dovetail jigs

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

What do creekers use for cutting dovetails? other than "cutting by hand"...

I'd love to make variable-spaced dovetails, in addition to "fixed" ones. I'd like to dovetail the joints in a blanket chest I'm thinking of making for my daughter, but I'm not sure how "tall" the chest could be and still expect to use a dovetail jig...

I see the PC Omnijig and the Leigh jig, any reviews or advice?

[Brent Smith]

Hi John,

I use a Leigh D4. Once you get past the learning curve it's straight forward to use. It has a 24" capacity, but I have built taller structures by dovetailing sections and then gluing up the panels. If you go the Leigh route I would suggest you also buy the dust shroud for the jig.

[Thomas Pender]

I have two dovetail jigs, plus my Akeda. Once I bought the pastic subbase from Pat Warner for my Bosh 1617, it and my Akeda work great together and I can see what is going on.

1. The instructions are great. Clear, good illustrations, you name it. When they warn about router sag, believe them - some of our routers sag and this affects fit.

2. The dust collection is acceptable - probably the best of all on jigs (I use my Festool CT 22 and it sucks the stuff out - with the hood from my Oneida nearby as backup). I am sure the Fein and other ones wood work well also.

3. The fits are very tight, but you have to use their templates or something that is less than 1/100 of an inch to tolerance (check the outside dimension with an accurate caliper). Also, right now I bought some extra bits from Woodcraft on clearance for like 7.99 or 8.99 per.

4. The adjustability is super - I get some beautiful results on half blinds.

5. Love the through dovetails.

6. Wood stays tight in the jig.

7. Expendable Parts (bits) are not cheap, but the bits seem to be of reasonable quality (the Whiteside varients are really good).

8. To get depth exactly right, I bought a depth gauge from Rockler for about $10 (13.99 now) and find it to be critical to the jig and my router table, you name it - it looks like a "U" with a rule thorugh the middle and the rule adjusts up and down with a lock - Rockler Part 37429. It, like the clear base is what makes the jig work in a way that I like.

I prefer the Akeda other jigs by a large margin. I bought it because of the reviews that were positive and have never regretted buying it - unlike some other tool turkeys I have bought (do not get me started).:(

[Loren Hedahl]

I use a Leigh D4. I use it mostly for 1/2 blind dovetails.

The reason I like it is because I don't have to make my drawer heights in strict increments of 1/2 inch in order to get the half-pin at the top and bottom. I just use the variable spacing to make it all come out right.

I need to order the dust shroud though.

[Mark Grotenhuis]

I use the porter cable 24" omnijig. It works great. It has a few little quirks but troubleshooting is fairly logical. Actually I find myself using my 12" porter cable jig for fixed half blind dovetails the most. Its easy to use however it cant do variable spacing or custom width drawer sides either. The omnijig has great dust collection with the optional dust shroud. It is pretty pricey but very nice. The included dvd explains how to use it very well.

[Al Navas]

What do creekers use for cutting dovetails? other than "cutting by hand"...
John,

The versatility provided by the D4 or the D4R (newer version of the D4) is terrific - you might be able to buy one used, or close to new. As an alternative, You might find that the new line of Leigh Super Jigs are what you might need.

I always suggest you look at the reasons you are hunting for one. In your case, I believe you have already answered the questions. So, now it might be a matter of waiting for advice, and then making a decision.


Please let us know if you might need some more help. Regards,


.

[Thomas Williams]

For through dovetails on a chest, I would go with the Stots guide. www.stots.com You can check it out at Woodshopdemos. http://www.woodshopdemos.com/prd-stot.htm
Hands down the best dovetail jig I have worked with for under $50.

[Don Bullock]

Just for your information: I received a Rockler ad in the mail yesterday. It says that they are selling "all Porter-Cable dovetail jigs" for 15% off and there is a picture of the 24" Omni Dovetail Jig. This is the first time I've seen then on sale if it's true.

