Experience with Incra Ultra

[KR & CA Hunter]

Can anyone advise experience with the Incra Ulta precisism fence system. Primarily for making fine boxes joints. Eg. Would a Leigh system be a better option?

Thanks

[DJ Delorie]

I have both. For dovetails, I use the Incra for smaller projects and the Leigh for larger ones. The way the Incra does dovetails, you only get half the strength of a true dovetail. For box joints, either should work, but the Incra is probably easier to set up due to the precision templates. I use the Incra for box joints.

Also, consider that for the Incra you move the wood, and for the Leigh you move the router. For larger projects, this alone is a good reason to use the Leigh.

The Leigh also can't make box joints smaller than a certain size, due to the way the jig works. The Incra can make box joints as small as your router bit allows.

[Tom Bergman]

I have both.

Although they can both do a lot of the same things, they're really better at different things. The incra is a great all-around router fence. There are other similar systems (equally expensive) that probably are just as good. I don't regret the expense for a minute. Even for routine router table stuff the repeatability and precision it provides is great. Its only big weakness is dust collection in my opinion. In terms where it overlaps with the leigh, dovetails, finger joints, etc, the incra is better suited to box-type work. It is not ideal for doing dovetails for cabinet drawers, for example, because of the way the wood is presented to the bit - hard to keep the board properly vertical. But it excels at box-type joints, and the templates do make it straightforward.

The leigh jig, while you can do small boxes and double-dovetail type work, is really set up to do cabinet drawer or casework joints. And it excels at that. It is really best for production-setups, where you're making a run of a least a few drawers of the same size. Both the leigh and incra, like any jig, have setup time to consider. Since I never remove the incra from the router table (and hence the centerline never has to be reset) I find the setup to be much quicker than on the leigh.

I can't see myself ever getting rid of the incra. While the leigh does a great job, after my basement bar cabinets and kitchen cabinets are done I can see myself selling the leigh jig. If I'm only making a cabinet with drawers once a year or so, I'd just as soon cut dovetails by hand. But right now, with the need to make lots of drawers, many the same size, the leigh jig is a huge timesaver.

[Leon]

With the F1 template, you can make box joints down to 1/16" with the Leigh IIRC.