Gifkin dovetail Jig

[boxers]

:) :) :) Over the past several months I read and asked for advice on what dovetail jig people thought would be the best. The Gifkin came out with many positive reports. After a number of practice runs I thought I would fire in anger. Made a tea box to see how the dovetail joints would turn out. I am pretty pleased. If there is anyone out there wondering what dovetail jig they should get I can recommend the Gifkin:cool: :cool: very easy to use. Wood was a piece of old scap I had in the garage. Old, painted and in a sorry state.

[Gumby]

Roger would be proud of you. Well done. ;) :)

[jow104]

Boxers nice looking joints.


Roger would be proud of you. Well done. ;) :)

Hey Gumby your watering problem surfaced. (time 1145pm):) :rolleyes: :)

[Wood Borer]

Any project with nice looking dovetail joints is a pleasure to look at it.

There have been a few debates recently over hand cut dovetails vs machine cut. I like them if they are done nicely like these, they are good looking, fun to make and very functional.

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Boxes

Congrats! That is one sweet, tea box.

Glad to hear you are looking at wood very differently now. :)

Cheers
Wendy

[Simomatra]

Well done Boxers.

The tea box and the dovetails look great

Cheers Sam:)

[dazzler]

Top Job

And if you make them really loose you can say there handcut:D


psssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst plop:p

cheers

dazzler

[doug the slug]

nice work boxershttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon14.gif

[Carry Pine]

Boxers, as a first timer with the Gifkins jig, can I ask you a few questions?
* Did you experiment to see how many shims to use for the tightness of the joints?
* Did you trim the timber to 'fit' the evenness of the dovetails or just find the middle and go from there?
A hint from someone who has been there- don't attempt to drop down too many shims to achieve a tighter fit, especially if you need to dismantle to fit a base or lid.
What's next?

[Shedhand]

Boxers, as a first timer with the Gifkins jig, can I ask you a few questions?
* Did you experiment to see how many shims to use for the tightness of the joints?
* Did you trim the timber to 'fit' the evenness of the dovetails or just find the middle and go from there?
A hint from someone who has been there- don't attempt to drop down too many shims to achieve a tighter fit, especially if you need to dismantle to fit a base or lid.
What's next?Fine-tuning Gifkin jig joint fit can be done using standard weight A4 paper. I think its about 0.25mm (quarter of a mm) thick.
Though I've found the best dry fit is achieved with the supplied shims. It also depends on the stock used. Softwoods will 'crush' easily when dismantling dry joints so don't 'wriggle' the components to seperate. It pays to make softwood joints nice and tight to allow for the 'crushing'.
Not a problem with hardwoods in my experience (limited as it is) experimenting with bits and pieces of scrap.

[Carry Pine]

Shedhand,
I was interested in what he did as a first timer. I have the jig and my biggest mistake was to make the joints too tight in a recycled Tassy Oak box.....but that's what floor jacks are useful for!

Graham

[Zed]

floor jacks are useful for!

I use a rubber mallet....

[Ashore]

I have the jig and my biggest mistake was to make the joints too tight in a recycled Tassy Oak box.....but that's what floor jacks are useful for!

Graham
Did the same thing on my first box , dry fitted it and there it stayed .
Tacked a piece of ply on the bottom and now have a tassi oak open top box for holding shims.

Rgds

[Shedhand]

Did the same thing on my first box , dry fitted it and there it stayed .
Tacked a piece of ply on the bottom and now have a tassi oak open top box for holding shims.

Rgdsmy first experiment was with 120 x 12 fingerjointed crapiata. D/T's Too tight to take apart so I cut a million squares of 1/4 sheet sandpaper of various grits and store them in the box. Very handy.:D

[Carry Pine]

I use a rubber mallet....
Yes. well a floor jack has a slight mechanical advantage over a rubber mallet...and it was necessary. It was amazing how the Tassie oak stayed together. MORE SHIMS NEXT TIME!!!

[TEEJAY]

Well done boxers,

No doubt held in place whilst gluing with the Bessey clamps - sure helps square it all up ;)

Neat router work

[zenwood]

That's a sweet looking box, and should last forever with all those dovetails.

Rob Cosman recommends not test fitting: cut them right first time, then tap them together. I've taken up that method, and got away with it so far (with varying amounts of "persuasion";)).

[doug the slug]

Yes. well a floor jack has a slight mechanical advantage over a rubber mallet...and it was necessary........

when it comes to applying pressure to separate parts, most bar clamps can be converted easily into separators. well all my cheap ones do. only the more expensive irwins dont do it. wonder why that is:confused: :confused: :confused:

[Shedhand]

when it comes to applying pressure to separate parts, most bar clamps can be converted easily into separators. well all my cheap ones do. only the more expensive irwins dont do it. wonder why that is:confused: :confused: :confused:My new (expensive) Irwins do. ;)

[Carry Pine]

when it comes to applying pressure to separate parts, most bar clamps can be converted easily into separators. well all my cheap ones do. only the more expensive irwins dont do it. wonder why that is:confused: :confused: :confused:

Doug,

The box eventually went together with 13 shims, and that was tight. The original had 9 shims (that's the one that needed separating). I'd back my floor jack against your inverted clamps at 50 paces anyday! The sound of those joints sliding out was something special- like an elephant walking on a hardwood floor.

Graham

[doug the slug]

Doug,

The box eventually went together with 13 shims, and that was tight. The original had 9 shims (that's the one that needed separating). I'd back my floor jack against your inverted clamps at 50 paces anyday! The sound of those joints sliding out was something special- like an elephant walking on a hardwood floor.

Graham

well if ya gota put it together with a hammer ya gotta expect to need a hammer or better to get it apart again. personally, if it wont slide together without undue force dont force it together. geez how desparate are you to make it fit when it doesnt?

[Gumby]

I agree with Doug. You shouldn't have them too tight. It needs to slide in and out snuggly but if you have to hammer them home, you can't test fit anything without fear of breaking a pin when you prise them apart again, especially on small boxes.

[dazzler]

I agree with Doug. You shouldn't have them too tight. It needs to slide in and out snuggly but if you have to hammer them home, :confused: .

We agree totally:D

[boxers]

Hi Gary Pine.
I had to add a number of shimms over the period I was experimenting. Cannot remember how many. My problem was I thought the jig would have come set as required from gifkins. Once I got over that view all was okay.

regarding the wood width I measured the wood thickness required to even out the joints.

the tightness of the joints allowed for dry fitting.

[A-Marks]

I originally bought a Gifkin jig to make a production run of boxes for a friend who makes tofu - Its a soy bean curd type food - anyway the stuff gets squeezed in the box and the water from the tofu runs out - Then the box is dismantled for cleaning. No way!

Ever tried to pull apart a wet dovetail joint made in Hardwood!!!!

The fit of the original joint was so good that I didn't have to change the shims at all, or so I thought, I still can't get my early ones apart, live and learn. But I love Roger's Jig. it's a ripper.

[Bluegum]

Mat Roger at the Brissie show and i am impressed with it. I may end up with one yet after reading through the reports on the BB.

[damienhazo]

Shims and experiements and bloody hydraulic jacks! I think I'm going to have to do a photo series and write up on my Trend CDJ 600 and whack it on the board.

The instructions were simple and it works perfect every time:


Set bit at 17 mm.
Rout male and female in one go.
Put a bit of glue in
Tap together
Catch the latest episode of CSI Las Vegas
What's all the fuss about?



Damien.