Thread: Woodrat vs Dovetail jig

Thanks for the comments. Stuart, you seem to be the only one that has used the Incra system and some other dovetail jigs, could you tell me what you see as the main advantages, please. I am mainly interested in dovetails for drawers and small to medium boxes if it is any help.

Kind regards,

Barrie

hey Barrie,

Since Stuart is ofline at the moment, I thought I'd chuck in my 2 bobs worth (I can't be bothered arguing with 'artists' - in another thread).

The Gifkins is the easiest of all the jigs but it's main and probably only disadvantage, is the inability to cut half-blind dovetails. You can only do thru-dovetails. Other than that, for small boxes, it's bloody brilliant. Roger gifkins provides a great booklet on box making as well. He'll be at the usual WW shows and is well worth a look. Once the Gifkins is set up, it doesn't need to be changed again (or vary rarely anyway, depending on the type of timber and the firmness of the joint you want).

The Incra is one Stuart and I had the pleasure of checking out at Don's (DPB) the other day. It will do both types. While it takes a bit of setting up for each job (bit height, resetting the fence etc) it's pretty simple once you understand it. Cutting is a breeze and very quick. The Incra will also do many other types of joint like straight box joints. Again, you need to reset it each time.

Hi. I own several dovetail jigs and the Leigh D4R is by far my favourite.
My first jig was made by a company called Vermont America. it was made of plastic and it was of such poor quality I took it back to the store the day I bought it.
My second jig is the Gifkins. I love this jig it is quick to set up and makes tight fitting joints, but it isn't ajustable.
My second jig is the Incra. This is a great jig and can make a lot of different joints, but is a bit fiddly on Half blind joints. Over all a nice jig for small decorative jobs but far to slow to do an entire set of draws for a Chest.
Then I bought the wood rat. I don't use it. Far too much stuffing arround and too much room for error.
And only a couple of weeks ago I bought the Leigh D4R. It is quick to set up, accurate, repeatable and the pins can be spaced however you want.

My advice would be to go straight for the Leigh and avoid all the intermediate expense. If you buy anything else chances are that you will always be wondering how much better it would be with the Leigh.

Darren