Dovetail jig

[David Warkentin]

What is the general opinion on the best one? Probably gonna buy one real soon and wanted to get a good one...

[Harold Burrell]

I have a Rockler and it is "ok".

However...if I had the money...I would get a Leigh.

[Jim Rimmer]

Like many questions here, it depends on what you want to do and what your budget is. I've got the Rockler and, as was said, it's OK. Limitations - total width of project (I think it's 12" but I'm not sure); no variable spacing of DTs. Pluses - pretty easy to learn and set up; reasonable price. I don't have experience with the Porter Cable but have heard good things about it. If $$$ is not an object, read up on Leigh and Akeda.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have the PC 4212. Go online to PC and find both the standard manual, and advanced manual. Print them out. Be prepared to spend a couple hours just reading the English version.

[Bryan Cramer]

I have a PC. I don't remember what model number but it is a 12". It is a "middle of the road unit" and I love it! It is just as accurate as a more expensive one. To make a 12" model work with large pieces take the template off and mount it to a 4X4 and move it along the edge. It works and saves you money.

[Derek Gilmer]

Of the "cheap" ones the PC 4212 seems the best to me in my research and is the one I bought. Getting into the higher end with adjustable spacing and such Leigh got a lot of great reviews.

[David Warkentin]

Thanks for your answers.

[Tom Matthews]

I really like my Leigh Jig. It was a big purchase, but completely worth it. I went with the D4R Pro over the Super Jig because I wanted 24" capacity (also available in a Super Jig) and I like the machined aluminum side stops over the plastic stops.

Woodcraft has a special this month where you can get the VRS free with every Super Jig. The VRS, in my opinion, is a really nice addition and almost a required component. The dust collection is top notch when routing dovetails. Plus it's nice to be able to just slide the router over and "park" it while you're switching boards around. If you get a Leigh Jig and the VRS, make sure to take the time to get the VRS parallel and in the same plane as the fingers on the jig - I learned that "close enough" wasn't good enough fairly quickly.

Since the Leigh Jigs rarely go on sale, a free VRS is about as good as it gets.

[Ryan Hellmer]

This topic has been addressed MANY times on the forum, a quick search could get you lots of detailed reviews. For me its the AKEDA. A great jig. Every jig is going to have some trade-offs, but for me the AKEDA made the most sense. I've had mine for about 5 years now and use it on most projects.

Ryan

[Todd Bin]

How about this one. It is great and only $35. :)

188955

Seriously though. Most people will say either the Leigh Jig, Porter Cable Omni, or Akeda. I personally have the Katie Jig and an Incra Fence. The Katie works well for drawers and Cases. Very shallow learning curve. And I also hand cut some of my dovetails depending on my mood.

~Todd

[Jim Eller]

I've been :)'ing ever since I replace my others with an Akeda 24".

I can leave it hanging on the wall for any length of time and be doing perfect DT's in <15 minutes.

[Neil Brooks]

This topic has been addressed MANY times on the forum, a quick search could get you lots of detailed reviews.

Agreed.

And ... sometimes ... those who wrote beautiful, long posts ABOUT a particular subject, before ... won't want to chime in, again.

So ... in addition to whatever info you get here, it IS a good idea to do a forum search.

I think my P-C 4212 is great bang-for-the-buck, but Leigh, Keller, and Akeda .... from all I've ever read ... are a BIG notch above, in both price and performance/versatility :)

[Neil Brooks]

I can leave it hanging on the wall for any length of time and be doing perfect DT's in <15 minutes.

Ouch. You ... come dangerously close to sucking, right there, my friend :D

I, on the other hand, can put my PC 4212 away for a few days, and totally forget how to make DTs with it.

But that's not the jig's fault. It's just me ;)

[Craig Michael]

I have a leigh super jig 18" and I really like it. Very simple jig with variable spacing options. I was lucky and picked the jig up "used" as in assembled but never used, for $200 vs. $320 new new. Then a few weeks later I called the local Rockler to see if they had the VRS and he said yeah, but they also have the VRS that comes with the leigh router bits, etc. on close out for $44 vs. over $120 new. Not a bad deal thus far.

But on the jig, you will be happy if that is your choice. I've also heard good things about Akeda, but I've never used it myself. If you go leigh, at some point you would want to at least get the VRS. It gives you extra support but the dust collection is great. It get's probably 90% + of the chips.

[Danny Hamsley]

Leigh D4R. It is great for sliding dovetails for big drawers on drawer slides and for blanket chests where you want to dovetail the sides.