Has anyone used a 12" jig to cut dovetails in 18" to 24" material? Is it feasible to use a 12" dovetail jig to cut dovetails in wider material by removing the stops and walking the pieces thru the jig? As an option how difficult would it be to cut the dovetails in 6" pieces and then join the pieces with biscuits to get the desired width.
Hmm. I don't think using most 12" jigs would work well/safely in any reconfigured mode.
It should be possible to cut dovetails in less than full-width boards and subsequently glue them together; but getting the resulting pins and tails to match up would be extremely difficult (with or without biscuits.)
Less difficult and much easier would be to make a new (wider) jig. It sounds much more difficult than it really is. You might find the presentation at
As Morris told you, the Stots dovetail template master is the most economical way to go, but it only does through dovetails - which probably is what you want (not too many 24" deep drawers out there). I used my Stots about 6-8 times and it works very well and the jigs you make hold up over time, as long as you take care of them. Despite this, I upgraded to a Leigh D4 and have never regretted it - the versatility and craftsmanship are well worth it. Even so, if I ever need to make TDs on something wider than 24" I can use the Stots.
Mike
Look a little funny where the two half tails meet, but with edge to edge gluing of batch-cut pieces, doable.
If you've got a router table - box or drawer jo>
And to be completely honest, I've never tried the Stots jig. I'm (still) working my own - see
By way of encouragement, a dovetail jig /isn't/ rocket surgery; and it /is/ satisfying to build one's own. You could make single section templates that could be used to make any size templates - to make any size jigs...
And to be completely honest, I've never tried the Stots jig. I'm (still) working my own - see
By way of encouragement, a dovetail jig /isn't/ rocket surgery; and it /is/ satisfying to build one's own. You could make single section templates that could be used to make any size templates - to make any size jigs...
You can always do dovetails on a smaller width, say 8" and then joint the DT boards together. I have doen a blanket chest on the Incra this way and also using the Akeda. It is easier than you might think. I made a router table jig to joint the sides after they were dovetailed. Here is start of story using Incra:
[snip] Or you can do box joints on a table saw with a jig. Lots of easily constructable jigs out there. j4
I am going through the same problem on a slant front desk. I need 23" on the bottom of the case and 12" on the top and they need to be half blind dovetails. After trying to cut them by hand with real bad results I ordered the Veritas dovetail guide hoping this improves my accuracy. Can't afford a Liegh just yet and don't think I will ever cut enough by hand to become real good at it. I am thinking now a lock miter joint on the case sides would be almost as good . But I am stubborn and keep after the dovetails, I have a lot of scrap to practice on.
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