Curious if anyone out there has tried the new Akeda Dovtail Jig. It seems to be a great idea, and it’s the same cost or less as other dovetail jigs. Everything I’ve read about it indicates that it’s virtually fool proof to use. Not all the set-up problems associated with the Leigh Jig. Any first hand advice would be nice before I drop the money on it. Thanks.
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Replies
Nothing is foolproof.... fools are too clever.
Is there anyone who has even seen this Jig or seen a review on it? I'm very interested in it, so any outside advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
No outside information, but here is some from the inside. You can download the Akeda instruction manual from their site at
http://www.akedajigs.com/dl_user_manual.html
Leaf through their whole site, and you might find some indicators of answers to your questions.
Edited for typo
Edited 10/15/2002 6:21:27 PM ET by Donald C. Brown
Saw one at my local Woodcraft Store. Nice looking Jig. From what I hear, cost ends up being similiar to the Leigh jig once you start buying bits, templates, etc. There has been a fair amount of conversation regarding this jig on the Wood Mag forum. Verdict seems to be out and not a lot of first hand experience from what I recall.
Rick
One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet in this thread: This jig requires that your dovetail spacing be in multiples of 1/8-inch. Not an issue for carcases, but something worth considering when you're planning your drawer depth. Nick
I thought the Alkeda were the guys we are searching for in Afganistan. Don't get your turban caught in the router.
I just picked one up at the recent Woodworking show in Chicago at the Woodcraft booth. The jig was supposedly designed by the same person that helped design the Leigh jig. They gave me a "deal" if you buy the basic jig and accessory kit (additional bits, vacuum accessory, etc.), which is the same deal offered through the Woodcraft catalog. So you wind up paying $449 to get the full functionality of the jig. I think the $299 for the basic jig is a price point to suck us in to buy the remaining parts.
The jig is beefy-weighs about 40 pounds, has a user-friendly instruction manual. It looks like they really thought through this one. The only down side is it a 16" jig vs. Leigh's 24" jig.
Unfortunately, I can't report on how well it works since it requires a 7/16" template bushing that the Woodcraft guys neglected to tell me I needed. I'll report back as soon as I've used it and let you know.
Hey, thanks for the reply. I look forward to hearing your report on it. I sure think it looks like a well thought Jig, but I guess time will tell. My buddy has the Leigh Jig, and it's nice, but there is quite a bit of set up and tweaking to get everything just right. This new Akeda seems to be a more user friendly. Best of luck with it. Look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks again.
Did you know that there seems to be an issue with getting a 7/16" template bushing that is actually 7/16"? It seems they vary a lot in size and that it really matters that it be right. Look at the Akeda web site, they recommend measuring them before you buy, and pick the best one. They are thinking of doing their own so it is right. Please let us know that you think after you use it. And what else you've used before.
Edward
Edited 10/18/2002 3:07:59 AM ET by EFARMER4
Did you know that there seems to be an issue with getting the a 7/16" template bushing that is actually 7/16"?
Interesting. Leigh has for some years made a variable guide bushing (it's conical and is adjusted by screwing it in or out of its holder). I suppose if Akeda gets desparate, they could license the rights to Leigh's design.
Edited for orthography.
Edited 10/17/2002 4:22:30 PM ET by Donald C. Brown
I've had one of these for a few weeks how. I think I'll like it once I get a new 7/16" guide bushing. The one I had was .006" undersized, so the joints came out loose. I tried wrapping tape around it but that soon wore down and the joints got loose again.
Both my POS Craftsman routers gave me nothing but grief. One rocked on the jig because it's baseplate wasn't flat and it wouldn't hold the bushing centered. The other one wouldn't hold the dovetail bit tight. No matter how hard I cranked on the wrench, the collet just couldn't hold it.
Oh well, whats another $200 for a new router. I've been wanting one anyway.
The jig seems very well made, not much plastic. The design looks to be a step up from the Leigh. Everything is repeatable at any time and its a snap to setup.
I'd buy it again.
Just be sure you have a good router and guide bushing.
I have one question that I haven't seen discussed about this jig, wasn't the suggested price lower on their web site before Woodcraft became the exclusive dealer? I don't remember what the price was, but I remember the description of the jig for the basic price being much closer to what is now the basic jig PLUS accessory kit. I know what the Leigh basic jig runs and that is what I remember comparing it to. (Was $329 at Lee Valley, just went up in new catalog to $339.) I remeber the whole Akeda package being less than the Leigh with other, more feature laden jigs to come. (Larger 24" model with sliding dovetail capabilities, or something different, I don't recall exactly.)
