Dovetail Jig

[Mitchell Ristine]

All, I think I am about to buy my first dovetail jig. I am thinking I'll go with the rockler jig as it is on sale for $140 right now. Question: Do I want the dust collection attachment? It dust collection for dovetails effective?

[Mike Cutler]

Mitchell
You're going to want something.
There's a lot of debris kicked up. You won't get it all, but the more you can get, the better.
I have an router base vac adapter for my router and usually have a DC pickup close by, and still end up with my pants covered in sawdust.

[lowell holmes]

A shop vacuum will take care of it.

[Scott Brader]

I'd definitely go for the dust collection accessory, too. I have the P-C jig and I end up being covered in dust by the time I finish. The local Woodcraft owner told me he heard that Leigh is going to make a version of their router rest/dust collection accessory available for the P-C jig. I'll be all over that if it's true.

Scott

[Bill Dufour]

No idea but I use two routers for dovetails. one with a straight 1/4 spiral carbide endmill set a little shallower then the dovetail. I use that to rough out the dove tail removing more then 2/3 of the wood. Then switch to the dovetail bit in the other router. Trying to rout in one pass will clog up with chips may even snap the bit off.
Bil lD

[Bob Potter]

Michell
I have the same dovetail jig which I bought on sale with the dust collection a couple of years ago for about the same price couldn't resist at that price. The dust collection works great but you have to remove to make different set ups. But is well worth the having to remount it.
Hope this helps, Bob

[Tom M King]

My dust collection for a jig similar to that is clamping it to a deck railing, and a helper holding a Toro electric leaf blower, blowing the chips out in the yard as they are made.

[Derek Cohen]

All, I think I am about to buy my first dovetail jig. I am thinking I'll go with the rockler jig as it is on sale for $140 right now. Question: Do I want the dust collection attachment? It dust collection for dovetails effective?

Mitchell, I know that this is off on a tangent, however you should also consider sawing dovetails by hand. I recall having the jig you are considering (about 20 years ago). It was a swine to set up. If you are only going to use it for a few dovetailed boards at a time (such as making a couple of drawers on an occasion), I know that I would have completed all the dovetailing before you had even got part way through setting up the jig, and my dovetails would be a whole lot prettier than those off the jig using a router. Router dovetails are really ugly. It is not hard to learn. It simply takes a little determination and a decent teacher. Then you will wonder what the fuss was.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Bradley Gray]

Look at the Keller jig. Super simple to set up.

[brent stanley]

Look at the Keller jig. Super simple to set up.

Yup, what Bradley said. I am still doing all my dovetails by hand but if I were to buy a jig for a router it would be the keller. Dead simple and cheap.

My father had that Rockler jig and it was a nightmare.

B

[Michael Costa]

I was going to create a thread on dovetail jigs but this one exists. Like Mitchell, I too have eyed the same dovetail jig. However, I also noticed the much more expensive Leigh Super 18 jig which also allows to box joints.

398581
Does anyone own on of these? Is it worth the extra cost? I believe it's about $399. I have a bunch of those unknown ($5-100 off) coupons Rockler is giving out for use after the 26th And plan to get a dovetail jig then. Just not sure which one yet.

[Tom M King]

I have one of each type of dovetail jig. The simple one, that is always set for the same spacing, is used only for drawers in houses I built, and that was the setup I was talking about using the leaf blower for. I do remember once doing 48 drawers for one house, all in one setting. That one has never been used for anything else. I never had a house buyer care how drawers were dovetailed, but almost all will notice that they are.

The Leigh jig I bought used, just because it came cheap. It's nice in that you can vary the spacing on the pins. It also stays setup for 3/4" material only, and has two dedicated routers ready to go. It gets used very rarely, and then for things like boxes for tools, or utility boxes for a Boy Scout troop, both when there are multiples to make. It does have a dust collection accessory that works okay, but not as good as the leaf blower. I once had a client that asked me if we could make some nesting boxes for his Wife's chickens, as they was leaving for a short while. When they came back that day, we had a stack of dovetailed boxes. It was worth what I paid for it that afternoon in the reaction I got when they came back.

I would never use either for some nice piece of furniture, or to replace parts in old furniture that I get asked to fix occasionally. Those get cut by hand, which is really the only way I know of to do thin pins, unless you get a specially ground blade for your table saw, which is the method I would look at if you don't want to get into cutting them completely by hand.

If you are only going to do a piece of furniture once in a while, think about which is best for you.

[lowell holmes]

Michael, I have an older one. It is definitely worth the price.

[Dave Cav]

Yup, what Bradley said. I am still doing all my dovetails by hand but if I were to buy a jig for a router it would be the keller. Dead simple and cheap.

My father had that Rockler jig and it was a nightmare.

B

Another vote for Keller. It's about all I use anymore. I do have a nice Leigh that came with a router I was looking at, but I rarely if ever use it because the manual is about 100 pages long and it has a ton of fussy little parts. The Keller doesn't have any moving parts and the instructions are on one sheet. Get two routers set up with the cutters and you're ready to go. Unless you're using it upside down on a router table, sawdust collection leaves a little to be desired, though, unless you have one of those suction connectors on the bottom of your router.

[Mike Henderson]

If that Rockler jig is the same one I had, I had a few issues with it. The major issue was that the jig is fixed, meaning that you can't change the spacing between the cuts. Because of that, you can't set up your dovetails to any width board - you have to make your boards to fit the jig. Otherwise, you can wind up with a big pin on each end, or a very small pin. I found the fixed spacing to be limiting.

