Thread: Leigh SuperJig 18"

I believe you need to drill out that knob from the other side. It has a dimple on the opposite side to the knob. Read to instruction sheet that came with it.
Go to the Leigh website and see the video there too. Until at least you can get your DVD replaced.
I have the 3612 router too and once set up and you have an understanding of the jig it produces exceptioonal work.
Lyle.

hi jason. and congrats on the leigh jig purchase.

you will not find a better product on the market.

with any jigs there will always be a learning curve and at the start we all have similar teething problems.

though, it sounds like you are really having a tough time!

the dvd is great and the manuals are even better, so i am sure you will be making dovetails in no time. and i am sure carbatec will give you a new dvd.

i cant help you with the guide bush issue as i use festool routers and i have not had to drill through the guide bushes. i would be checking with carbatec first before taking a drill to the guide bush.

i look forward to seeing your photos in the near future.

justin.

Hi Acousticjase88,

See my earlier comments on these forums re using the Leigh jig. This is a precision machine requiring a good understanding of routing principles and the relationship between cutter rotation direction and feed direction across the cut plus appropriate feed speed. It's not a breeze to use it effectively although the show demonstrators makes it look like that.

If you are under time stress to get things done plus trying to learn to use the machine at the same time it's just not going to work IMO. If you can't square your stock absolutely spot on every time and cut to length to +/- say 0.5 mm you've missed the boat I'm afraid.

My advice dedicate at least 10 hours to learning to use the machine before attempting production work. Get hold of some 140 x 19 mm straight grained radiator pine for learning stock. Get hold of some 1800mm wide 19mm MDF for back up boards to prevent tear out at the back of the jig. Go through the instructions step by step with the learning stock until it becomes automatic and you thoroughly understand the relationship between the parts to be dovetailed so you don't ever make any mistakes on that one.

Keep notes and samples of the jig settings depth blocks and cutter depths for each stock thickness and cutter you have. This makes subsequent set ups a breeze as you don't have to start from scratch with calibration of the jig each time you get it out.

When you get the settings correct you will find that you have to apply the glue sparingly or the joint won't go together. That's the level of precision that is possible and that's what i aim to achieve in my work with the Leigh.

Last paragraph of the lecture! The routing process is horribly dusty especially when cutting through to the MDF back up board and your respiratory system is pretty close to the action so wear a good quality dust mask when operating.

Good luck Old Pete

thanks guys for ya help!

I think it was a bad combo, yesterday, of many things seeming to go wrong was re-arranging the shed which seemed to take most of the day too, so i was a bit flustered by the end of the day haha....

I probably just assumed with the money i spent on the jig it'd be up and running in a few minutes something ive now realised isnt the case and it's probably the opposite of that mindset! that cheapo jig just needed the handles screwed on haha and the Leighs' design is ridiculous and just feels and looks absolutely perfect///which im sure it is!....the only annoying thing was that i couldnt even watch the DVD to get me going even further and also had no square to check my 'stock'...pretty confident it was just the frustration getting to me so i wasnt thinking right....dear me :

tomorrow my old man will get the replacement DVD's and take my router in and get them so scope it again..make sure it is defintely the right one....not too keen to start modifying it myself...shouldnt need to.

Again, hopefully it'll be all sweet as of tomorrow and i can start practing away and dominate these drawers ASAP!

the whole jig process is heaps new to me....at work we have a pretty spiffy pnuematic one where the cutting does its own thing at set speed when the buttons pressed...very speedy. but HEAPS of break out when the end of stock is reached

NOW! time to read and eventually do good stuff!

Cheers fellas

actually! lyle i have to apologise...i read the fine print on the instructions that came with the adapter and it says that you have to drill it out!...haha who woulda thought....just assumed ya wouldnt have to do such a task

buzzed, thicknessed and cut on panel saw, some scrap pieces of 190X19 at work this arvo to use to set up jig and practice on! keeen as

jsut been following the conversation, and i would never have guessed that you would have to drill that part out. i guess you learn something every day...

Originally Posted by denvertoolguy

jsut been following the conversation, and i would never have guessed that you would have to drill that part out. i guess you learn something every day...

yeah no kidding! suppose reading the instructions does pay off :P...it was too easy to drill out tho...no biggy

So how is the jig going now.
I had never done dovetail joints before, not counting woodwork shop WAY back at school.
I got the 24" superjig at a WWWshow. Read and re-read the book, watched the dvd several times and then tried a few 'tail. had the book to hand always.
My first couple of trials were so-so, but showed the errors I had made.
Then on to my first box, WOW was I ever pleased. So was my daughter when I gave it to her.

yeah did all the drawers no worries...once in the rhythm, smashed 'em

the joint itself coulda been tighter but i glued and clamped so its all good...no gaps..but still a bit tighter would have been good....i used the 80-8 cutter in the 19mm stock....but the smaller cutter woulda been better (if its possible to use it with that thick material that is)....in the end, the tails were too close to the front and backs so it means i cant put the desired chamfer on the fronts cos it'll cut into the tails....all learning tho....once finished i'll just practice heaps and heaps! keen for that ...i see some new boxes for all the powertools in order...

tomorow bedsides will be done and ready for stain and lacquer...

its crazy how much you take for granted all the easily accessible machines at the work place like panel saw, rip saw, thicknesser...when you get home and have limited tools...makes like hard...more reason for more machines suppose ....



the Leigh really was a joy to use ....i wonder; anyone know if there is some kind of compound you could put on the guide fingers or router base for smoothness?..was getting bit sticky and therefore bit jolty....

Jase

What wood were you using, Jason? That's probably the main cause of the stickiness. I use [ame="http://www.amazon.com/CMT-Formula-Blade-Cleaner-Gallon/dp/B0036F7EX2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1277430782&sr=8-8"]this[/ame] for bit cleaning and it does a great job on the Leigh too.

Ray.

Hi Jase,

Wax the base of the router and the fingers of the jig with straight bees wax. Don't in any circumstances use a wax containing any silicon . When this wonder product gets on timber on on machine tables from which it soon gets on to timber you will have a major problem with the application of just about any finish. I've been there once in the past and I know others who have suffered the problem


Old Pete

I am simply using radiata pine which will be stained and then lacquered with a satin finish...

I know what you mean about silicon killing the furniture, pete, ...at work they seldom clean all the machines' tables with inox and the polishers arent happy when they come through after they're just cleaned. Some poor unit gets a coating of the crap from various machines ...they've got some white wax too which im not sure if its 100% bees wax..

will suss out some wax at the expo coming up...

cheers fellas! loving this forum :P


here they are as of tonight..just needa screw tops down and pin on some quad around the top of the carcus in the morning ...