Dovetail Jig

[Don Abele]

Have a project in the planning phase that will involve a lot of dovetails (drawers) and mortise and tenons. Need some input concerning what's the best way to go about it.

I currently have a cheap plastic dovetail jig that I will not be using. It's marginal at best and worked for when I was just starting out, but has been collecting dust for a long time.

I also have the mortising attachment for my Jet floor drillpress (which, even while it is a PITA to setup, does work well). I also have a tenoning jig for the tablesaw.

So...with that said, am I better off buying a new dovetail jig (which one do you like), sticking with my current M&T method, switching to a dedicated mortiser, OR...

Go with the Woodrat for both the dovetails and M&Ts?

All in all want to keep the purchase under $500.

Your experience and opinion is greatly appreciated.

Thanks. Be well,

Doc

[Jim Becker]

Well, I'm partial to the Leigh jig for dovetails and the like. It's top-notch. But it will run you to your budget if you include a full set of cutters...worth it, IMHO, but your decision. That being said, you could get the Leigh jig from Lee Valley (best prices generally), one #120 bit for your half-blind DT for drawers (the cutters for the "regular" through dovetails are included with the jig, and have a enough cash to buy whatever you need to build a nice router mortising jig using Bill Hylton's (or others') design plus some nice material for your project. If you can add a little money, you could do the Leigh plus a dedicated mortiser, like the Jet.

[Dave Avery]

Don,

Similar response to the good advice you received from Jim, but a slightly different take. I haven't used the Leigh, but bought an Akeda (Woodcraft is the only retailer) because it's "dovetails for the mechanically disinclined" - soooo easy to set up and use. For $250-300 you get the basic set-up. For M&T applications, I use loose tenons made with a shop-built horizontal router table. Bill Hylton has a couple of different designs, one simple and one pretty complex, but I used my own design which borrowed from many different efforts. For $50 in materials plus a decent router, your total budget doesn't get too awefully busted. Dave.

[John Miliunas]

Don,

Similar response to the good advice you received from Jim, but a slightly different take. I haven't used the Leigh, but bought an Akeda (Woodcraft is the only retailer) because it's "dovetails for the mechanically disinclined" - soooo easy to set up and use. For $250-300 you get the basic set-up.

Hey guys, I guess I can't totally verify this, but my understanding is that Akeda is no more. That is, they no longer are in business, at least, according to what my Woodcraft guy said. I just checked the Woodcraft site, too, and it does indeed appear the jigs are "out of stock". Like I said, this isn't "bible", but you may want to keep it in mind when making your decision(s).

[Randy Ferguson]

Hey guys, I guess I can't totally verify this, but my understanding is that Akeda is no more. That is, they no longer are in business, at least, according to what my Woodcraft guy said. I just checked the Woodcraft site, too, and it does indeed appear the jigs are "out of stock". Like I said, this isn't "bible", but you may want to keep it in mind when making your decision(s).

The post regarding Akeda being no more got my attention. If you visit the Akeda site you'll see information regarding a serious fire in the building next door to the Akeda building....so they certainly are in a bind at this time, hopefully it's only short term.

www.akedajigs.com

Big relief for me since I have the jig and like it very much

Randy

[John Miliunas]

Yo Randy, I kind of hope you're right, as well. I've read good reports and reviews about Akeda and had been considering it myself, 'cuz I definitely AM one of those "mechanically disinclined". I have a couple smaller dovetail jigs and it's always a chore for me to set them up properly. Maybe if I used them more it may come easier, but it's not something I do a lot of, so it's like re-learning the thing each time I use one of them. Kind of a PITA. That, or I may have to take a class on doing handcut dovetails. (Who said that?!) At any rate, it looks as though we'll need to keep an eye on what happens with Akeda.

[Bob Lasley]

Randy/John,

I too hope this is only short term. I bought the Akeda last year and absolutely love it. I don't think there will be a problem in ever wearing it out, but a source for bits could be a problem if Akeda went out of business.

