Davetail jigs

[Jim Baker]

I will be purchasing a dovetail jig soon for making half blind dovetailed drawers. I am considering the Woodhaven jig. Does anyone have any experience with it? Is there something else I should be looking at?

[Dave Avery]

Jim,

I posted this review on the Pond a while back - it deals with through DT's, but since then I've used it for HB DT's with great success too.

I recently purchased, set-up, and made drawers using the new Akeda dovetail jig. It’s available only from Woodcraft. Below are some (long) thoughts and comments. I have no experience with any other dovetail making equipment except a cheap Craftsman unit that I received as a gift. I was never able to make good joints and consider myself a novice where dovetail making equipment is concerned.

The unit is priced at $300. At this price you get the unit, 7 degree dovetail bit, matched straight cutter, and template fingers to cut 7degree through and half blind dovetails. For an additional $250, you get an accessory kit that includes dust collection, template pieces for 4 additional through dovetail angles, corresponding bits for the 4 additional angles, and both oversize and undersize straight bits to improve fit. Woodcraft has the unit and accessory package priced at $500, a $50 savings off “list”. With my 10% birthday month discount, I paid $450 + 6% CT sales tax.

I purchased the Akeda because it appeared to be well made, provide moderate flexibility, and it looked like it was relatively simple to set up and use (I am not mechanically inclined).

A few general comments and limitations….. through dovetails are only possible in stock up to ¾” thick. Half blind dovetails can be made in material up to 1” thick. It’s also possible to do half blind dovetails on rabbeted drawer fronts. The other major limitation is that the cutters are Akeda specific and made only in ¼” shank. The joints are infinitely adjustable, but only in 1/8” increments. You’ll need a 7/16” OD precision template guide for the jig to work properly. An undersize guide will produce loose joints, oversize tight joints. These conditions can be offset by using the undersize and oversize straight cutters from the accessory kit. Setting the depth of cut accurately is the secret to cutting good joints. Finally, a router with a 6” diameter base is recommended, though my Makita RF1101 with a 5 ½” base worked fine and was extremely stable.

On to first impressions. The jig is VERY easy to set up, even for the mechanically challenged. I only had to consult with the family mechanic (LOML) twice and I could have figured things out on my own if I thought about things a little longer. The manual is very good at explaining what needs to be done, even if you’re a dovetail novice.

The template guide fingers are individual and a little difficult to position (snap in), particularly the first time they’re used. The manual warns about this and also says that forcing the issue will result in breakage. The manual was correct, I broke a couple of 7 degree pin guides, but I soon got the hang of it and the process was much easier after I learned the appropriate technique and after the fingers got broken in.

The optional dust collection worked fairly well with a big shop vac. It would have worked better if I had used some of the shutters provided to close off more of the open areas, but that seemed like more pain than I wanted to go through. Plus, I was anxious to get cutting. My estimate is that the dust collection got 95+% of the waste. Some waste did collect in the jig and had to be manually pushed toward the vac outlet, particularly when cutting the pins.

My first project for the jig was 3 bathroom vanity drawers made from cherry. To keep things simple, I elected to make through dovetails all around (I’m using fully extension slides, so I’ll be adding an additional decorative drawer front anyway). I made one test cut on scrap for both the tails and the pins. The pins ended up a little shallow, so I increased the depth of the straight cutter and the resulting joint was near perfect. On to the real deal. I cut all the tails first. It’s a little hard to see exactly where the U shaped template fingers are, but I found that making a pencil mark on the top of the jig was helpful in getting me near the right place. At no time did I even come close to making a cut in the wrong place. I changed the template fingers to cut the pins and loaded the straight cutter in the router. I cut the first pins on both sides of the drawer front and made a test fit on the already cut drawer sides…… ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!! I cut the remaining pins and the results were the same.

Summary conclusions. I really like the jig. It’s easy to set up and use. If you want ultimate flexibility, get the Leigh (and take the class). The fact that the Akeda is simple enough not to require a class is a major plus and a major selling point. It’s expensive, but for $450, I can make an almost unlimited variety of joints up to 16” wide. The ¾” limitation on through dovetails is not a serious issue for me. I think Akeda has done an excellent job producing a quality product “right out of the box”. I don’t see any “early production” issues. Overall, an excellent product at a fair price.