Which dovetail jig

[Danagawa]

Looking at getting a dovetail jig. Anybody got any experience they can share about them. Anybody got one that they like or hate? Which one would u get and why?

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Danny, I assume you're talking about the type of jig where you use a router to cut half blind dovetails? :dontknow:

If so, my advice would be don't waste your money on a cheap one. Years ago I bought one like this, but from a different company. I've probably only used it a few times, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

If you think you will use it regularly, I would suggest spending a little more and get one of the better ones, such as Leigh or Porter Cable.

 

[Frank Berry]

I recently purchased the Porter Cable Dovetail Jig and think it is very easy to use once you get the directions down. I can make some very nice joints with it. I am still learning more and more about it, but I think it is well worth the money it cost me.

 

[Joe Scharle]

I use a $20 Harbor Freight and a $800 Woodrat. Both excellent jigs to help me accomplish what I'm attempting at the time.
I also have a $100 dovetail saw and some very good chisels for when my eyes were good enough for handcuts. I've won a Leigh and a PC jig from magazine tips, that I later sold. They were excellent jigs as well. Bottom line is; No jig will do the job for you. You have to understand the geometry involved before you can be happy with any jig. Best way to learn that is to cut some by hand on scrap pine. Doesn't matter what they look like, but you will learn more about what you want and what to expect from a jig. Before anyone tells you otherwise, here's samples from each of the above jigs plus one handcut. I'll let you guess which is which.

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[Roy G]

I think you mean you are looking to buy a dovetail jig and two routers. After you get the depth of cut right, I don't think you want to mess with the routers again.

Roy G

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I have the Leigh D4R dovetail jig. It does through dovetails and half blind dovetails with variable spacing. I have liked it, but it does take a few minutes to setup.

 

[Dreuxgrad]

I started with a very basic Craftsman, mostly plastic, and have upgraded to a PC. The PC seems adequate for my need for functional cabinet drawers, although it seemed to a have a longer curve than the previous one. I did run two routers which I think facilitated the job immensely once the setup was refined.
Ed

 

[Willemjm]

I have both the Leigh DR4 Pro 24 and the Leigh Super 12. Love the concept. Started off with the 12, then had to do a job which needed more than 12" of dovetails and did it by doing the dovetails in two parts and gluing up. Then decided to buy the 24, probably a year ago. Still new in the box, never opened.

 

[Willemjm]

I use a $20 Harbor Freight and a $800 Woodrat. Both excellent jigs to help me accomplish what I'm attempting at the time.
I also have a $100 dovetail saw and some very good chisels for when my eyes were good enough for handcuts. I've won a Leigh and a PC jig from magazine tips, that I later sold. They were excellent jigs as well. Bottom line is; No jig will do the job for you. You have to understand the geometry involved before you can be happy with any jig. Best way to learn that is to cut some by hand on scrap pine. Doesn't matter what they look like, but you will learn more about what you want and what to expect from a jig. Before anyone tells you otherwise, here's samples from each of the above jigs plus one handcut. I'll let you guess which is which.

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I'll take a guess... You did the top drawers of the dresser with a jig and the two bottom rows by hand.

If I do one drawer, I will do by hand, but for a number of the same thing a jig sure speeds up things.

 

[Touchwood]

For large cabinet work and through dovetails I use the Keller jig

http://www.kellerdovetail.com/.

It has massive fixed position jig fingers and uses ball-bearing router bits. This eliminates off-center problems with the routers. There are bits for two sizes of doves/tails. I set up two routers for tails and pins, adjust for material thickness and leave everything that way for that project. Always get perfect fit this way.

For small work I like the Woodhaven half-blind jig

(https://woodhaven.com/collections/d...il-jig-w-bit?gclid=CJrYjbSO9M4CFUMaaQodUjwDsg ) .

It's inexpensive, and also uses a ball-bearing bit. It makes two different size joints.

Fixed fingers and ball-bearing bits make life much easier. You just design the work for their spacing.

Don

 

[Joe Scharle]

Willemjm, since you took a guess here's the breakout.

This Shaker sewing table DTs were handcut and I remember getting a phone call and never glued up the drawer box. When it starts to get loose I'll glue it up. My wife uses it almost daily, but since it opens both sides it doesn't hit a stop, it may be awhile. Been over 10 years so far. If you look closely, you'll see the bottom tail on the far left is a little fat! The sliding dovetails for the legs were cut (both parts) with the Woodrat.

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The drawers in this small chest were all cut on my Woodrat. Different size bits but I stayed with the basic spacing since the Woodrat makes use of an included spacing tool.

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The back DTs are thru DTs also cut on the Woodrat.

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These drawers were all cut with my $20 HF jig in one of my router workshops. The point I was making is that the jig is a tool and can be made to do more than what you find in the instructions. I show variable spacing, variable depth and two bit profiles. The short (RH) box used the standard setup. BTW, that is the jig I use when knocking out kitchen and vanity boxes, mainly because with the backstop fence, it's just easier to cut offset drawer blind dovetails. The middle and LH boxes used a longer bit profile, with one cut to the standard template and the LH box was made by cheating the template. Not difficult, just don't loose your place when re-positioning the work!

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