Which Dovetail jig ?

[John TenEyck]

Which dovetail jig do you prefer and why? Specifically, I'm asking relative to drawers; variable spacing would be nice, too. Don't bother saying I should cut them by hand. If I wanted to do them by hand I wouldn't be asking about a jig.

Thanks,

John

[Paul McGaha]

John,

I have a Leigh D4. It's the only dovetail jig I've ever used so the only one I know anything about.

I like mine. I'd recommend it. Leigh has a really good reputation in regard to quality products and good customer service.

It has a really good manual. There is a bit of a learning curve to get used to it but you'll get there.

If you choose Leigh they make an accessory called the VRS (vacume and router support) for their jigs. It's well worth having.

I know there are other quality jigs out there, Good luck with the purchase.

PHM

[Kevin Womer]

I don't have a jig, but if I did I'm partial to the Keller jig. Simple concept, doesn't cost a fortune for occasional use and not too big to store.

[Prashun Patel]

John, there's really Leigh, and then everyone else. The PC Omnijig is generally regarded as decent, but my research says the Leigh is the best if you can afford it. They come up in the classifieds here fairly often. It excels at variable spacing.

Most of the other (cheaper) jigs can be made to work fine, but they just aren't as quick to set up.

If you are considering the Leigh, I would also consider the Incra LS Router fence. It's pricey, and there's a bit of a learning curve, but once up the curve, it's about as fast as it gets. The other nice thing about the LS is that you use a single bit (dovetail) to cut both the pins and tails; by working at the table, you can route the tails with parts on end, and the pins with the parts flat on the table. So you set up once, and then route everything. In fact, you route both tail sides ganged; you can gang 4 or 6 if you wish. You have to adjust the fence for each cut, but it takes about 5 seconds to do - and it's extremely precise.

All other jigs require you to route on end, which means you have to switch between dt and straight bits - unless you have 2 routers. This adds to set up time.

And that's only a fraction of what makes the Incra great - but I won't digress.

[Mikhail Lermontov]

Try to watch Incra jig tutorials on youtube. If you already have a router table Incra will be much cheaper and easy to use solution. Also, it will not consume space compare to the others.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I don't do many dovetails, so I went with the Keller. You really can't get anything simpler. It does not do all the things that a Leigh will do, though.

[Tom M King]

I bought a used Leigh. With two dedicated routers set for 3/4" material, it takes me longer to step a drawer side off with dividers and decide on the spacing I want, than it does to cut the dovetails. Never remove both boards (one being a backer) with any jig at the same time, and it goes quicker still. Regardless of how well your stops are set, having a board to set the opposite one to eliminates any registration errors.

The other jig I have is a mid '70s Rockwell that's about as low end, low tech as they come set up for half-blinds. I bought this one new. It's so low tech that it has wing nuts to tighten the board clamping bars. I keep a dedicated router set up for this one too, and we can pull it out to run half-blinds as quick as any other jig will.

Getting the bit depth exactly dead-on takes the longest amount of the set up time, so having dedicated routers eliminates all of that. Of course, having digital micrometer depth gauges takes care of that, but I like being set to go when the time comes.

I'll cut them by hand if we are getting paid to do so, but otherwise we turn it into a few minute job.

[Dick Mahany]

I have a Leigh D4 with the vacuum attachment. It has been solid and repeatable for the 8+ years that I have used it. My only other experience was with an old Craftsman jig that I gave away. As far as the reason why I like the Leigh:
+Best in class manual and video on operation
+Variable spacing is easy as are assymetrical layouts
+Top notch customer service for spare parts and bits
+The 8mm shank bits (optional) provide excellent rigidity for the dovetail bits over the .25" shank
+The vacuum/stabilizing platform really works well
If one wants to make machine cut dovetails, this jig is well worth the learning curve, which really isn't that bad.

[Mikail Khan]

I have a D4R. I am very happy with it. Short learning curve, nice tight fitting joints.

MK

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I have a Leigh D4 with the vacuum attachment. It has been solid and repeatable for the 8+ years that I have used it. My only other experience was with an old Craftsman jig that I gave away. As far as the reason why I like the Leigh:
+Best in class manual and video on operation
+Variable spacing is easy as are assymetrical layouts
+Top notch customer service for spare parts and bits
+The 8mm shank bits (optional) provide excellent rigidity for the dovetail bits over the .25" shank
+The vacuum/stabilizing platform really works well
If one wants to make machine cut dovetails, this jig is well worth the learning curve, which really isn't that bad.

Ditto what Dick said, I sold my Craftsman, still feel guilty about that, and I don't have the vacuum attachment. If you want variable, there aren't very many options I don't think.

[Jamie Buxton]

I use a Keller. It is blunt-rock simple. I can pull it off the shelf, having not used it for months and months, and dive into making joints without having to relearn a complicated jig.

The Keller only does through dovetails, with fixed spacing. I haven't found that to be a problem. I always make drawers with an applied front, so the applied front is whatever the overall design wants, and the drawer box is somewhat shorter.

I've never quite understood the fascination with variable spacing and router-cut dovetails. The dovetails are still obviously machine-cut, because the pins are so wide.

[Charles Coolidge]

I loath the PC Omnijig 24" what a pile of junk! I now have a DR4 pro turbo something or other with accessories still in the box so I can't offer an opinion on it yet.

[John TenEyck]

THanks for the input everyone; always good to hear your opinions and experiences, no exception this time. A friend contacted me that he'd be happy to let me test drive his Leigh D4R (I think that's the one he said), so I'm definitely going to take him up on his offer before making any decisions. Prashun, I have an Incra fence, the old, original one, and I have used it a few times to make dovetailed drawers. It works OK, but I found it quite finicky to set up, and it is really easy to screw up because you have to move the fence for each increment, though I never have goofed. To use it effectively with large drawers I would have to make some tall fences to hold the tail boards perpendicular to the table. Storing them will take up at least as much space as any new jig. It just seemed like there had to be an easier process for making machine cut dovetails.

I have 17, 18" deep drawers to make. Should be a good chance to see how the Leigh jig works.

John

[Prashun Patel]

The new Incra positioner is hard to mess up. It microadjusts, but has tiny detents that correspond perfectly to the scale. The detents engage when the carriage on the fence is locked down. So, you basically eye-ball the needle to the scale and then lock down the fence and it corrects you.

But that's neither here nor there. I hear your point about tall drawers. The LS's 'sled' isn't the greatest thing out there.

[Keith Hankins]

+1 I've had the d4r with vac setup now for a long time. The thing that sets it apart from the others is variable spacing on the DT's and thats what I want. Don't use it all the time but a quick review and keeping setup pieces make it a piece of cake