Thread: Dove Tail jigs

Save your money, buy a good Gent or Jap pull saw and learn to cut them by hand

Pluses are:

You save money on initial outlay.
You will learn more about woodwork.
You are not limited to what the Jigs allow you to do.
You can work in power cuts.
Safer (seldom does anyone cut off their finger with a handsaw).
Quieter so you can dovetail to your hearts content in the kitchen at 3.00am.
Less attractive the thieves as opposed to a power tool.
You make mistakes a lot slower.
Plus you can use it for other things as well.

Still this is just my humble opinion, I'm sure wiser minds than mine will be able to add or contradict various points.

Cheers


Steve

Hi DSEL74,

There is an element of truth in what Fineboxes says in the next reply to the post. I can only speak for the 600mm Leigh because that's what I've got. This is an extremely flexible machine base and you can do almost anything with it as far as layout of pins and tails goes that you can do with hand cut dovetails. It is fairly tricky to set up in the first instance but when you get to understand how the geometry of the thing actually works that come a lot easier. The Leigh has a splendid instruction manual but unfortunately ,many appear to be daunted by the detail in the manual. If they persevered a bit they would ind they only need to read and understand about 20% of it for most applications. A few years ago I gave a demo of the use of the Leigh to a woodworkers group. After the demo two folk approached me for one one two lessons. Transpired that they had had the gear on their shelf for years and never got past not under standing the instruction manual.

The Leigh can produce quite spectacular results as far as precision and joint appearance goes. A word of warning notwithstanding the foregoing statement. Unless you are very familiar with the underlying principles of routing particularly climb cutting and are happy routing with cutters with a long to very long projection you are going to be on a very steep learning curve initially. The folk who demonstrate Leigh jigs at shows are absolutely adept at routing....that's how they get the results they do.It's easy to watch and think that it's the jig that's delivering the goods and anyone can do it. Sadly it's not that simple. Not trying to discourage you just painting a picture of the learning process.

BTW whilst the initial cost of the Leigh is a bit scary you need to add 3 or 4 hundred $'s extra for the tooling if you want to work across a variety of timber thicknesses.

I've attached a couple of images of Leigh cut dovetails on a set of four blanket boxes i made a few years ago. It's not a competition in identifying species but the timber is birds eye King William Pine. Even rarer than hens teeth!!!


Old Pete

Originally Posted by DSEL74

Been reading through the forum in relation to what router table to get and what dove tail jigs.

Got to say I'm more confused now then when I started.

I have to ask are the Leigh jigs worth the $$$$ VS others including sub $100 ebay?

Also which is more practical the handheld router jigs or the router table versions like the gifkins??

What are the real benefits, and downfalls?

It's really a case of what you feel comfortable doing and what you like in a jig. Some folks love Gifkens and others like Leigh. The cheapies that come up occasionally are very limited in their scope and often last about as long as your first attempt before they are kaput.
Stick with a quality jig, like Gifkens or Leigh, but try the two systems out and decide for yourself what you prefer. I once let a guy try out my Leigh D4R. He was waving the router around in the air while it was running!!!!! I shivered. He ended up buying a Gifkens. He was obviously more comfortable with this system. So, asking for opinions on Dovetail Jigs is a bit like asking if its better to buy cheap tools and throw them away when they die, or to buy quality and appreciate the results. Your call!

Regards,

Rob

I agree with old pete, I have the Leigh jig after trying the incra system and hand cutting. For me it was a case of no matter how hard I try I just could not get it right. The Leigh jig did it for me and now I'm happy but you got to pay the money. Many people rave about the gifkins jig also.

SB

I believe in buying quality tools over cheap because I think the cheap are often less accurate and wear out quicker. I usually end up tolling the net for second hand gear due to budget. Sometimes though the cheap items also come out of the same factory cheaper just because they don't have the brand name…Sometimes.


Ok there are personal preferences on hand, over table jigs but what about limitations between them?

For example can the leigh take thicker stock than say a gifkins? Is the leigh more a pay big $$ upfront but you don't need to buy more plates because it is adjustable.

Remember I have never seen any in the flesh or used one, but I am keen to. I have always liked dovetails and fingerjoints as details and they make a strong joint.

I find the Gifkins jig amazing and simple to use. Roger was brilliant when he designed this. Also I believe that a router table similar to the one that Roger designed on his website is essential. The chap who bought out Roger's business sells the tables for $600 I think. I built my own based on the plans on the website for under $200. The Triton router TRB001 is excellent when used in conjuction with this table.

When your timber is prepared and ready to go, the dovetails are cut in minutes.

The table I built is

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f15/tr...in-jig-145901/

Regards, Paul

i love the gifkins jig. strait out the box,joints dead smack on