Akeda Dovetail Jig - When Back on the Market

[Brad Shy]

I have been waiting for the Akeda Dovetail jig to become available again and have been waiting for some time now. So I thought I would give them a call. I did and I spoke directly to Kevin the owner of the company. He said they are trying to finalize some contracts and hope to have the jig back on the market in September. He was very helpful and it was great to be able to talk directly with him and get the information first hand.

Now I need to decide if I want to wait for the Akeda or go with the Leigh jig. I am building a dresser and need one.

Brad

:confused:

[Gary Venable]

I have been waiting to get one also but September that quite a long delay.

-Gary

[Kenneth Sternberg]

With the Akeda, the problem I saw is that as your wood got thinner, the dovetail angle got bigger. On a 1/2" board, your dovetail angle would be 20°, which I don't think looks good, and is certainly not as strong as 7 or 8°.
If you just want to do dovetails, look at the Stots jig. It is a good place to start.

[Frank Martin]

Another thing you may want to consider is the long term availability of parts and service. Clearly Akeda is having problems marketing their product despite having a decent, desirable tool. For this reason alone you may want to consider established prodcuts/companies, perhaps Leigh.

[Ray Newman]

You have no guarantee that the Akeda will be on the market in September. What will you do if there in manufacturing another delay?

As Frank Martin mentioned is the company viable considering it has problems?

Start looking at some of the other jigs that have a track record.

I utilized both the Keller and the Leigh jigs. Both have “longevity” and a customer base. Like all dovetail jigs, both have a learning curve. Remember, the more you work with any dovetail jig, the easier the set up and dovetailing will become.

You may have already done the following -- your best bet might first be to decide: (a) what you want the jig for and how it will be used, and (b) how much you want to spend and can afford to spend. Then look at the various jigs that meet your needs. Take some time and start reading the various threads here and on other woodworking sites about the various dovetail jigs.

[Jerome Hanby]

+1 on the Stots jig. Even if you buy the other jig later, having the Stot's Jig (actually it's a jig for making the jig) lets you roll your own custom size jig for jobs you end up repeating multiple times or for those times when you need to use wider stock than the other jig will comfortably handle.

[Ryan Hellmer]

I have the AKEDA and love it. I'd hold out for it and get all the accessories with it at one time. As for the dovetails angle getting too high as the wood gets thinner, that is purely optional. You can use the 7 degree bit on 1/4" material (i've done it) but it is nice to have the options, particularly with decorative joints. Leigh makes good stuff too, but I will stick with my AKEDA.

[Gina Schaefer]

FYI - I just checked with Akeda and they don't know when it will be available. Bummer :(.

[Peter Froh]

Sounds like a sinking ship to me. I have the Leigh DR4 and think it's a great well built jig.

[Rick Fisher]

Is the Akeda Jig not the same thing as the Trend Jig ?

[Gina Schaefer]

Pretty sure they're different. You got me excited that there was the same jig out there under a different brand name. I like the idea of a short learning curve and have been saving my nickels and dimes (and $100 bills as the case may be) for an Akeda. Sigh... Looks like a day in the shop with the Leigh manual and a pile of test cuts are in my future.

[Michael Heffernan]

Actually, the Trend DC400 Dovetail Jig is the metric version of the Akeda DC16. Not sure if it is available in North America. It is licensed and sold through Trend in the UK.
http://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/productlist/3/183/dc400_dovetail_centre.html


Is the Akeda Jig not the same thing as the Trend Jig ?

[Christopher Kanda]

They told me a year ago that they would be ready to ship last sept. Now they won't even reply to my emails. I've had an order in for almost 2 years now.

[Peter Aeschliman]

At this point, if they haven't gotten it together, it's probably fair to assume they're out of business or very close. Not sure why they're bothering to keep their website up, although I guess you can still buy accessories. My guess is that they've got a lot of old accessory inventory to get through before they completely shut their doors.

I'd just bite the bullet and get the Leigh jig.