suggest a simple accurate dovetail jig

[Bill Stoffels]

Leigh?
Akeda?
Porter cable?
What do you think

[Jamie Buxton]

Keller.

It is dead nuts simple. In my view that's a good thing. I just want to hook boards together. I don't want to read a hundred-page instruction manual.

[Seth Poorman]

I like my Porter Cable 24" Omni Jig , Its pretty simple.
You do have to read the instructions to get started,after that your good to go.
All I use my jig for is drawers (1/2" blind DTs) never used the other templates.
Seth..

[Chris Rosenberger]

I will second the Porter Cable Omini jig.

[Mike Goetzke]

I recently got a P-C 4212 and would highly recommend it (unless you have $400+ to spend on a jig).

[Jason Morgan]

I too would recommend the PC4212. Great bang for the buck!

[Tom Hamilton]

You might consider a test drive or two in one of the woodworking stores.

My Rockler jig is fussy and, without the downloaded from a non-Rockler web-site instructions, frustrating to use. Incidentially, the Rockler instructor put me onto the downloaded instructions.

I wish I had done the test drive first! :( I would have probably bought a different brand.

Best regards, Tom

[Russ Massery]

Bill,
I have the Leigh D-4. I woudn't call it simple though it does have a GREAT manual. But I've alway gotten excellent results.After using a few times it get much easier to set up. The plus is you can do variable spacing and does through & blind dovetails.

[Mac McAtee]

downloaded from a non-Rockler web-site instructions, frustrating to use. Incidentially, the Rockler instructor put me onto the downloaded instructions.


Tom,
How about a link to those directions?

[tod evans]

bill, i think the simplest is the keller and the tank for production is the omnijig. the rest are targeted at folks who woodwork for sport...02 tod

[Brian Hale]

Keller, hands down. Less than an hour after you open the box you'll have your first joint done. You're not limited to the size of the jig so they can be any length you want. ~$ 150 including the 2 bits.

Brian :)

BTW, i got mine from Highland Hardware.

[frank shic]

stots dovetail template master if you don't have time for saw and chisel.

[Jim Becker]

Leigh was and is my choice for the best all-around router dovetail system. Although it's extreme flexibility at first might make you think it hard to use, the excellent instructions and logical methodology makes it relatively easy to get great results even the first time out. (I know of one fellow who actually did beautiful inlayed dovetails for his first time...not that I would have tried that!) The 24" capacity is great for casework.

Akeda is a very nice system and reportedly easy to use. My one beef with it is the expectation that everything should be in 1/8" increments which is not necessarily good if you are trying to maintain exact proportions in some kinds of work. It will not affect many woodworkers, but would drive me nuts. The 16" capacity is also more limiting for casework for those who want to do through dovetails.

The Keller that Brian talks about is great, especially for casework. It's only for through-dovetails, however, which may or may not work for drawers, depending on whether you want either visible joinery or will be using false fronts.

Of course, it also comes down to "what kind of dovetails do you want to do?" If you are only going to do drawers and the like, a simple, fixed half-blind system, such as the smaller PC, is a good value and proven system.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Keller.

http://www.ablett.jp/workshop/images/dovetails/keller_jig.jpg

less than half an hour, and I made this....

http://www.ablett.jp/workshop/images/dovetails/dovetails1.jpg

Yep, those are the first ever dovetails I've made.

Works like a charm, simple enough for this Stu-pid guy to use, and Dave Keller is really good to deal with, he shipped to Japan without blinking (Lots of companies will not ship outside of the US, they treat Japan like it was a foreign country or something! :eek:).

Love mine, I need to find ways to work it into more projects!

Cheers!

[Bill Stoffels]

To all,
Thanks for the information , I like through dovetail as I will be making 10-20 humidors. does the leigh once set work well?

[Jim Becker]

I like through dovetail as I will be making 10-20 humidors. does the leigh once set work well?

AH....more information. Yes, the Leigh will set up very nicely and I usually make setup samples/templates to insure identical bit height the next time around. But another thing about the Leigh...it will do smaller dovetails very nicely and is very flexible in that respect. Buy the jig and buy the complete set of Leigh format cutters from the bit vendor of your choice. (I recommend an 8mm set as they are stronger...you can use an 8mm collet on your router if it's available or use a sleeve in a 1/2" collet to use these cutters) The complete set of cutters will get you very small to very big dovetail sizes...all from the same jig. Many of the other systems don't support this.

[Tom Hamilton]

Sorry Mac, I should have put it in the original post: http://www.woodshopdemos.com/dts-rock-1.htm.

Hope this helps.

Tom

[Keith July]

I have had the Keller for over 12 years and it is as accurate today as the day I bought it. Quick set up is a huge plus.
Keith

[Peter Lyon]

If you're truly interested in a "simple, accurate" dovetail jig, then the Keller is your best choice. I've had extensive experience with both the PC Omni and the Leigh D-4 and they both work very well -- but simple, and 100% accurate, they aren't!

The D-4 has a fairly steep learning curve and unless you use it frequently, you will end up spending quite a bit a time setting it up each time. In my opinion, the real value in the D4 is its versatility.

