Dovetail Jig Porter Cable 4212

[Mark Rhodes]

I was considering Porter Cables new 4212 dovetail jig to get started with, price and ease of use according to a trade rag i read is the main reason. Does anyone have this jig or any information on its "ease of use"

[Jim Fancher]

I've read a couple of reviews. I actually haven't seen anything bad about it yet. I'm considering it too.

[Brad Knabel]

I've been considering the jig too. The only negative thing that I've heard is that it requires a pretty unusual dovetail bit (7 degree, 17/32"). Neither Amazon nor Woodcraft stock the Porter Cable bit and I did some looking and none of the other brands seem to make a bit in this size. It might be possible to use another 7 degree bit, but I'd like to hear for sure before buying the jig. Hopefully the Porter Cable bit will become more widely available or even better maybe manufacturers will start making bits this size.

[Steve Roxberg]

I've been considering the jig too. The only negative thing that I've heard is that it requires a pretty unusual dovetail bit (7 degree, 17/32"). Neither Amazon nor Woodcraft stock the Porter Cable bit and I did some looking and none of the other brands seem to make a bit in this size. It might be possible to use another 7 degree bit, but I'd like to hear for sure before buying the jig. Hopefully the Porter Cable bit will become more widely available or even better maybe manufacturers will start making bits this size.

I was told the same thing, that the only source of the bit was Porter-Cable. But you know what, it's a great jig and has a very high build quality. Other router bit vendors won't ignore the opportunity for long. (IMHO)

That said I don't own own one. I was going to buy it but got a deal on the Omni-jig 16 with both half blind and through templates for $200. That decisison was easy.

The 4212 looks great. The one hand operation of locking the board is awsome.

[John Lubeski]

I have the PC 4212, got it about a month ago. So far I've used it to make half blind dovetails on the front and though dovetails on the back of some drawers I'm making for my armiore project. I don't have any experience with other jigs, this is my first dovetail jig, but its is well built. Once you get the intial adjustments to the intergal bit depth stops, its a breeze to pull it out and make a joint. I to hope other manufactures of bits start producing this odd sized bit, the PC bit seems to be of decent quality though. Here a picture of one of the first joints I made with the jig. The project isn't doen yet so there is no finish on it yet, (heck, it hasn't even been sanded yet.)http://home.comcast.net/~john_stacy/onlinestorage/drawer.jpg

[Charlie Plesums]

I have the older model 4112 and finally upgraded to a better jig.

The normal angle for half blind dovetails is 14 degrees, so the 7 degree dovetails will look very shallow - almost like a box joint. It may also lose some of the strength of the dovetail. Through dovetails are often only 8 degrees, since they have a longer distance to get the "spread" so 7 degrees is probably great for them.

The lack of adjustable pins means that if you have an odd-height drawer, you will not be able to do a good looking pin at the top or bottom of the drawer.

I don't know if it is different in the new jig, but the old PC jig did not do a good cut if the drawer sides were thin - it was designed for 3/4 inch sides, looked ok down to about 1/2 inch sides, but thinner sides (as my work got better) were really ugly - the cut was too deep, so I usually ended up putting a moulding on the inside corners of the drawer, or spent a lot of time overriding the setup of the jig.

I can make you a great deal on a 4112!