Thread: Dove Tail Jig

Check out the latest carbatec catalogue. they got a new jig this year which can do blind as well as through dovetails, 'bout $300 for the jig extra $100 for the template for through dovetails. maybe an in the middleish option.

Hi

I dont own DT jig at the moment, but the one Im going to get when I have been a good boy for long enough, is the Leigh.
Yep expensive A$800, but from what Ive read here on the BB its better to get the gooder one straight away rather than frig around with 2 or 3 others and then still buy the Leigh.
The others make DT's that look like machine made DT's, but the Leigh has the ability to make the DT's look hand made sort of, and do blind and through, and slideing DT's.
Of course if you make hand cut DT's then the difference is obvious.

Hello to all the crafts people who can do em by hand.


Cheers, Allan

I have one of the $80 ones. Like you, I bought it to do a few drawers where I knew they would be substantially hidden, and had low expectations. I learnt to cut dovetails by hand first and would always prefer to see handcut dovetails, but it is time consuming and I wanted something to bang out a set of drawers quickly for the not-so-important stuff.

My only complaints are:

1. It takes a long time to get it set up and adjusted properly, and provides surprisingly little help in the way of reference marks etc. I have to redo this each time I do a set of drawers, but once I'm happy with the setup it just flies along, doing the 9 drawers for the dresser I just finished in an hour or so.

2. The comblike device on top is slightly bent, so I have to clamp it down at each end or else the router would ride up. This is just an extra hassle.

3. It only does one style and one size of dovetail. The manual actually says 'if you want variety, buy a Leigh jig' which is refreshing honesty.

4. I get covered in shavings.

5. The dovetails look really 'machine-made' and boring.

6. The joints that result are an overly tight fit - I have to bash them together pretty hard. This is despite following all the tips in the manual. This has lead to chipping as the joints are assembled. I have largely learnt to control this problem by watching a bit more closely while bashing, and taking a shaving off with a chisel where I see a little piece of wood under stress.

7. There are apparently numerous factories in China that make these units - so there may be good ones and bad ones.

The good points are

1. very fast, once set up.

2. The joints are of acceptable accuracy. I just went and had a look at the dresser and (except where chipping has occured as per point 6 above) the joints are all absolutely flush with no daylight or gaps anywhere.

3. The whole assembly ends up square - just close up the joints and the corner of the drawer is 90degrees exactly. Dont really even need clamps due to the aforementioned tightness.

In summary, it has been a good purchase and I will continue to use it where appropriate. My strategy is to have this cheapy for the quick stuff, and to cut the good stuff by hand. Therefore having a better quality jig (like a Leigh) would not be useful to me so I save the money for other things.

Arron

Hi Colbra,

I'm no expert, but I had a look at alot of them a while back. The Leigh is a wonderful unit without doubt. My budget didn't allow for this so I started looking at the other cheaper ones. I got one that is based on a Trend/Porter-Cable type design that was under $80. It works quite well for me, easy to set-up & simple in use.

I'm sure all work ok, Some just may be easier to use than others. I'd look at the features of each. Think of things also like is the template/finger comb of this unit going to flex under my router or how much use will I give it & will the plastic cams in the clamping action last.

Also what the jigs come with, & what type of set-up you prefer to use. Some come with the dovetail router bit. Some use bearings to guide the bit & some use a guide bush. I found a cheap one that I'm happy with & works well for my needs. If I want some other style of DT I will do them by hand as they really don't seem to be that hard.

Cheers

Woodchuck

Arron

You may already know or have tried this but if not it may help maybe. If the joints are a tight fit have you tried adjusting the depth/hight of the router bit ? I find to make the joint loser it works to raise the cutter slightly. And maybe some scrap timber the same size as what your working with clamped in the opposite side of the jig may help.

Once I got the jig set-up right the first time I took a bit of scrap MDF & marked out where all the settings were on it & the hight I had the cutter bit set at also. Now when I goto use the jig I just throw the MDF with the settings marked out on it in the jig. Wind everything into place with markings on the MDF, pull it out & start cutting joints. Makes for a quick set-up within a couple of mins on my jig.

Cheers

Woodchuck

Thank you all for the input I am now in a better postion to make a more balanced decision on dove tail jig I realy appreciate all your help
Regards Col

Before you buy, check out the Keller jig. Good price, and you set it up once and once only.

I've just been through the exercise of setting up one of the cheapies for a run of a dozen drawers. Using the supplied cheapo dovetail bit (with bearing), I couldn't get a tight fit no matter what adjustment I tried.

I bought a good quality CMT bit with bearing, and was able to then get a satisfactory joint. I think half the problem was the crappy original bit, and the other half was that the original bit was too long in the cutterhead for the 12mm material that I was attempting to joint.

I was advised to use a short bit for thin material (12mm) and a longer bit for thicker material (19mm+).


Justin.

Have a look at the Gifkin Jig. http://www.gifkins.com.au

Also, have a look at this thread http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=5571

Having had a Leigh for 5 or 6 years and have taught others how to use it I would highly recommend it. But.... (there is always a but eh?) if you do only one type of joint a lot then get a simple jig

Leigh's are GREAT if you are doing a few joints at the same time but are a pain-in-the-**** for one off jobs. This is the reason I taught myself to hand cut dovetails - for one off jobs.

I use a Leigh, But I have seen the generic chinese/taiwanese jigs offer quite good results(by the demonstrators at the wood show). I am sure they have sold a squillion of them, and I have not heard any substantial negative feedback. If you are only doing h/b d/tails then the generic jig would suffice.

regards tony

I bought a generic half blind jig a while ago. I spent a frustrating time frigging around with it trying to get the settings right. Evbentually I managed to figure it out and now I can cut nice tight "machine made" looking half blind dovetails. But for me, using them in drawers, that's fine.

If I had the money, I'd buy a Leigh jig because you are not confined to a set spacing on your joints.

Craig

Now, if you want a serious dovetail jig, check this site out
http://www.dreamdovetail.com/

Looks like it only does through DT's though

(btw I have one of the cheap ones - its Ok but I crave a Leigh AND a Gifkin as I have TES badly )

Colbra

I have a Gifkins dovetail jig. It is a very basic concept and simple to use. Several size templates are available providing for some variety in the end result. It works fine on a Triton router table or you can build a simple unit from plans provided with the jig. If you have two routers mounted in the one table you can set up a dovetail and a straight cutter in each router and quickly knock up large numbers of joints.

The jig will only produce through dovetails. If turning out drawer fronts you can attach a false front to the drawer to achieve the half blind look. I suspect that the jig is aimed at the ‘box maker’. I rate it highly as a quick and simple tool and the price of $300 including cutters is considerably less than the Leigh but dearer than the Taiwan imports. Check out the site at http://www.gifkins.com.au/