The Omni's value is that it's a real work horse. The Keller, on the other hand, will have you producing dead on dovetail joints in about 30 minutes the first time you use it and in about 5 minutes each time thereafter.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The Porter Cable Omnijis is still IMNSHO the GOLD STANDARD by which all others appear as inferior pretenders.

Whoooeeeuuu baby am I arrogant or what?

The Leigh is OK and lots of folks love it for the wide adjustability. I find it to be a tad fussy and flimsy. The Porter Cable - - - Well

this is a repost of what I posted elsewhwere:

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IMNSHO
Depending on what you want there are jigs and there are jigs.
The top flight players are:
Porter Cable's Omnijig.
Leigh D4
Akeda
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I have not used the Keller.

Others are usually limited by bad clamping, small size, unreliable guides, inability to do other than one type & size of DT or a host of other issues.

All jigs have some serious limitations.
The guide fingers are a fixed factor that fixes the size of the DT you can cut by limiting the bit size and the bushing size. There is no relief from this limitation when using jigs. You are forever a slave to the manufacturer’s whims. Your joints will also look like you purchased them out of a box. Well, ya did !! Add wood, electricity, run a router around a little bit and PRESTO CHANGO instant joints out of a box. Is that a bad thing?? I dunno, I use the jigs. They are fast and easy and they GET ‘R DONE when I don’t care about having that "hand cut" look.
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However, when hand cutting there is nothing holding you back, so you can make your DTs any size/shape you please.
Hand cuts are really easy once you get the knack. Tage Frid has a really cool video and a book.

Allan Foust has a BOAT LOAD of information on his website for free here:
home.nj.rr.com/afoust/dovetails.html (http://home.nj.rr.com/afoust/dovetails.html)
Ya GOTTA got there. Set aside some time as it's well worth it.


I have heard very interesting things about Stots little gadget for making your own DT jigs. For $30.00 it's probably worth a try.

The Akeda is a small tool but flawlessly easy and it's adjustable.

The Leigh D4 has managed to get itself a stellar reputation for perfect DTs, lots – and lots - of flexibility. I have one it is flexible.
The Porter Cable is, I think, the workhorse of the industry. It lets you use templates for different size DTs as well as offering a fully adjustable Through DT template with position adjustability every bit as flexible as the Leigh.
The PC is 73 pounds of precision milled Cast Aluminum. It will not go out of square on you. The guides are no nonsense nice and thick aluminum plate CNC machined to close tolerances. The template guide supports are heavy aluminum. The clamps are staggeringly strong. The PC Omnijig is bulletproof.

The Leigh is more elegant in concept but no more useful than the PC. It does come out of the box with the “Through DT template” that's fully adjustable - sort of. It's I think a tad easier to suss out in the beginning than the PC, but no DT jig is very hard to use at all. I think the Leigh is flimsy and fussy. I find that the weight of the router, the pressure of how I clamp things in , the pressure I use when inserting a piece of wood all wreck havoc on the joints. I'm not talking lots of pressure I'm talking ounces to a pound or two of pressure. Holding the thing in my hand I can measure flex in it when I torque it with a slight wrist twist. It is very adjustable and works well. Lots of people adore it.

The PC on the other hand will not budge. You can park a truck on it, clamp the work in using a breaker bar, and drop it off the bench, and let at it with your 12 Guage - while routing. It's not going to budge. There are no stupid plastic clamp parts. The Clamps are inch & a quarter thick steel bar stock with a piece of flat stock about a quarter of an inch thick spanning the 24" opening. It's impossible to over torque the clamps and they won't ever let the piece slip. You do have to order the templates separately as it only comes with the 1/2" Blind template. They are about $100.00+++ each. That's seen as a serious down side as most folks want adjustable through DTs. Once set up you don't ever have to change anything. Over and ov er and over and over it'll produce flawless DTs. And Yes the joints do look like they came out of a box all perfectly identical.


The only reason I bought a jig in the first place was because I had lots and lots of DTs planned and none were going to show. So I bought the Leigh, Then a few weeks later I saw the PC for sale at a insanely cheap price $200.00 OMFG !!! It's a $450.00 tool. I got the Leigh for $300.00
I like the PC better.

Really if you want my opinion go to that web site I linked to: Read a couple articles .
Check these guys out too:
http://home.austin.rr.com/sawduster/Dovetails%20My%20Way/Dovetails%20My%20Way.htm
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http://www2.gol.com/users/nhavens/htmlfile/dt1-e.html
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Read what those guys have done.

You'll be hand cutting 'em in no time (15 minutes was what it took me.)
Honestly, if you put half the time into trying it by hand as you'd haveto, to go through the process of: selecting and purchasing your jig, learning to use it, setting up the router, changing bits, and fine tuning the jig you'd likely be a dab hand at hand cutting and a few hundred dollars richer for your effort.

Give it a shot. Grab that old worn backsaw that came from some yard sale's crummy wood miter box and just do it. No, you do not need a costly English or Japanese saw. You may want one and you may get one (or several), but you don’t need one.
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