[William OConnell]

I* use an older 24" PC omnijig. The thing is built like a tank and many kinds templates are readily availble. I personally use half blinds almost exclusively and this jig shines at production of those for me. Its a tool that doesn't owe me a nickle

[Denny Rice]

I own the Leigh D4R dovetail jig and love it. I will admit it took a little time to get use to all the different features on the D4R but I do not regreat the purchase. There have been a lot of posts on SMC ever since PC has been downgraded to a cheap Chinese tool, the D4R is a tool that will outlive me, it is a quality tool built to last. If you "invest" in a quality jig like the D4R you will be happy with your purchase, there are cheaper jigs out there, its just what you want and what your needs are. Also the D4R come with a very good manual and CD to answer all and any questions you migt have about the jig.

[Dan Bertenthal]

I purchased a Leigh 18" Superjig a month ago and found the learning curve to be pretty straight-forward. I got decent dovetails on my first practice run, thanks in part to their instructional DVD.

While I haven't used the D4R, I can say that the Superjig is built pretty solidly. It seems to have most of the capabilities of the D4R, with the main differences being that you're limited to 3/4" stock and that you can't vary the widths of the pins easily (I prefer narrow pins so it's not an issue). An added feature is the capabiity to do single-pass half-blind dovetails (i.e., the evenly spaced machine-cut dovetails done by the Porter-Cable 4200 series).

It's still made in Canada, although their router bits are Taiwanese (I bought some replacement Whiteside bits from fellow-creeker Brian Gummper).

Their Vacuum & Router Support accessory works very well.

If you're curious, they'll send you a demo DVD for free.

Regards,
Dan

[David Moody]

I'm using one of the new PC 24" Omnijigs and it has been a real treat. Making adjustments is pretty straightforward and its recipe card use of stops, guide bushings, bits, and bit height gauges takes out a lot of guesswork. Those combined with the tutorial DVD make the learning curve on this tool very short. For the basic through, blind, and half-blind cuts, I don't need to look at the manual anymore. I just keep the included reference card tacked up above the jig and it tells me all I need to know.

I would strongly recommend the vacuum attachment. The assorted stop and bit sets are now available (they weren't up until a month ago) and I would also certainly get those as they will considerably open up the range of what you can cut with that tool. I just received those two sets a couple of weeks ago.

The Omnijig is a very well designed tool that is built like a precision tank. I prefer its machined fingers to the cast fingers in the Leigh for several different reasons (which I won't go into here). The single arm cam lock for the wood combined with the machined tractioned surfaces really secures the wood in well (which is very critical when you things like the single pass half blinds, because the router pushes against the edge of one of the workpieces and you don't want that to slip). It is quite the quality product. The joints I have produced with it have been very good, and even more importantly, I have been able to easily control the characteristics of the joint for my purposes (tightness/looseness, proud/recessed.... just right ;) ).

Between this new jig from PC, Akeda, and the Leigh jigs, you have some good products to choose from if you are looking for a wider (24") jig. You probably won't go wrong with any of them, in the end.

[Andy Casiello]

PC4212. Nice little jig for the price and does linear spaced through dovetails. I'd like to get a PC Omnijig or the Leigh D4R - for the width, variable spacing and dust collection.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Thanks for all the feedback! I hadn't thought about dust collection, so that's something else I can think about.

[John Eaton]

If you cut a lot of dovetails without the collection you'll find yourself standing in a huge pile of chips.

-- John

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I used one MANY years ago - I think I still have it, it's either a Craftsman or PC...it worked ok, had some sort of plastic template, and was Ok for just fixed-space dovetails. And I also remember the "pile of chips" , but figured that was just meant to be. the DC capavility of the new ones is nice...

[J. Z. Guest]

I bought the MLCS clone of the Keller jig. It has been good for through dovetails, and quite affordable compared to other jigs.

If I had the money, I'd get the Porter-Cable jig with the removable template. I believe it is around $180. This one is the most versatile.

Next project, I'm going to try lock miters & dowels instead.

[Homer Faucett]

PC4212. Nice little jig for the price and does linear spaced through dovetails. I'd like to get a PC Omnijig or the Leigh D4R - for the width, variable spacing and dust collection.

That's the ticket. I got the 4210, and wish I had the 4212 for the additional templates. It's great for half-blind dovetails that you will do on most cabinet projects.

I just bought a used Leigh D3 with the speed clamps (in transit right now), and picked up the Leigh VRS and bit set to trick it out. I wanted to do variable spaced through dovetails for chests, and this seemed the best option for me. I don't plan on using the Leigh to make HB dovetails, as I'll keep the 4210 to crank those out quickly unless I need something deeper.