Bob

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Ok, Ok
It's time to mention another jig besides the "big two"
I use a Katy Jig - because my wife's name is Katy.
No not really - I use it because I like the way that I can use it ON a router table, rather than using the router "free hand" on the jig.
Really good results the second time.
The first time I made the joints backwards and guess what - they didn't fit. Oh! Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle!

I fake the half blind dovetails with the addition of another piece of 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch face board for the drawer front.
Daniel

[Ed Falis]

As long as Daniel chimed in with one of the odd ones, I will too: check out the woodrat at www.woodrat.com. Love it.

- Ed

[Bill Esposito]

Don,

I'll add one more suggestion. If you are simply looking for a half blind machine (like the cheapo ones) and want one which is extreemly simple and accurate, allbeit pricey, then take a look at the Woodhaven jig. Like I said it cant do anything fancy but it is so simple to set up that I think it's worth the price. It uses a bearinged bit and takes all of a few seconds to set up using the included gauge. At most you'll have to make one practice run and if you dedicate a router to it you shouldnt have to adjust it again.

[Scott Coffelt]

I started out with a PC 12" 1/2 blind unit (4112P) and it was very easy to set up, remained accurate and produced very nice dovetails. I used it for all of my drawer builds. I also bought a Leigh for use when I want to do other styles. Recently I bought the Jet 12" 1/2 blind unit because I liked a couple of features and got it for a great price, I have not used it yet because I have not had a project requiring drawers in a while.

Point is, if you plan on doing losts of drawers today and in the future, think about a small unit like the Jet or PC. When you have a need to expand to do different types of DTs you can go to a more expensive versions. The smaller unit remains set up to do drawers.

Now you have lots of bucks to get a dedicated mortiser, as they are much better for M/Ts then a drill press. Get you a really good set of chisels for it and don't look back.

Just my 2 cents.

[Andy Fread]

I have the 24" omnijig by Porter Cable.It is a good solid piece of equipment.It is a real bear to get adjusted properly,but once set it produces consistent results for me.Main drawbacks are the lack of adjustability and price of the templates.
If I were to purchase another jig ,I would most likely go for the Lehigh.

[Ken Wright]

Well here my two cents worth .... I've had the Keller 1601 for about 18 months. I've never used the Leigh or any other of the alternatives.

That confession made, I don't think, after browsing the stores looking at the alternatives, I have seen anything with the verstility of the Keller. There's no limit to the width piece you can dovetail, you can vary the spacing of the 'tails, dovetail rounded trunk tops, etc.

There's a couple of downsides ... the manual that came with mine bordered on being pathetic and it took a while to figure the thing out. There is reportedly a video and better manual in the past several months. Secondly, and of much less importance to me, you can't cut 1/2 blinds with this jig. Quite frankly, I don't see that as being a problem. I simply like the looks of dove tails.

To each his own .... but I don't think I'd change my decision even if some of the alternatives were not twice the cost of the Keller.

No affiliation ... just like the jig.

Oh, AND, if I could do it right now (LOML's chemo treatments are cleaning me out right now and until November 7) .... I'd chuck the drill press, tenoning jig and dedicated mortiser in a minute for loose tenons and a side mount router like David Marks has. That's a great machine with one reservation .. I'd sure like to visit Ken Salibury's shop to see his demo on tenons.

[Ken Salisbury]

I'd sure like to visit Ken Salibury's shop to see his demo on tenons.

Ken - you are welcome here at the Old Rebel Workshop anytime

[Ken Wright]

I'm going to take you up on that if this chemo thing ever ends ... 13 treatments down and 11 to go. As a side note... if any of you ever wondered about the cost of chemo ... $3605.00 per treatment. But she's worth every dime of it.

That walnut done cooking yet???

Ken - you are welcome here at the Old Rebel Workshop anytime