entry level dovetail jig

[Jeremy Bracey]

Ok, I have about $100 worth of gift certificates to blow at a local wood working store. I dont want to blow $300 on a dovetail jig, but I am interested in making some dovetailed drawers for an upcomming kitchen cabinet set. I have the entire Incra system so I can make them, but it is time consuming on the set up/ tear down. I use an extension on my tablesaw for the router table portion of the incra, therefore I cant leave it set up even when I dont need the router.

I was thinking about trying the Woodstock or Jet dovetail jig, any thoughts?

[John Miliunas]

Jeremy, I used to have the Porter Cable version of that jig. I may be mistaken, but I think the Woodstock, PC, Jet, etc... are all probably very similar. If you're after half blind DT's, I think it's a nice little unit. For quick through DT's, you can't hardly go wrong with the Keller, albeit it's a bit more than $100.00. Either units setup quite quickly and easy to use.

[Greg Narozniak]

Jeremy, I used to have the Porter Cable version of that jig. I may be mistaken, but I think the Woodstock, PC, Jet, etc... are all probably very similar. If you're after half blind DT's, I think it's a nice little unit. For quick through DT's, you can't hardly go wrong with the Keller, albeit it's a bit more than $100.00. Either units setup quite quickly and easy to use.

I agree with John. I own the PC 4112 and it is great for half blinds. once set you can really crank them out. If you want versatility then the Leigh D4 wins hands down IMHO

[Bob Reeve]

Buy the Keller jig. It only makes through dovetails but very easy to use and get great results. Can be used with the router table for stability. Then put false fronts on the drawers if you do not want to see the tails. My opinion only.

[Jamie Buxton]

Like Bob, I use the Keller and strongly recommend it. The thing is so simple that it is almost idiot-proof, and that's good in tools. However, it does exceed your $100 budget. If you must stay under that, consider the Stots TemplateMaster. It is a $30 master template from which you can make a dovetail jig very much like the Keller. http://www.stots.com/tm.htm or http://www.mcfeelys.com/product.asp?ProductID=dtm-1000.

[Charlie Plesums]

I started with the Porter Cable - good jig, and fairly easy to use (after you accept that you are working inside out ) But the limitations are that the spacing is fixed, which means that the dovetails don't always come out even at the top/bottom, and the jig assumes that the drawer sides are over 1/2 inch thick. Too thick IMHO for smaller drawers.

Because of these limitations, I got the Leigh D4 - more expensive, but the last one you will probably need. The manual is thick, so the jig seems scary, but it is easy to set up and use.