Dovetail Jig Recommendation

Mike Gabbay

Member
Messages
180
Location
Herndon VA
Ok it may be time to buy a DT jig. Two reasons I think it's time.... I've been slowly (dead snail pace :D ) working on my bench that has a 2 1/4" x 5" front and side apron. I was cutting halfblind DTs for the front and sides. The problem is my halfblinds on this size of material is not that great. It seems that the overall stock thickness magnifies any issues with fit.

The second reason is I looking at building kitchen cabinets in the Fall.

That being said, I'm looking for recommendations. Ideally it would be nice to get a DT jig that can handle larger thickness stock and can also handle halfblinds as well as adjustable tails like with the Leigh jigs.

Thanks, Mike
 
dovetail jigs

have a leigh jig but the newer porter cable's are very user friendly as steve ash can attest to. not sure of the thickness allowed though.. ask jason tuinstra on the leigh as he got me started on it i havent use anything thicker than 5/4 on mine upto now. but after you use alittle it gets easier but its very handy to keep track of the setup dimensions for repeative operations in the future if there is a lag between jobs..
 
I got the Akeda jig, and I like it very much. I saw Steve Marks using it on his show even! It's kind of limited in the size of stock, but it works really well. It's easy enough to setup and easy to repeat cuts. It'll do half-blinds and full DT's. I use a backer board every time I use it, which is probably a good idea no matter what jig you get.
 
Take a look at the WoodRat, too. It can handle a wide range of dovetail sizes (3/16" diameter x 3/8" depth through 15/16" diameter x 1 9/16" depth bits are available from The Craftsman Gallery), do through, half blind and even secret dovetails and I won't even get into the list of other things you can do with it. You aren't limited to a specific bit angle and there's no template needed for cutting DTs.
 
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