbide bit every few drawers? I see baltic ply with dovetails all the time so it can't be that hard on tooling - so I must be an idiot again.
Oh great and wonderfull wood guru's SMC - please enlighten this very confused dovetail novice on the the errors of his ways.
I have made < 10 drawers with the leigh carbide dovetail bit I was using today. I was cutting a set of 3 5" drawers with half-blind dovetails in 3/4" baltic birch ply - the tails cut fine but on like the 4th side cutting the pins I noticed the router was catching on the fingers of the jig. It seems the brass template bushing had come loose. I was using a dewalt 618 router with a factory plastic base so I stopped the router, unplugged it and tightened the brass guide bushing - but while doing so noticed it was quite hot. Router bit turned with no catching on the bushing so I thought it was just me moving from one drawer to another - I have never cut dovetails in a production fashion so I assumed this was normal. A few cuts later same thing - but now i figure out why the brass bushing was not staying tight - it had gotten so hot it had melted the router base!
Not good - so now what do I do? Get a better router? Buy a new carbide bit every few drawers? I see baltic ply with dovetails all the time so it can't be that hard on tooling - so I must be an idiot again.
Oh great and wonderfull wood guru's SMC - please enlighten this very confused dovetail novice on the the errors of his ways.