I have been using a Rockler dovetail jig I bought at least 5 years ago. It was OK but a real pain to setup. It is 311373 if you care. They don't sell it anymore. It has had it and I am in the market for a new one. I want to get a jig for half blind and through dovetails. I don't care much about box joints. Does anyone have a jig that they really like a lot?
TIA for your answers.
Dick Snyder
Leigh builds several. Akeda is reported to be good but is not available.
You should consider which style you want. Jigs come as adjustable and non adjustable. With adjustable you can adjust the tails and fingers on the jig to fit the piece od wood you are working with. With non adjustable you have to adjust wood widths to what will work with the jig, otherwise you end up with partial pins and or tails.
Regardless most all especially with half blind you have to typically sneak up on the bit depth, too deep and the fit is too tight, too shallow and the git is too loose.
Also many now sit on top of a router table and you move the jig and wood on top of the router table, the router is stationary. Leigh has recently gotten into offering this type jig also.
I have the Leigh D4 jig and it is great when I can remember how to set it up. Swingman has the same and had issues with the fingers slipping and screwing up cuts. It is very versatile but you must read the instructions a time or two or more. HE uses the Akeda now IIRC.
I have steered from dovetails unless the customer dictates that I use them. I either use rabbited joints reinforced with through Domino tenons or I use box joints. I use the Incra iBox for cutting those.
Knowing what I know now I would opt for non adjustable fingers and design around the capability of the jig. There is simply less to keep up with when the pieces, when cut properly, all fit. When you DT tails and pins are asymmetrical you have to pay close attention to tops of boards and bottoms of boards.
One advantage to the newest D4 series DT jigs is that you can cut the pin and tail boards at the same time essentially cutting work time in half.
Then there is this set up that I have seen at WW shows. I'm not convinced that it is for any type of production work as it uses a relative small bit and has limitations as to what how wide of a board you can cut.
Most likely I would go this route.
The beauty to this jig is that gravity works with you to insure that the work is fully seated on the jig.
Or maybe this one for simplicity
The draw back, like with most stationary jigs, is that gravity works against you in properly seating the work in the jig. If one side ends up being low or the template flexes you cut is not going to come out right.
This one looks like a guy could use their existing fixed templates and just make a jig like they show in their video, and Bingo!
Am I missing something?
Perhaps but the opposite side of the jig is offset to cut the mating pieces. And you need an exact bushing and exact size bit. The jig is not expensive as far as these type jigs go and they are often significantly discounted at ww shows. I think I would put my effort and a little money towards the actual jig rather than saving a few $ and trying to build part of it myself.
Thanks Leon. My defunct Rockler was non adjustable and I was able to use it OK. After filling my basement with flying shavings I was able to copy a design from someone on this NG who was able to capture many of the chips as they flew off the router bit. I guess if I go to my router table I will be back to a big mess but having a good jig would be worth it. I will study your suggestions tomorrow morning. I was watching New England play KC tonight.
FWIW routers tend to be messy. Leigh jigs makes a dust collector set up and I gave one to Swingman. IIRC it is more trouble than it is worth. I would not let, in this case, dust/chips enter into the determination of which jig you choose.
Thanks Leon. There is a Woodcraft store about 45 minutes from where I work. I think I will take a drive and see the RTJ400 with my own eyes.
I was looking and found this video.
Something I might remind you about, and it shows in the video when he cuts the pins. You need to pay attention to where the bit enters, makes climb cuts, and exits. Typically you make a climb cut between the jig fingers to help prevent tear out when the bit exits the slot. This is pretty much true with most jigs. I'm sure the manual will cover this. Leigh is pretty good about tips.
Thanks. I had to do the same thing with my deceased Rockler jig. Nothing from their manual. I learned that at the school of hard knocks but on scrap wood :-)
Forgot to thank you for the video reference. I had already found that when I was googling the RTJ400
Just a couple more things to consider with the RTJ 400 jig. No jig is the answer to all problems. This jig should be fine for relatively short stock, drawers. If you plan to go fancy on a cabinet carcass and DT the exterior corners and want to use long stock you should consider that a long price laying horizontal on the back side of the jig might force you to stand to one side. AND you will need to take care to prevent the jig from tipping, a long piece of wood will exert a lot of leverage. You will notice on most all of the videos that the back horizontally mounted piece is short for demo purposes. I'm sure you could make a spacer to go under that piece to help guard against tipping. AND some joints allow both mating pieces to be cut in the front vertical position, so there would be no issue, IIRC.
AND this jig clamps the wood I place on both sides, but not across the piece. Many jigs have a bar that crosses the wood. The bar can flatten a slightly bowed piece of wood. The RTJ400 will not flatten a bowed board unless the crown is against the jig. It is imperative that the wood is flat against any jig. Some jigs address this better than the JTR400. Having said that it should go with out saying that flat wood is easier to work with.
If I did not already own the D4 I would probably still buy this particular jig.
Just something to consider.
I own the D4 and I am amazed at how you can make an absolutely dovetail joi nt with it, but there is a fair amount of set up. Once it's done though, yo u're good for multiple joints. I can see the advantages of the router table jig, although I'm not sure about moving the entire piece v. moving a route r.
I don't know if I'll ever get one of those. My woodworking skills have a way to go yet. But judging by what I have read here, I think I would be inclined to devote a router to that function only. Once I got the bit just to the right setup depth, I'd never move it.
Joking? Maybe.
Maybe not.
Greg Guarino wrote in news:n7j2j5$i55$1@dont- email.me:
What sort of loctite to you use to hold a dovetail bit to the collet?
(File that under "solving the problem at the wrong point.")
Puckdropper
For long pieces there's always this:
Works on short pieces as well :-).
Or 1 router each for 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4?
I just realized I have a problem to overcome. My self made router table (based on the design from Norm Abrams) has a Porter Cable router driving it but the PC router plate is not used. Instead the router hangs on a plate without the 1-3/8" diameter counter bore insert ring. I need to figure out how I can retrofit my router table with a different router plate as the Leigh jig depends on a guide bushing that needs the counter bore to let you recess the top of the guide bushing.
Well bits wear out...... And then wood hardness comes into play...
The new Leigh RTJ 400 has a dept gauge for the bit and then compensates for tight or loose fit by adjusting the eccentric guide bushing.
I don't remember what his table was like but I'd bet you could use one of the plates from Kreg, or Rockler in its place, with mod's.
Norm used a (no longer sold) Rockler router plate. I am heading there tomorrow after work to see if I can get something to work with their current router plate. I *might* have found something on their website but they are only 45 min from where I work so better to see it with my own eyes.
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