Replies

1. 
   sailalex | Jan 22, 2006 05:01pm | #1

   I recently bought the Akeda jig and with limited use find it more than meets my hobbiest needs. I mentioned this in another thread but I went to Woodcraft planning to buy the Leigh and after a demo of both by an experienced guy, I bought the Akeda 16". The guy running the demo was a very experienced guy that spent most of his time with the Leigh but he said after using the Akeda for awhile he was equally pleased. The features are different for each and by that I mean not that one is better than the other , they are just different. For example the Leigh is more versatile insofar as you can space the dovetails in any way while the Akeda you are limited to 1/8"spacing or multiples; the Akeda has a better support to hold the router from tipping while the Leigh does not. The manual for the Leigh is voluminous covering every minute step while the Akeda manual is less detailed but sufficient.

   I had never done dovetails with a jig before and I am not the most experienced woodworker in the world; for these reasons, I bought the Akeda and am very happy with it. I think it is a better option for the less experienced although one of the guys at the demo said they had a Leigh in their shop and it went unused because of the difficulty of learning how it worked. They went to the Akeda.Hope all this helps; I would suggest you at least look at the Akeda if you haven't.

2. 
   Napie | Jan 24, 2006 04:01am | #2

   KELLER!!!  I have two sizes and love them.  400+ blanket chests in less than 10 years and not one problem.

3. 
   WillGeorge | Jan 25, 2006 02:28am | #3

   Log Cabins,Constr,Remodelling..

   Sounds like you need to make your own jigs! Never saw a dovetail jig that held a 16 inch thick timber! Yet a bit to do it!

   EDIT: I have a 24 inch Leigh and it is OK!

   
   

   ---

   Edited 1/24/2006 6:30 pm by WillGeorge

1. 
   patrickmonk | Jan 25, 2006 02:52am | #4

   Thanks for responses. No problems with big timber Will, cut sliding dovetails in those babies freehand with my 24" Stihl and one eye closed !!!! Pat"call me Pegleg"Monk.patrickmonk.rn.sf.

4. 
   mauijim | Jan 25, 2006 11:45pm | #5

   I just bought a Rockler and am very pleased with it so far. It's my first dovetail jig. Setup was easy. Joints look good! I'm in no way affiliated with the co., btw.

   Jim

5. 
   WhatKnot | Jan 26, 2006 04:55am | #6

   Patrick, I just sold a Festool to a customer. He should have it tomorrow. He's happy with his Leigh but hates having to pull out the video everytime he wants to use it. Seems its rather complicated unless you use it on a regular basis.  I sell plenty of the Porter Cable units and I haven't heard any complaints. I'll let you know how my Festool guy likes his in a couple of days.

   Steve

   "You can either be smart or pleasant, I was once smart but now I'm pleasant. I like being pleasant better." Jimmy Stewart - Harvey

1. 
   sailalex | Jan 26, 2006 04:12pm | #7

   This was the same remark of the Woodcraft demo guy that the Leigh was an excellent jig but complicated. If you used it all the time, one became familiar enough the constant reference disappeared. That was the reason I got the Akeda; I will probably have to pull out their manual occasionally but it is thin, while Leigh's is a huge manual.

1. 
   Justaccord | Jan 26, 2006 05:54pm | #10

   The thickness of the manual speaks to the excellence of engineering and thoroughness. The Leigh jig is unsurpassed in quality, and in flexibility of options, allowing for creativity (like variable spacing).Doing the quantities of dovetails that most of us do (that is, other than all day every day) it is unlikely that using the Leigh will become habitual. But it will become simple and fast and following the manual will allow you to create perfect dovetails time after time.

6. 
   SteveC | Jan 26, 2006 05:04pm | #8

   I just bought the Porter Cable dovetail jig and am very pleased with it so far.  The instruction manual is okay.  It was set up to go right out of the box. 

   I have played around with it on some scap pieces and the joints are pretty nice for a jig.

   Steve C

7. 
   wordworker | Jan 26, 2006 05:34pm | #9

   I got the Leigh D4 early last year primarily to do through dovetails.  I was a little overwhelmed looking at the instruction manual and then watching the video;  seemed like a lot to learn and remember.  However, after doing just one practice box referring constantly to the manual I felt like I had learned & internalized about 90% of the process.  After doing one more box mostly by memory I had it down pat.  I still haven't done any half blind dovetails yet, but so far I am very pleased with my results.

8. 
   WoodRivWW | Jan 29, 2006 06:22am | #11

   Check out the dovetail jig review by George Vondriska in the March '06 "American Woodworker." He liked the Akeda DC16 and Leigh D1600 and D4R in the adjustable-template category and the Porter-Cable 4212 in the fixed-template category.

9. 
   RodWolfy | Feb 03, 2006 12:20am | #12

   I'd agree with the last post, check out the AWW article. I bought the Akeda, then took it back and got the Leigh D4R. The main difference between the two was the ablility to do 24" wide wood (like a blanket chest) on the Leigh and it's ablilty to do thicker and thinner pieces of wood than the Akeda.

   Rod

1. 
   steelhead | Feb 04, 2006 03:45pm | #13

   patrickmonk,

   How do you intend to use your jig?

   You mentioned Japanese saws and cabinetry... I am just curious because each of us has our own particilar favorites, but each design has pro and cons.

   Are you planning on casework with half-blind dovetails or jewelry boxes with tiny variable spaced through or mitered dovetails?

   For small prescision work, I usually cut by hand with a little help from a simple (but wonderful) set up from Bridge City Tools:

   http://www.bridgecitytools.com/pages_framework/frameset_stage.asp?primary=0&secondary=0&tertiary=-1

   For flexibilty in design and the ability to handle through, half blind, sliding, and mitered dovetails (as well as box joints and a thousand other uses), I use my Jointech IPM on the router table. A bit more complecated than the Akeeda, but dosen't require a 1" owners manual and a video like the Leigh, and more functional than either:

   http://www.jointech.com/woodworking1.htm

   All of these systems have drawbacks, and each perfoms some tasks better than others. Knowing what kind of work you plan to do and how much you intend to use a jig should guide your descision. Kind of like I'll bet you wouldn't trade your Stihl for an axe.

   Let us know which one you choose and how you like it.

   Happy sawdust,

    STEELHEAD

1. 
   BarryO | Feb 05, 2006 12:45pm | #14

   ...but dosen't require a 1" owners manual and a video like the Leigh...

   I never understand that criticism of the Leigh.  First off, it ain't nowhere near 1" thick.  Second, the pages are small with big type.  A big section of the front is setup that only needs to be read once.  The rest is divided into small sections for each use; e.g., you need to do through DT's, a quick scan through 5-6 pages for a refresher is all that's needed.    Anyone who finds that an undo reading burden must be having a tough time getting through life.  My 8 yr. old has watched the video, and even he understands it.

1. 
   Justaccord | Feb 24, 2006 04:59pm | #15

   Agreed. The Leigh jig, instead of being used as a club, should be a model to all tool manufacturers. Most of my tool manuals are an absolute joke. The Leigh manual is designed to give you all the information you could possibly use about the jig. Obviously, you dont need all the info for any particular project. In my mind, it is overwhelming evidence of the sophisticated engineering that goes into the tool. Everything has been thought through. And if you read one review after another (online for example) of the Leigh jig, EVERYBODY agrees that the jig is not difficult to use.Finally, when you want to cut your dovetails in short order, the Leigh manual is laid out so that you can follow precise directions in a short section to get it done.