Any opinions on Rocklers Dovetail Jig?

Brent Dowell

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So Rockler has their 'most versatile' dovetail jig on sale.

Any opinions on this setup?

Rockler Dovetail Jig

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i think i would spring for the poster cable before this one brent they have been around longer and i have seen them in use in small cab shops ,, so that tells me that rockler may have cheapened some things in the wrong places.. i have a leigh that collects dust more than it should but the hand made ones are gettin more nods:)
 
I have their earlier one with blind and through templates. It is a bit fussy to setup but once set, it works as expected. That being said, I only did one test box and have not used it since. I thought I would do more of that sort of thing but, like Larry I find hand fit joints more rewarding. It would be handy if you had to do a long run of DT's though.
 
brent i hear a deal possibly:) talk to him maybe he wants another tool instead and can use the jing to get it, go for the juglar:) tell him its a trade for the planer you gave him:)
 
Just kicking the idea around in my head.

Don't have any real plans for making dovetails, but it looked like a pretty good discount off the normal price.

I should probably just get a good dovetail saw and learn to do them by hand...
 
I've got one similar to that. They work ok, but you have to have your boards at the correct width and thickness, otherwise they are a pain to setup. I had good luck with softer hardwoods, but harder ones that require much pushing of the router will push the wood out of the clamps.

If you're planning to do many dovetails I'd do as Larry says and spring for the PC.

And if you still want that version you can also get it for about 75% off the Rockler price at HF...

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/?category=&q=dovetail
 
Buzinga! :eek:

Yeah, think I'll just skip the whole thing and get a dovetail saw...

I've got one similar to that. They work ok, but you have to have your boards at the correct width and thickness, otherwise they are a pain to setup. I had good luck with softer hardwoods, but harder ones that require much pushing of the router will push the wood out of the clamps.

If you're planning to do many dovetails I'd do as Larry says and spring for the PC.

And if you still want that version you can also get it for about 75% off the Rockler price at HF...

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/?category=&q=dovetail
 
Brent, I have the Harbor freight version and it works well, I cut dove tails in hard maple and had no problem with the jig holding the wood.

Yeah, I suspect it was the sharpness of my dovetail bit, but I wasn't pushing all that hard. Mine is an older version, perhaps they've made some improvements to the clamping system too.
 
I have their earlier one with blind and through templates. It is a bit fussy to setup but once set, it works as expected. That being said, I only did one test box and have not used it since. I thought I would do more of that sort of thing but, like Larry I find hand fit joints more rewarding. It would be handy if you had to do a long run of DT's though.

Same here, except for the part about hand fit joints. It's one of those tools I bought shortly after I started working wood, figuring every good shop should have one. Turns out I've used it on one test joint (which I saved to make future setups a bit easier) and a paper towel holder. :rolleyes: Like Glenn said though, it'd be handy for a batch of drawers or something similar.
 
I have the older version and I love it. the new one is supposed to be a little easier with the set up. the HF version is almost identical to the Rockler older version except the directions are better. I downloaded the hf directions and it made set up a lot easier.
 
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