Frank Speyerer Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 What is your recommendation for a dovetail jig? Not the most expensive one like the Leigh $500 model, but a reasonably priced (for a hobbyist), that has reproducible results. Any experience with the Rockler $150 jig? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben@FineWoodworking Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 I've seen a lot of positive reviews of the porter cable jig. Don't have a dovetail jig yet so I can't really say though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceWW Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 Now I understand the Rockler jig has been revamped a bit since my experience, but I was not happy with it. The set up was very complex and I never got repeatable results. I'm sure the higher priced models make things easiers, but my experience with the Rockler jig drove me to learn to hand cut them. I think for a cheaper solution there is a lot to be said for just buying the finger templates and attaching them to a shop made fence. Charles Neil does something like this and it looks like a really simple operation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeGauss Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 I have the Rockler Jig and it does work but it involved more fiddling than I wanted, so I have not used it in a while. -Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Speyerer Posted November 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 "Fiddling" is not something I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthearted Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Agreed. Too much fiddling and I don't use it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrust Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Agreed. Too much fiddling and I don't use it! Darn. I have that one, and although I haven't gotten to try it yet, these comments don't give me much of a warm & fuzzy feeling about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmsdph Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Frank, I'm in the same boat as you, I don't want to spend 500 bucks on a jig, im still weighing my options but im thinking about building a jig for the bandsaw rather then going the router direction. Mark Duginske talks about this jig in his Mastering the Band Saw book / dvd and his master woodworking machines book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Charles Neil has his own dovetail jig coming out real soon now. I don't know the price for it. If I were shopping for one, I would consider waiting for it. It's based on the one he put together that Renaissance referred to. Better still, there are custom-made router bits for it that get the pins considerably smaller. You can use it with regular bits, but naturally the thin pin ones will appeal to the Ian Kirby in you. I plan on buying a set of those bits and working out the bushings etc to use them on the Leigh D4R that I have (and your $500 estimate wasn't for this one and I'll tell you the jig is literally half the total cost by the time you get the vacuum port, Leigh bit set, bushings, etc.... good grief) The other nice thing about Charles Neil's jig is that it comes with both a manual and full instructional DVD video of him walking you through it. I also considered the Porter Cable Omnijig when I bought mine though they were just coming out. It has deserved good reviews, but it's the same price range as the Leigh. The Leigh 16" Super Jig might be something to consider; dunno the price. I've only heard bad things about most of the others with the exception of the Keller jig. Charles Neil used that exclusively before making his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Speyerer Posted November 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 What I like about the Keller jig is that you can use the templates upside-down on your router table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutabagared Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Frank, I'd consider the Porter Cable 4200 Series. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Speyerer Posted November 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2010 Charles Neil reported this morning that the router bits for his dovetail jig arrived today and that the jig and bits are scheduled for release by mid November 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted November 6, 2010 Report Share Posted November 6, 2010 I recently went to a class by Jeff Miller in Chicago and he showed us a simple jig for the table saw and finish the cuts on the band saw. This was an incredibly simple jig and quick to achieve good pins and tails. I will say this after he tought us how to hand cut them he then showed us the ts jig and it's a strong argument for machine cutting vs hand cut. I believe you owe it to yourself to try them by hand before you buy a pricy jig. I think you will find the jigs are more time tweaking then they are worth, unless you are doing prouduction runs. Give it a try i think you will find hand cutting is quite gratifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted November 6, 2010 Report Share Posted November 6, 2010 I love my Katie jig. Has variable spacing. Katie Jig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted November 6, 2010 Report Share Posted November 6, 2010 I recently went to a class by Jeff Miller in Chicago and he showed us a simple jig for the table saw and finish the cuts on the band saw. This was an incredibly simple jig and quick to achieve good pins and tails. I will say this after he tought us how to hand cut them he then showed us the ts jig and it's a strong argument for machine cutting vs hand cut. I believe you owe it to yourself to try them by hand before you buy a pricy jig. I think you will find the jigs are more time tweaking then they are worth, unless you are doing prouduction runs. Give it a try i think you will find hand cutting is quite gratifying. For pure hand cutting, I agree that it can look pretty. If you're making even a chest of drawers for yourself the look of the hand cuts is very nice and the time well spent. As you mention, the jig really shines if you are making, say, a whole bedroom and kitchen of drawers. Even Frank Klausz allots 20 minutes for a drawer. I'll go on a limb to say nobody here is Frank Klausz. I don't know what Jeff Miller taught, but I know in Charles Neil's guild, he showed several options (including hand-cut) that involved routers, table saws, and bandsaws. Some were pretty impressive and saved a lot of time and headache. Many mixed power tools with hand tools. So your post prompted me to reply because I left out a very important addendum to my last reply and that is the price of most of the working and very usable jigs is crazy expensive. My D4R is literally a $1,000 jig. I bought it early in this hobby; today, I would perhaps drool, but not buy it. I hand cut a drawer tonight in less than an hour while having a beer with a neighbor (it's okay, I have ChiselStop). So... maybe consider Jimmy's point and practice a hand-cut drawer a few times and you might find it suits your needs. (but i have 18 drawers and 14 sliding trays to dovetail when I do my kitchen so you bet I'll make that D4R "ROI" a bit ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted November 9, 2010 Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 Frank, I'd consider the Porter Cable 4200 Series. Joe I have been very happy with my Porter Cable dovetail jig. I think it is the 4212. It is reasonabley priced easy enough to use. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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