Advice on dovetail jigs..

[Ed Gibbons]

Any advice would be appreciated. Read a review lately that the Leigh is tops but Porta Cable makes a pretty darn good one for less money. Is the ability to have 24" capability worth the extra $$?

Thanks.
EG

[Jerry Olexa]

You can do wider DTs with the PC 4212. They have video on their website showing how. Leigh is over $400 and PC about $130..

[CPeter James]

Check out the Akeda. I have one and it is easy to use, very flexible and will go to 16". If you are going to go wider than that, get the Leigh D4.

CPeter

[Allen Bookout]

I have the Akeda DC16 and really, really like it. The below link to the Akeda web site says that Jan the first a 24" model (BC24) is coming out. Might be worth the wait if you prefer the Akeda in a larger size and do not want to go the D4 route. Another notable part that is going to be available is the fine screw adjustment (part #3460) for DC16 and BC24 owners to eliminate the 1/8" restriction without having to jury rig it.

http://www.akedajigs.com/product_availability.html

[Dave Richards]

If you're considering the Leigh, you might also look at the WoodRat. You can do dovetails on stock up to 36" wide. You can use absolutely any dovetail router bits on the market. It'll do through, half blind and secret dovetails. you can also do mortises, tenons, box joints, sliding dovetails, panel raising, edge profiling, rabbets, dados and even make dowels. It hangs on the wall so it is always put away and always ready to use. It also doesn't take up any space on your bench.

[Tom Ruflin]

Ed,
I bought a used Leigh for $150 a few years ago and spent another $75 to upgrade it to a D4 model. I think it's a great jig and not that hard to use. I found using a center finding ruler to set up the fingers helped speed up the setup and acurracy. Just my two cents.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The best (bar none) is the ability to hand cut your own.

That said. I own the Leigh D4 and the Porter Cable Omnijig.

I also have made a jig for my slider that makes really sweet DTs on the Router Table attached to my slider (thank you Paul Cresti for the "router table on a slider" idea). In that system I pre-assemble two parts (preferqably with a lock miter) and make Dovetail Key Slots into which I ram keys that I make on the router table also. I think I like that method the best. I can attenuate the fit any way I please by changing the "keys" and I can freehand the spacing or use my miter fence ruler to position precisely. I rely on the router cutter to make the slots so there is no error. I can also use the cutter to make larger slots and custom fit the keys. It is way too easy for words. Even for a dyslexec galoot like me.


The Porter Cable Omnijig is my personal favorite jig. It's solid as a block of granite it makes perfect DT joints and you can repeate your DTs till your brains fall out with flawless acuracy. The down side to the PC is the fact that you gotta purchase seperate guides for through variable spaced DTs as it comes only with blind.

The Leigh requires you to screw around with switching sides and marking your boards to get the other side set up. Once you have it set, it is just fine. I think its' more flimsy than the PC jig but then - well - it is.

[John Piwaron]

I recommend the Leigh D4.

But that's easy to say since it's the one I own. I also have a very old Craftsman dovetail jig, but it's only good for 1/2 blind DTs. Yes, I still use the old one from time to time.

The problem sometimes with asking for comparisons is that not so many people have bought and tried both. I chose the D4 mostly on reputation way back. I'm not disappointed.

It's fairly easy to use though with all those moveable parts it sure looks intimidating. And it's flexible. By gosh it'll do just about any kind of dovetail in just about any size (thickness) material you can throw at it.

[Blaine Harrison]

I have both the Akeda and an Incra jig. The Akeda is by far the easiest to set up and I can't imagine dust collection could be any better, but it isn't as flexible as the Leigh or, IMO, the Incra. I'm going to sell my Akeda even though it is a great jig simply because the Incra does more and I can free up some cash. (anybody want to buy it?)

I looked at the Woodrat and had even set aside some space in my shop for it. The problem came when the inventor of the jig was at a woodworking show came to demonstrate it. He was trying to make half-blind DT's and could not get it right. That convinced me that the learning curve was going to be pretty steep. I still think the Woodrat is a great machine, but I wanted to spend my time making DT's not learning how to make DT's.

Blaine

[Mark Valsi]

Ed,

If I were you I'd buy the used one from Blaine !

AKEDA is great !!

[John Renzetti]

Hi, I have the Leigh jig and really like it. The learning curve wasn't that steep. Like anything you need to practice a bit. I watched the video a couple of times, then ran some practice pieces. As needed I went back to the video for more info. Haven't used any of the other jigs.
take care,
John

[Dave Richards]

I don't know. I haven't found the learning curve on the Rat to be difficult at all. Can the Leigh or Akeda do dovetails that look like this?
http://www.woodrat.com/infopics/drawer.jpg

[Travis Porter]

I have the Leigh D4 24 and the PC4212. IMO, it is nice to be able to do 24", but it is an occassional thing. I got the PC4212 because with the Leigh, for HB dovetails you have to do the pins and tails separately whereas with the 4212 you do them at the same time, so when I have a lot of drawers to do, I will use the 4212. For just a few and where I want the dovetails to line up with drawer grooves, or have special spacing the Leigh I have does that very well.

The Leigh is very flexible and does adjustable dove tails which is nice. There is a learning curve to it, but I would say that applies for all DT jigs.

[Jim Becker]

Prior to buying my Leigh D4, I used an "inexpensive" 1/2" HB jig. What I like about the D4 is the complete flexiblity it provides. Although I agree with Travis that something like the PC4212 can be faster for basic HB dovetails, I so rarely do dovetails like that...most of my drawers are done similar to those in the picture that Dave Richards posted above relative to the WoodRat. (Although the pins might be slightly wider...)

It really comes down to what you really want to do with a dovetail jig in the long term. If you want super flexiblity, the D4, the 'Rat, to a certain extent, the Akeda and the higher-end PC jigs give you a lot of capablity. Basic needs can be filled by basic jigs...or by hand cutting, which by the way, I also agree that everyone should at least try to learn, even if the results are not "perfect".