Routers and the Leigh Dovetail Jig

[Tom DiBiasio]

I have had great results with Bosch 1617's - if you get the EVS kit with two bases then you may be able to save a little money by only purchasing an extra motor and you can dedicate the fixed base to the DT bit and plunge base should work for the straight cutter. After typing this I remembered the last time I used my D4 for through DT's I used a single router and changed the bit between operations, that could have been why I thought it was a pain the back side to get it done...

[Warren Lake]

I use the big porter cables and want handles that are down low on any router and not ball type handles.

[Charles Lent]

If you cut dovetails all day using big heavy routers, you may discover that you can't lift your arms high enough to do it again the next day. Yes, it will work, but it will likely punish your body. I used a Ryobi RE600 router to cut mortise and tenon joints on my Leigh FMT Pro jig all day, and painfully discovered that fact the next day. I had been lifting that router on and off the jig, probably several hundred times. After switching to a DeWalt DW618 which is considerably lighter than the RE600 I no longer suffered the day after one of these all day cutting sessions. The weight difference between the two routers is significant. Why punish your body using a heavy router when a smaller and much lighter one will work just as well? I no longer own the RE600

Charley

[Julie Moriarty]

I use the DeWalt DW618 with the Leigh D4R jig, and many other applications. No problems with the router. As for the DR4 jig, it's such a time consuming process setting it up I rarely use it.

[Warren Lake]

using a big router doesnt punish my body. Rebuilding six sections of my roof and re shingling was closer to punishment. Ive done tons of work with those routers at times running three at once.

[Derek Arita]

Just went thru this very scenario, just a few months back. I ended up using 2 Dewalt 618s. I really like them cuz they have the power to make smooth cuts and also have a very low center of gravity. I also tried my Bosch 1617, but I felt the CG was higher than I wanted.
I did a weird thing to the 8mm collets on the 2 618s...the deeper the collet fits into the guide bushing, the deeper you can mount the bit, which results in much less chatter, especially if you take your time. That said, I ground off the "corners" of 1/2 the collet, so that it would fit inside the guide bushing. I did that with both collets and they work great.
Centering is a good idea, however remember that all routers have different runout, so all the centering in the world will not make 2 routers identical. To combat that, I use one fixed guide bushing and one of the newer adjustable guides that Leigh makes. Now, using both routers in the same orientation every time, I made several test cuts, adjusting the adjustable guide, until I got as close as possible to having the sides of the boards line up. If you don't do this, your two boards will likely not be flush with one another, which could throw off your whole drawer.
Of course, you could always use the same router for both pins and tails of the the thru DT and have the best possible outcome. If you think about it, you cut all of your Tails first, then cut all of your pins, to fit the Tails, if I have the Pin/Tail things in the right order...can't quite remember, but you get the idea. Same amount of work, cuz you have to make a bunch of test cuts with a second router as well. I'll try to post a pic of the joint I ended up with...not perfectly flush, but pretty darn close...probably .005" from flush.
Of course, you could save yourself some time, $ and effort and do Half Blinds. One router, one bit and one setup.
TDT JPEG.jpg

[ChrisA Edwards]

Thank you all and Merry Christmas