Will this jig work for dovetails?

[Egraff]

Hello All,

 

I've never used a dovetail bit in my router table before, so before I go out and buy one, I want to check to see if this will work.

 

I've used this jig (see below) with great success with a straight bit for cutting box joints on my router table....  If I simply replace the straight bit with a dovetail bit, will it make dovetails?  Or do I need to adjust the jig for some reason that I am missing?

 

The jig:  

 

Thanks!

 

 - EG

[Dave H]

Try it, what do you have to lose, maybe a half day of shop time. If it works let us know. You would still need to hand cut the pins.

[Byrdie]

While the idea seems sound, the difference between a dovetail and a finger joint is that in a finger joint the mating sides are essentially the same cut while in a dove tail one cut is at 90d to the other.  The best looking dovetails also typically aren't evenly spaced like a finger joint although if you use a dovetail jig to do it they are.

[Eric.]

It won't work.  Think about it...you'll be cutting tails in both boards...where are the pins?  Like Byrdie said, they won't go together at 90*, they'll only go together laying flat.

 

The Incra router table (what I use) is a good example of why it wouldn't work.  It uses only a dovetail bit, unlike a traditional jig which uses a dovetail bit for the tails and a straight bit for the pins.  On the Incra, the tail boards are cut just like those box joints.  But the pin boards are different...for through dovetails, the pins are a two-step process: first they're run 90* to the table, just like the tails, then they're laid flat and pushed into the bit using a stop set just at the back of the bit, which turns the tails into pins.  For half-blinds, only the second step is necessary.  Through dovetails are considerably more difficult to set up on the Incra than half-blinds.

[pghmyn]

That jig would take more work to get it to cut dovetails than it would to cut them by hand. Then again, in the hands of a skilled person, handcut dovetails can be done in the blink of an eye.

 

If you are so inclined to make a jig for the table saw to cut dovetails, look at this:

 

Detailed, and a little complicated, but I would imagine it to be fun to build. Once you get it set up to your liking, I'd imagine you could batch out a lot of dovetails with this method.

[Egraff]

Thank you all for your responses....  I completely see what you mean.... I should have seen that initially.  

Clearly this is the first time I've given thought to dovetails.  

But you've saved me quite a bit of potential frustration! 

 

BTW, @pghmyn:

That table saw jig is VERY cool!!!  Thanks for sharing the video.  Maybe one day I'll build it!  I bet it would be a fun little project.