Keller or Incra dovetail jig?

[Jake Minarcik]

Hi all,

I'm glad to see a lot of fellow Ponder's. I'm in the market for a dovetail jig that's easy to use and dosen't cost a ton. I was looking at the Keller Journeyman and the Incra Ultra lite. I read some posts on other forums that said that the Incra wasn't all that it's cracked up to be. Mostly on the through dovetails. I really like the simple operation of the Keller but it seems limited. Any thoughts on either would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Have a good one.

[Bartee Lamar]

There is one on www.jesada.com (http://www.jesada.com) Very curious if anyone has used this one.

$99

DTJ-001 DOVETAIL JIG - 12"

Handles stock up to 12" wide
7/16 to 1" thick
Rout both sides of the joint simultaneously
Sturdy steel jig with solid aluminum template


Also PorterCable has a model at about $115.

I have a really hard time thinking that I can purchase a cabinet table saw for less than $900 and then pay $500 for a dovetail template....

[Ken Wright]

I've had the Keller 1601 for about a year. I wouldn't trade it ... period. I looked at all of the jigs I could find before making my decision ....Its more versatile for my money especially in view of the ability to cut the dovetails in any length piece ... the ability to stagger the dovetails to avoid the manufactured look ... and for the rare event that you should decide to dovetail a rounded blanket chest lid .... it'll do that too.....

The one thing it wont do is 1/2 blinds ... but then I like to use thru dovetails on drawers ... I think it adds to the professionalism of the piece.... but don't be mislead ... I'm a far cry from a pro.

[Dave Arbuckle]

You're kind of comparing apples and puppydogs there.

I find that the easiest way to help someone pick a dovetail mechanism is to begin with their defining what sorts of things they wish to dovetail, what kind of dovetails they wish to install, all that. There really is no killer one-size-fits-all dovetailer in my opinion. I have two of the most popular, Leigh D4 and Incra Ultra, and one rather unknown, Stots DTM.

As Ken mentioned, Kellers are through only. So if you really wanted to do half-blinds, that would be a bad pick although it's an excellent jig. You mentioned hearing that Incras are a little funky on throughs, and that's the truth. Because of the way it works, you end up having to do some hand carving on the joint, it is a little finicky.

Dave