Dovetail jigs

[Michael Cole]

I would like to purchase a jig to make dovetails. I know that they can be done by hand, but I think a jig would probably be better for me. Probably would start with through dovetails, but a versatile jig would be nice. The two I have seen that would seem to be in my price range would be the Porter Cable and the Rockler. What can you tell me about these two such as ease of use, etc.? if there are others in that general price range that would I should look at also, please tell me about them.

[Don Morris]

I have the Keller "through" jig. It's simple to use and I've had no problems with it. There are many simple jigs that look similar to the Keller and should also do a good job. Setup is simple but critical, but after you've done that. It's a piece of cake. I also have the old style PC 4212 jig. The new models look like a good improvement, and will do: through, half blind and box joints. But the old one has served me well too. Again, setup is critical, but once done, the rest should be easy. And there are many jigs that look similar to the 4212. They all work on the same principle. I have no experience with the Rockler. I have made a number of doevtail projects and you can get some nifty looking results with a little imagination and some different woods. Good luck, and enjoy whatever you buy.

[Mike Cutler]

I have the Porter Cable Jig, with three templates. It does throughs, half blinds, box joints, sliding dovetails and dado's, all up to 12". It's pretty simple to setup, a little finicky, but you'll be making successful joints within a few hours.
You may want to start with half blinds. They're actually easier than through dovetails with a jig because you don't change the router bit once it's set.
If you're committed to a jig you'll end up with two routers. One setup with the dovetail bit, and the other setup with the straight bit. Once the bit heights are set, you'll really not want to mess about changing bits. It's kind of tedious.
The Porter Cable has an addendum that you can download from the internet, in addition to the instruction that come with the jig. You'll need the addendum that you can download. There are also a zillion You Tube videos out there on the jig, and others just like it.
I paid about $150 for mine at a Woodcraft during a sale five or six years ago. I see them on sale all the time. I'm sure that the Rockler is very similar in quality and use to the Porter Cable.

All that being said, I wish I would have just got one of the Leigh dovetail jigs right off the bat. about twice as much, for the 12" model, but considerably more versatility.

[Julie Moriarty]

A lot of dovetail jigs are fixed, that is you can't change the distance between the tails & pins. They are also less expensive. Leigh makes a dovetail jig that allows you to change the distance between tails & pins as well as create sliding dovetails but it's pricey. But purists have said the problem with all jigs is you can't get that hand-cut look because no jig can create that narrow pin so coveted by purists. One jig maker claims to be able to do so, to a degree - Wood Rat. Router Boss is supposed to be pretty much the same thing. But again, they are pricey.

If you're feeling ambitious, you could make something like the Router Boss/Wood Rat. Stumpy Nubs has a video where he shows one he made and said he'd do a second video on how he made his. But he hasn't yet made the 2nd video so you'd have to figure that out from what he shows in the 1st one.


I started making my own version but then I realized I don't do many dovetails, so I set that project aside.

[BOB OLINGER]

I just purchased the Porter Cable jig. A couple weeks ago, I got it set up and made half blind dove tails (first time) for the front of about 20 drawer boxes. Once you get it set, it works great. My dovetails look fantastic. To finish them off I run them over the belt sander - result was perfectly smooth. Just a point - this kit comes with 2 - 1/2" router bits, so you'll need to have a router with 1/2' collect or buy different bits. Also, your router needs to accept the guide bushings. No second thoughts on this jig.

[Matt Neil]

A friend of mine had the Rockler jig and I used it a couple of times. I always had problems with things getting out of alignment after I started routing. May have been entirely my fault but I decided not to use it again. Later he bought a Leigh so I figured he had the same headaches I ran into. I've only used his Leigh a couple of times so far, but it's worked much better for me.