Mike Rambour
01-15-2021, 6:00 PM
I have a near 40 year old Leigh TD 514-L dovetail jig and it has worked ok for me last 40 years, I don't use it often maybe once or twice a year for a project and put it away. It can only do through dovetails and it uses paper shims to adjust everything. Also some of the fingers have been hit by router bits over the decades, only a few and a little bondo fixes the issue.
I have a project coming up that will require 22 drawers, some made with 1/2 sides, some with 3/4 sides due to the weight those will carry, so I will have to play with the shims quite a bit. I don't want to make them all with 3/4 as some of the drawers will be quite narrow. My dovetail bit is pretty dull and I will have to get a new one, so since I have to spend some money anyway, I am wondering about the DR4 Pro and if its worth getting. I know I have not used my existing jig very much last few years, but I really believe part of that is the shim system and if it was not for that I would have used it more. I have been slapping drawers together with my Domino quite a bit and also box joints and that has worked, but sometimes, you just need dovetails :)
I am also thinking of a router miter lock bit as that seems even quicker than dovetails. The new jig can also do half-blind dovetails which would be cool but primarily interested in through dovetails. This particular project will need strength more than cosmetic, so I will box joint it or try the router miter lock, but if I had a easy way to make the dovetails I would prefer it. Very long story short...is the DR4 Pro worth upgrading to in your opinion or stick with what I have and figure another way to do what I need. The paper shims SUCK
I have a project coming up that will require 22 drawers, some made with 1/2 sides, some with 3/4 sides due to the weight those will carry, so I will have to play with the shims quite a bit. I don't want to make them all with 3/4 as some of the drawers will be quite narrow. My dovetail bit is pretty dull and I will have to get a new one, so since I have to spend some money anyway, I am wondering about the DR4 Pro and if its worth getting. I know I have not used my existing jig very much last few years, but I really believe part of that is the shim system and if it was not for that I would have used it more. I have been slapping drawers together with my Domino quite a bit and also box joints and that has worked, but sometimes, you just need dovetails :)
I am also thinking of a router miter lock bit as that seems even quicker than dovetails. The new jig can also do half-blind dovetails which would be cool but primarily interested in through dovetails. This particular project will need strength more than cosmetic, so I will box joint it or try the router miter lock, but if I had a easy way to make the dovetails I would prefer it. Very long story short...is the DR4 Pro worth upgrading to in your opinion or stick with what I have and figure another way to do what I need. The paper shims SUCK