Lehigh vs Porter Cable Dovetail Jig

[Scott Brandstetter]

I saw Scott's old thread on his troubles with the Porter Cable Jig and didn't want to highjack. Just wondering if the Lehigh D4R Pro is that much better than the PC

[Randy Red Bemont]

I have an older D-3 Leigh 24" dovetail jig and it has been awesome. I bought it new in the mid-90's and have done tons of drawers with it. Very reliable and easy to use once you learn how.

Red

[Mike Ontko]

I have an earlier model Leigh 1258R (24") that I've upgraded with a kit from Leigh to match the features of the D4. I bought it off of Craigslist last winter and haven't even used it yet so I can't provide any personal reference. But my understanding of the big difference between these two is that the Leigh provides the capability for creating custom spacing/sizing for dovetail pins and tails whereas the PC templates have fixed spacing. That capability alone is what led me to choose the Leigh in the first place.

[Larry Frank]

The Leigh D4R series are very good and you can do so many types of dovetails. In addition, if you get the fingerjoint template you can do a very wide range of those. The Leigh jigs are very well made and Leigh seems to continue to find ways of improving them. They also provide ways of upgrading the older ones to the new features.

The jig and router bits are expensive ($600) and you need to determine if it is worth it to you. I really love mine and enjoy trying some of the more exotic joints.

The manuals are top notch but you have to work through the set up. I have found they have a good website and the customer service is very good based on my calls to them.

[Cary Falk]

The only thing I didn't like about the Porter Cable was the side stops. I always had a hard time getting the dovetails to line up on the boxes. Other than that it is a great jig and super easy to use. I did sell mine when I found a good deal on a Leigh D4R mostly for the 24" but also to try it out. I have not tried to use it yet but reading through the book it doesn't look that difficult to use if you know how dovetails work. A lot of people sell theirs because they find it too complicated.