dovetails and the porter cable 4210 jig

[Tom Bender]

Rudy
Where are you? If near me I might just hand cut those two small drawers for you. Or someone with a jig may do it.

[rudy de haas]

Rudy
Where are you? If near me I might just hand cut those two small drawers for you. Or someone with a jig may do it.

Thanks! I'm in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada -but don't need the help, this job is done.

(In the end I made five drawers, three were throw-aways, one is good enough to pass a highschool shop class . The other will do, but I'll probably do #6 today just to be sure I really have this stuff figured out now. Bear in mind, please, that the whole is as much about learning to do this stuff as it is about the getting the jobs done.)

[Lee Schierer]

I have the original Rockler Jig which is very similar to the Porter Cable jig. I have never made a drawer with sides as narrow as yours. However, what I would suggest is that you make a fixture that will fit in your jig where your added piece of wood is in the photo, that is attached to a horizontal piece that fits under the guide. Make this piece so that the vertical board is rigidly attached to the horizontal board and that the vertical board is perfectly square to the horizontal board. Use this jig as an alignment tool to insure that your drawer side pieces are aligned perpendicular to the horizontal drawer pieces.

[rudy de haas]

I have the original Rockler Jig which is very similar to the Porter Cable jig. I have never made a drawer with sides as narrow as yours. However, what I would suggest is that you make a fixture that will fit in your jig where your added piece of wood is in the photo, that is attached to a horizontal piece that fits under the guide. Make this piece so that the vertical board is rigidly attached to the horizontal board and that the vertical board is perfectly square to the horizontal board. Use this jig as an alignment tool to insure that your drawer side pieces are aligned perpendicular to the horizontal drawer pieces.

Good idea! I'll try it tomorrow. Thanks.

[Lee Schierer]

Good idea! I'll try it tomorrow. Thanks.

Make your jig piece as wide as possible for maximum accuracy.

[Ted Phillips]

If you learn to cut dovetails by hand, you'll never have to futz with the jig, settings, and test cuts again! Just my $0.02...

[Randy Heinemann]

If you learn to cut dovetails by hand, you'll never have to futz with the jig, settings, and test cuts again! Just my $0.02...

You are absolutely right! However, for me, I just wanted to spend my time developing other skills. I know people say it's not that difficult nor time-consuming but they say that about hand planing boards flat also. I now cut my dovetails using an Incra table/fence/router lift. It's easy setup, the result is great, and I still have flexibility to vary spacing. Sorry, I know this is not addressing the OP's original question. Just speaks to one of the things I like about woodworking. There are multiple ways to do almost everything and you can focus on what is most important to you.