Akeda Price.....REALLY?

[Al Bacon]

I just watched an auction for a 16" Akeda jig that started at $100 end at $425. If they are that valuable and that in demand why aren't the things made any more? It seems like the rule of supply and demand is not working here.

Al

[Jamie Buxton]

You're running into the same forces that run antiques or collector cars. If there are very few of something available, and if several people want it, the price can go sky-high.

[Andrew Kertesz]

I tried contacting them once and surprsingly received a reply. You can get on a waiting list and at that time over a year ago they were trying to get back into production. Or so the email stated, seems like they haven't made it yet.

[Mark Carlson]

I have one and its easy to use. My last project I did variable spaced greene and greene finger joints on it. Like most of these jigs its a lot of parts. When Woodcraft was selling all their inventory I bought tons of extra bits and accessories. Thought at the time that Akeda was going out of business and it sounds like they're kinda maybe still alive?

~mark

[Rick Thompson34]

I was watching that auction and was shocked to see the final price. That said, if the jig is as good as many claim it to be, the used market is the only game in town at the moment and therefore the price will be artificially high.

Rick

[Mike Leung]

I have an Akeda jig and was watching an auction for the longer 24" version. Check out the final price :eek: I really like using my Akeda jig but this is ludicrous.
280747

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Wow. Guess a guy should have considered Akeda jigs instead of a 401k...

[Keith Weber]

If they are that valuable and that in demand why aren't the things made any more? It seems like the rule of supply and demand is not working here.

Al

Actually, Al, it sounds like the rule of supply and demand is working perfectly here. When something is in short supply, and a lot of people want it... the price goes up!

[Scott Stafford]

If you have ever seen one in person, lifted one, or looked at how well they are built, you'd understand the price. If you had ever used one, you would be wanting one too.

I've owned two Leighs and sold the last one when I tried out the Akeda. It's simple and it works, but it is not cheap. To really make things simple you should have two dedicated routers, one for the tails and one for the pins.

If you have a kitchen or master closet to do, this is the system to have. Or if you simply want a machine that sets up quick and operates exactly as advertised, again, this is the system to have.

The reason they are no longer in production is that they were under priced.


Scott in Montana

[Kevin Woodhead]

I have an Akeda too, and it falls into the "you'll have pry it out my cold dead hands" category of shop tools. Having two routers setup and dialed in saves an extraordinary amount of time, paying for the second router quickly.

[johnny means]

One item selling at a healthy price does not translate into the type of sales needed to make manufacturing profitable.

[Al Bacon]

I guess I'm still a little confused. Leigh was first to the market with their Dovetail jig. I believe sales went well. Then Akeda entered the market. Now here's where I have a problem understanding all the above raves for the Akdea. IF it was so much easier to use and everybody who has one would not give it up for anything else, it would seem to me that Akeda SHOULD be the one still standing. But it is Leigh. I'm not knocking the Akeda, just trying to understand whats going on here.

So what am I missing? :confused:

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Ok, been following this thread for a while, have to ask. What is so good about an akeda that it gets such a avid fan club?

[johnny means]

So what am I missing? :confused:

The other 98% of factors that go into a successful business. Making or selling a better product its almost a non factor in sales.

[Rick Thompson34]

Perhaps I'm oversimplifying, but the general consensus on the Akeda is that it's very simple to use and doesn't require a complicated setup each time to produce quality dovetails. This is in contrast to descriptions of the Leigh jig that sounds like it also produces a quality dovetail, but is more complicated and not necessarily something that you can use every 2-3 months without having to re-learn the setup each time. I might be off on that, but it's that impression that keeps me hunting for an Akeda and feeling like any other jig would be a compromise.

I know Akeda had a fire at their facility early on in the production which couldn't have helped the long term success. I also imagine that the equipment used to produce the jigs isn't cheap, so there are a lot of factors in the business beyond just producing a great product. Would be nice if they got the jigs back in stock, though!

Rick

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Rick, have you looked at the Keller? I can't imagine that a dovetail jig can be much simpler. I'm a leigh owner, and it's not as bad as the competitors make it sound, by a long shot. Because it is adjustable to do a bunch of things, it is possible to complicate it though.

[Rick Thompson34]

I need to take a closer look at the Keller -- have heard good things, but haven't looked that close. Most of the negatives I've heard about the Leigh being overcomplicated have come from reviews and folks who decided to sell their Leigh jig. I love the idea of variable spacing, etc., but I don't want something that burns a lot of time trying to tweak the setup and re-learn the process each time.

Unless a used Akeda shows up at a decent price, I suppose I'll be researching other options. I had the intention of doing more hand cut dovetails, but honestly I don't know that there's that much difference when it comes to strength and quality. Time is money and even the slowest dovetail jig is going to be far faster than cutting by hand.

Rick

[Steve Baumgartner]

When Akeda first came out, they had an exclusive distribution arrangement with Woodcraft. After a period of time (for whatever undisclosed reasons) WC dropped them in favor of Leigh, which immediately killed their cash flow. This evidently prevented them from rebuilding after a fire, so no more units were every made. For a while The Jig Store sold them online, but some time ago they ran out of product. They never established another distribution channel (no idea if the WC deal set constraints on this). More than anything, the tale plays like a naive/poor businessman who just couldn't make it go.

BTW I own and regularly use an Akeda, so I am not bashing. I bought out all the spare parts at my local Woodcraft when I learned they were discontinuing. I really wish they had not caved in.

Steve

[Chris Friesen]

I suspect the market for adjustable dovetail jigs is relatively small, and between the Leigh and the Porter Cable Omnijig it was tough for a new competitor to break in even if they were technically superior in some ways.

The Leigh/PC jigs have infinite adjustability, while the Akeda uses 1/8" increments. The Leigh (and to some extent the PC) also had a huge following and name recognition, while Akeda was trying to break into the market.

On the other hand, my understanding is that the Leigh jigs take some familizarization time, so using them for a one-off every few months takes a lot of figuring out. If you were using them every day it's probably a different story.

Also, the Akeda jigs had spotty distribution and manufacturing. I almost bought one under the Trend name, sort of kicking myself for not doing so but I haven't had any projects that I would have used it on so it would have just sat there for the last few years.

[CPeter James]

If anyone wants one for a reasonable price, here is your chance. I have mine and love it.

http://nh.craigslist.org/tls/4325831006.html

CPeter