Hi
Anyone know much about router jigs to cut dovetails? What features should I be looking for?
I've seen Screwfix, Perform & Axminster all about £50, then they seem to jump to £150-£300.
Won't give it a lot of use, just DIY.
Any suggestions?
Dave
Learn how to make them by hand, if it's just "d-i-y". Being able to do this gives a nice run-in to all sorts of woodworking thingies, and ain't expensive (cue someone who will tell you that you must have about £200 worth of kit before you even think about touching a piece of timber). Once you can cut rotten dovetails by hand fast, you will know how easy it is to move forward.
The question is what does "DIY" mean? I don't really see it as a correlation to what features, functionality, ease of use, size, through dovetails or not, clamping arrangements and quality you want.
The low end ones like the Axminster have fixed positions and size for the joints and are limited on material size to 275mm wide. Typically they won't do through dovetails.
The CMT, which is a bit better at about £80 does through dovetails, is better made and will go up to 300mm.
The Leigh D4 is the jig by which all others are measured. It can be set to a range of dovetail widths, has handling capacity up to 600mm and will do sliding and other forms of dovetail as well. Quality is excellent and it comes with superb documentation and an excellent video on how to use it. However, it does take some time to set up and will set you back about £350.
All of them will allow you to cut dovetails. The clamps are better in the better quality ones and the templates are machined accurately as well rather than cast. The rest is really how flexible and capable do you want it to be for what you want to do. There are functional limitations at the low end, but if you just want to make some drawers, could be perfectly adequate.
|| The question is what does "DIY" mean? I don't really see it as a || correlation to what features, functionality, ease of use, size, || through dovetails or not, clamping arrangements and quality you want.
It means using it maybe a dozen times a year and not being able to spend £350!
|| The CMT, which is a bit better at about £80 does through dovetails, || is better made and will go up to 300mm.
Not seen that yet, thanks I'll check it out.
|| There are || functional limitations at the low end, but if you just want to make || some drawers, could be perfectly adequate.
Drawers & smallish boxes. So if the cheaper jigs work up to 300 mm and I wanted a 600 mm chest, could I dovetail two boards & biscuit join them together?
Dave
Fair enough.
I'm afraid that jigs like this do suffer from incrementalism. Each is a bit better, larger or has more features than the last.
I don't see why not, but alignment would become really critical. Normally you would work the other way around and make up he board and then do the joints, but I see your point.
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