Router for Leigh Dovetail Jig

[Jim Becker]

Ron, many of the dovetail bit sets designed for use with the Leigh jig are 8mm shank tooling because of the extra strength it provides over what is a longer cutter due to the nature of the jig without clearance issues that can come with the larger .5" shank bits. I'm talking about "designed for Leigh" tooling. There are certainly other options, but the 8mm collet is necessary if one has the tooling I mention, including the bits that come with the jig from the manufacturer.

[lowell holmes]

Why don't you go to the toy stores, Lowes and Home Depot, and pick up the routers and see if there is one you like.
Or better yet,

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=...aISAMkQ4dUDCA0

[Ron Selzer]

The Leigh bits that came with the dovetail jig which I bought used, had 1\2" and 1 /4" shanks. I bought 3 8 mmm collets for my PC 690' s before I checked the smaller bits. I then bought the Whiteside Leigh router bit set with 8mmm and 1/2" bits. Have not used them yet, hover they are there when needed
Ron

[William Chain]

The VRS is a very important part.

This 1000X - the VRS upgrade will make your life so much nicer. Extra support, and pretty effective dust collection. I resisted this extra expense, but lordy was this worth every penny.

[Will Blick]

I posed this question to Leigh Jig Owner and developer at a trade show...
He thinks the Bosch 1617 is ideal, as it has a perfect low center of gravity as Jim mentioned...as the two handles are very low.
And the two handles placed 180 deg provides for ease of keeping the router orientation fixed when moving it in and out. This is critical, as the system relies on the non concentric, "elliptical guide bushing." Changing router orientation the slightest bit will alter cut to/fro the guides, which defeats the premise of the elliptical guide bushing.
A luxury is to own 2 routers of the same type, so u dont have to re set the bit depths if doing a lot of the same work over and over...
The 1617's can be purchased quite reasonably as there is always Bosch sales....

[Eric Arnsdorff]

I like the Bosch stuff and I have a Bosch 1617EVS mounted in my router table lift. I bought the adapter for it thinking I may use it on the Leigh jig but it completely blocks the view of the bit and guide. Maybe I’m just a newbie with the Leigh but I chose to go with the DeWalt 618 for a few reasons.
1. The lowest CG from a visual analysis. I’m hoping this helps with the stability along with the VRS I ordered.
2. It has a clear base that accepts the Leigh (PC style) guide bushings.
3. I expect I’ll purchase a 2nd router for the jig and the DW616 has basically the same features and with sales is around $105 ($125 regular price).
4. I was cheap and didn’t buy the D-handle but it is available for it.

PC has a very similar offering in a fixed speed and variable speed with the costs being close. I went with the DeWalt mainly because of the clear base. The PC has some advantages too.

I’m still learning the jig so I’ll see how this goes.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback!

[Malcolm McLeod]

You won't regret the VRS. Try the jig once w/o the VRS, then the VRS will amaze you. (I use PC 690s, but I think the VRS makes this irrelevant -- YMMV.)

I'll second the 2-router approach. It seems inevitable that I would get everything dialed in, cut tails, switch over to pins, and then have a train wreck - - and had to switch back. Second time it happened, I bought a 2nd router. I don't touch the bit setups until the 'box' is in clamps.

[johnny means]

I would absolutely not want to use any of the mini routers. Cutting dovetails can get a little jumpy and the extra mass is helpful in keeping the tool steady. I've even mused about fabbing up a baseplate of 1/2" steel to absorb some of the vibrations before it gets to my hands.