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Thread: Dovetail Jig

  1. #1
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    Dovetail Jig

    All, I think I am about to buy my first dovetail jig. I am thinking I'll go with the rockler jig as it is on sale for $140 right now. Question: Do I want the dust collection attachment? It dust collection for dovetails effective?

  2. #2
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    Mitchell
    You're going to want something.
    There's a lot of debris kicked up. You won't get it all, but the more you can get, the better.
    I have an router base vac adapter for my router and usually have a DC pickup close by, and still end up with my pants covered in sawdust.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  3. #3
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    A shop vacuum will take care of it.
    Last edited by lowell holmes; 12-11-2018 at 11:20 AM.

  4. #4
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    I'd definitely go for the dust collection accessory, too. I have the P-C jig and I end up being covered in dust by the time I finish. The local Woodcraft owner told me he heard that Leigh is going to make a version of their router rest/dust collection accessory available for the P-C jig. I'll be all over that if it's true.

    Scott

  5. #5
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    No idea but I use two routers for dovetails. one with a straight 1/4 spiral carbide endmill set a little shallower then the dovetail. I use that to rough out the dove tail removing more then 2/3 of the wood. Then switch to the dovetail bit in the other router. Trying to rout in one pass will clog up with chips may even snap the bit off.
    Bil lD

  6. #6
    Michell
    I have the same dovetail jig which I bought on sale with the dust collection a couple of years ago for about the same price couldn't resist at that price. The dust collection works great but you have to remove to make different set ups. But is well worth the having to remount it.
    Hope this helps, Bob

  7. #7
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    My dust collection for a jig similar to that is clamping it to a deck railing, and a helper holding a Toro electric leaf blower, blowing the chips out in the yard as they are made.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mitchell Ristine View Post
    All, I think I am about to buy my first dovetail jig. I am thinking I'll go with the rockler jig as it is on sale for $140 right now. Question: Do I want the dust collection attachment? It dust collection for dovetails effective?
    Mitchell, I know that this is off on a tangent, however you should also consider sawing dovetails by hand. I recall having the jig you are considering (about 20 years ago). It was a swine to set up. If you are only going to use it for a few dovetailed boards at a time (such as making a couple of drawers on an occasion), I know that I would have completed all the dovetailing before you had even got part way through setting up the jig, and my dovetails would be a whole lot prettier than those off the jig using a router. Router dovetails are really ugly. It is not hard to learn. It simply takes a little determination and a decent teacher. Then you will wonder what the fuss was.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  9. #9
    Look at the Keller jig. Super simple to set up.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Bradley Gray View Post
    Look at the Keller jig. Super simple to set up.
    Yup, what Bradley said. I am still doing all my dovetails by hand but if I were to buy a jig for a router it would be the keller. Dead simple and cheap.

    My father had that Rockler jig and it was a nightmare.

    B

  11. I was going to create a thread on dovetail jigs but this one exists. Like Mitchell, I too have eyed the same dovetail jig. However, I also noticed the much more expensive Leigh Super 18 jig which also allows to box joints.

    38921-01-1000.jpg
    Does anyone own on of these? Is it worth the extra cost? I believe it's about $399. I have a bunch of those unknown ($5-100 off) coupons Rockler is giving out for use after the 26th And plan to get a dovetail jig then. Just not sure which one yet.

  12. #12
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    I have one of each type of dovetail jig. The simple one, that is always set for the same spacing, is used only for drawers in houses I built, and that was the setup I was talking about using the leaf blower for. I do remember once doing 48 drawers for one house, all in one setting. That one has never been used for anything else. I never had a house buyer care how drawers were dovetailed, but almost all will notice that they are.

    The Leigh jig I bought used, just because it came cheap. It's nice in that you can vary the spacing on the pins. It also stays setup for 3/4" material only, and has two dedicated routers ready to go. It gets used very rarely, and then for things like boxes for tools, or utility boxes for a Boy Scout troop, both when there are multiples to make. It does have a dust collection accessory that works okay, but not as good as the leaf blower. I once had a client that asked me if we could make some nesting boxes for his Wife's chickens, as they was leaving for a short while. When they came back that day, we had a stack of dovetailed boxes. It was worth what I paid for it that afternoon in the reaction I got when they came back.

    I would never use either for some nice piece of furniture, or to replace parts in old furniture that I get asked to fix occasionally. Those get cut by hand, which is really the only way I know of to do thin pins, unless you get a specially ground blade for your table saw, which is the method I would look at if you don't want to get into cutting them completely by hand.

    If you are only going to do a piece of furniture once in a while, think about which is best for you.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 12-12-2018 at 2:27 PM.

  13. #13
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    Michael, I have an older one. It is definitely worth the price.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by brent stanley View Post
    Yup, what Bradley said. I am still doing all my dovetails by hand but if I were to buy a jig for a router it would be the keller. Dead simple and cheap.

    My father had that Rockler jig and it was a nightmare.

    B
    Another vote for Keller. It's about all I use anymore. I do have a nice Leigh that came with a router I was looking at, but I rarely if ever use it because the manual is about 100 pages long and it has a ton of fussy little parts. The Keller doesn't have any moving parts and the instructions are on one sheet. Get two routers set up with the cutters and you're ready to go. Unless you're using it upside down on a router table, sawdust collection leaves a little to be desired, though, unless you have one of those suction connectors on the bottom of your router.

  15. #15
    If that Rockler jig is the same one I had, I had a few issues with it. The major issue was that the jig is fixed, meaning that you can't change the spacing between the cuts. Because of that, you can't set up your dovetails to any width board - you have to make your boards to fit the jig. Otherwise, you can wind up with a big pin on each end, or a very small pin. I found the fixed spacing to be limiting.

    I also had a lot of trouble setting it up.

    To me, a jig is useful when you're going to make a lot of pieces with dovetails, such as doing all the kitchen drawers in a kitchen. Kitchen drawers are standard sizes so you won't have to do too many setups.

    But if you're doing a chest of drawers, every drawer is a different size (generally drawers are bigger on the bottom and smaller as you go up). That means you have have to go through a different set-up for every drawer.

    I agree with Derek that for most furniture work you're better off doing hand cut dovetails. Not only do they show off your skill, but they can be faster than going through a jig set up.

    If you're dead set on a jig, get one that's adjustable - but it will be more expensive.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

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