Leigh D4R - Variable Spaced Half Blind Dovetails

[John Townsend]

I'm thinking about buying a 24" D4R and I noticed a review on the Internet by an owner that says:

"the only reason I bought this jig was to create variably spaced half blind
dovetails. The only type that would work for my design. the jig is pretty good,
except for the parts that really matter to get precision joinery. The guide
fingers are cast poorly, not machined as they should be. The bar that they clamp
onto is only extruded, not machined, and not even straight. I have been a
woodworker for 30 years, and I'm accustomed to having to tweak machiney, but
this is ridiculous. This jig has potential, but needs major manufacturing and
design changes to be great."

This would be a great worry to me and it makes me very hesitant. I find it outrageous that a $500+ jig would have "...the guide fingers ..cast poorly, not machined as they should be." I'd be pretty angry, being a machinist by trade. I maybe could see it happening if it were some cheap jig costing $59 at Home Depot. Maybe.

I wonder if it's just the particular one he owns. Just a few out there. Or all of them.

Has anyone else had this problem with the D4R?

[eugene thomas]

I bought the dr4 few weeks ago had bent piece on .called customer service now have two jig bodys i have no complants, jig works great. Would get vacume attachment if buy jig that works good also

[Chris Rosenberger]

I have used several Leigh dovetail jigs in the last 20 years. The only problems I have had with any of them were problem caused by my poor setups.
I would hate to see the cost of a Leigh jig if all of the fingers were machined.

[Mort Stevens]

Take a look at the Porter-Cable 77240 24-Inch Omnijig - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HGL5A6/awh

[Ralph Okonieski]

I have a d4r and am 100% satisfied with it. The quality is great. My first few attempts with it were OK but not great. As my understanding of the jig and dovetails increased, so did the quality of the dovetails. It does take some practice.

I have no affiliation with Leigh. Just a satisfied woodworker.

[Steve Juhasz]

If you have problem getting amazing results from a Leigh D4R, you are doing it wrong. Setup and patience is everything. You need to be patient, read, understand and follow the instructions. Who cares that the thing was not made by NASA to moon-landing specs? It works perfectly made the way it is. I made these drawers with the D4R, mahogany and ash, half-blind, rabbeted and asymmetric. Totally seamless.
http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/hairysp0tter/IMG_6186s_zps3a6f6975.jpg

[Jimmy Horrocks]

I've had mine for 20+ years and it works fine. Bit of a learning curve, but the book is great.

[John Townsend]

I bought the dr4 few weeks ago had bent piece on it .called customer service now have two jig bodys i have no complants, jig works great....

Thanks for the reply Eugene. I was looking for feedback concerning NEW D4R's. The people who responded (although they are appreciated by me) with D4's that are 5,7, 10 years old aren't able to really address quality issues on D4's NOW. It's the new D4R's being manufactured right now that perhaps have me little hesitant. Just trying to see if the issue of the poorly cast fingers (see my original post) was a fluke or a common issue.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I currently have 2 D4R Leigh jigs. I recently added additional fingers to the templates of the D4Rs. I also have a template from a Leigh 1258R jig that I also use on the D4R jigs. The new fingers look identical to the 20 year old fingers, except the new fingers now have a hole drilled in them. I stand by my comments above. To clarify those comments, I have only seen improvements to the quality of the Leigh jigs over the 20 plus years that I have used them.
Yes they can get damaged during the delivery process, but that has nothing to do with how they are made.

[Tom Matthews]

I have a D4R Pro (a couple years old but still the newest model) and it is great. Solidly built and no issues whatsoever except from the occasional operator error.

Definitely get the vacuum/router support. The dust collection is excellent and having a support for the router makes things very easy.