I also had a lot of trouble setting it up.

To me, a jig is useful when you're going to make a lot of pieces with dovetails, such as doing all the kitchen drawers in a kitchen. Kitchen drawers are standard sizes so you won't have to do too many setups.

But if you're doing a chest of drawers, every drawer is a different size (generally drawers are bigger on the bottom and smaller as you go up). That means you have have to go through a different set-up for every drawer.

I agree with Derek that for most furniture work you're better off doing hand cut dovetails. Not only do they show off your skill, but they can be faster than going through a jig set up.

If you're dead set on a jig, get one that's adjustable - but it will be more expensive.

Mike

[Edwin Santos]

But if you're doing a chest of drawers, every drawer is a different size (generally drawers are bigger on the bottom and smaller as you go up). That means you have have to go through a different set-up for every drawer.


Unless you use the Keller jig which will not require a different set up each time, unless you chose to change set-up for aesthetics, in which case it would take you seconds.

In general I agree that the shine of a jig gets brighter with volume. Learning to hand cut dovetails is not only worthwhile but can be very enjoyable and rewarding too. There is a place for both methods.

[Michael Costa]

Did I read that correctly..... The Leigh dovetail jig is for use with 3/4" stock only?

[Tom M King]

No, Michael. I just keep mine set up for 3/4" stock. I keep two dedicated routers set up for that thickness. I don't have time to fiddle around with changing setups. The only thing I change is pin spacing. It's only useful to me if I can just pull it out, and produce work, which is a lot different than doing it for a hobby.

[Randy Heinemann]

My experience with Rockler jigs of all types (and I don't own the dovetail jig) is that, while they are inexpensive, they also tend to be somewhat inaccurate. In this case, it might be a great starting place to get some experience with cutting details with a router/jig, but I doubt you will be satisfied in the longer term if you start doing a lot of dovetailed drawers, etc. Dust collection is definitely worth the extra cost, but in the case of this jig don't know if it is, in fact, effective. A lot of chips and dust are created.

While you can certainly learn to cut dovetails by hand, as suggested, I found the learning curve for me was just too long and I didn't cut enough to keep up my skills or develop my own process. Plus, if you really want to do the hand cut dovetail thing right, you will need to invest in some high quality hand tools no matter what anyone says. They aren't cheap either.

Last, as someone else has already said, the Rockler jig only allows fixed spacing which means your dovetails are limited in design and look. I don't know about the Keller, but getting a jig which allows for variable spacing and gets high ratings for dust collection would be recommended because then you will not be disappointed and have more flexibility for projects.

Dedicating a router to the dovetail jig is a good idea as then setup is easier and it's ready when you are.

Do some research and make comparisons of prices, capability, and dust collection ratings. Then decide based on what projects you are likely to do or what your first project will be. Nothing wrong with cheap if you are just getting started; just you might not be satisfied with that in the long term.

[Charlie Jones]

Although it is limited to through dovetails, the Keller jig is the easiest to use. After the initial prep there is almost no setup. I use mine on the router table even for large pieces up to 3 feet long. I have very little dust.

[Dave Cav]

Although it is limited to through dovetails, the Keller jig is the easiest to use. After the initial prep there is almost no setup. I use mine on the router table even for large pieces up to 3 feet long. I have very little dust.

I've always used mine in the vise and it's very messy. I'm going to have to give the router table method a try now that I have a decent router table.

[Mike Henderson]

Plus, if you really want to do the hand cut dovetail thing right, you will need to invest in some high quality hand tools no matter what anyone says. They aren't cheap either.


I would disagree with your comment about needing expensive tools to make hand cut dovetails. For years, I used a small dozuki saw (I think I paid about $35 for it) and my standard bench chisels. I don't remember what I paid for my chisels, but somewhere about $100 for the ones I used. Of course, those were not dedicated dovetail tools. I also used a wheel marking gauge and a dovetail saddle marker from LV and a marking knife. I cut a lot of dovetails with that kit.

Hand cut dovetails are not expensive to cut, but you do need to learn how to cut them properly. Getting instruction from someone experienced will go a long way, if you don't feel your skill is up to what it should be.

Since those early days, I've bought, and used, other tools, such as the Lie Nielsen dovetail saw and the Knew Concepts fret saw. Also, the TiteMark wheel marking gauge. But those tools are definitely optional and not required to be able to make high quality dovetails.

Mike

P.S. "It is a poor workman who blames his tools."

[Dave Cav]

My great grandfather was a professional furniture maker for a store in the Lebanon, PA area nearly 100 years ago. I have a footstool he made and my sister has a small freestanding cabinet with a drawer. From what I have heard from my father, he worked in the back of the store and made furniture to order, mostly by hand using ordinary hand tools of the day. What's interesting is the dovetails in the cabinet drawer are workmanlike, but not the works of art we often see in contemporary work. A number of the joints are shimmed and they are somewhat irregular, but they got the job done. The footstool I have has some nice inlay stringing; my dad said it looked like his small tools for inlay work appeared to be hand forged out of nails.

[Bradley Gray]

Dave,
I have repaired a lot of "American Country" furniture made in the mid west and have never encountered fancy dovetails with tiny pins. I believe they were mostly done by eye, without layout other than a depth mark and repaired when necessary. Rarely do the joints fail.