-Craig
P.S. Again, I don't have all the details on what was on the site before Woodcraft got exclusivity, but I do know that the information on the site changed substantially shortly after that was announced.
Wow! 0.006" undersized affects it that much! When I read to check the size of the guide bushing warning I wasn't thinking I'd need a micrometer! I guess I can see how it would affect it but if it is that picky they had better make their own, or would the Leigh adjustable one help? The one someone else wrote about?
I think the "Woodcraft became the exclusive dealer" means Woodcraft raised the price... but if Akeda wants to break into the market... not a lot they can do.
But isn't the problem with the Leigh also the stuff you have to buy after that really drives the price up?
Edward
Edited 10/18/2002 3:09:29 AM ET by EFARMER4
I think you will find most of the extras for the Leigh are for features not supported by the Akeda, so they wouldn't be a fair comparison. (ie. no clover templates, bears ears, key, ellipse, etc.)
Of course, one extra for the Leigh that I think is truly ridiculous is the one for box joints. I have a jig similar to the one referred to as "Lynn's Box Joint Jig" that uses a threaded rod to index the cut. It has a very large capacity and can even handle variable spaced box joints (as the desk organizer in front of me right now can show). I built one based on plans in a WOOD Magazine book ("Woodworking Tools You Can Build" or something like that) and it probably cost me $30. Lynn's can probably be built for less. Lee Valley lists the Leigh Jig Finger Joint attachment for $259! I doubt very much that their finger joints are any better than what I can make or that their jig is as flexible. I use mine with the tablesaw, but it would work just as well with a router table and using the TS, I recently cut a joint with fingers over 2.5" in length.
-Craig
The Leigh box joint adapter will do variations on box joints that would be difficult to impossible on other jigs, including rounded and half-blind, not to mention a finger width range of 1/16" to 1/2" and a maximum board thickness of 1-1/4" on the 1/2" bit ($259).
So maybe you want to cut larger than 1/2" fingers. Then use the multiple mortise & tenon attachment to cut 5/8" on up in boards up to 1-1/8" ($189).
No, I do not work for Leigh or any of their vendors.
--
Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
With my box joint jig I can cut variable spaced box joints of virtually any width finger (the threaded rod is 16tpi, so practical minimal width is probably about 1/32" with a half turn) and I can use the jig on a tablesaw and cut fingers as long as the tallest height I can set the blade. The desk organizer in front of me has fingers from 1" down to 3/8" in width connecting the carcass. Stock thickness is not even an issue as I could cut these in 4" thick stock if I wanted. Using the jig on the router table would reduce the size of some of my joints, but I have both options so it's not an issue. Again, this is probably a $30 jig at most. Also, if I find that the joint is too tight because the dado stack wasn't quite the width I thought, I can actually go back with this jig and fine tune the joint. (Personally, I find using a 1/8" kerf rip blade eliminates having to do this.) When doing variable spacing, it is also unnecessary to change the cutter since it is only a matter of making more or less cuts with a turn of the handle.
I have seen pictures of the half-blind, rounded box joints that the Leigh can do and personally I don't find them very appealing. After all, since it is also a dovetail jig I'd much rather use dovetails for half-blind joints. I do like the look of through box joints on a drawer front, especially from a constrasting wood. The drawer fronts on my organizer are Bocote attached to Yellowheart sides with a 3/4" lower finger and a 3/8" upper finger piercing the drawer front from the side. To make it clearer, it is, from the bottom starting with Bocote, 7/8", 3/4", 5/8", 3/8", 5/8" for a drawer height of 3.25".
Does the Leigh support square half-blind box joints? I think I would find that more attractive than the round.
Not attacking you Lee, just giving my point of view. Also trying to discuss more ways to do things as I feel that the more ways I have to do a woodworking task, the better chance I have of finding the one that works best for the given situation. I'd really like to see more articles on using threaded rods in jigs as I can imagine them proving quite useful in creating better shop-built jigs. For example, there have been several similar designs for horizontal router tables setting the bit height by swinging the base plate on a pivot point. If you used opposing 45 degree triangles, fixing the top one to the base plate and sliding the bottom one along using a threaded rod, every inch moved horizontally would move the bit height vertically one inch and not in an arc. Guide rails would of course be required and maybe some UHMW tape to make sure the triangles glide easily.
Sorry for the long off-topic ramble.
-Craig
CWDAYMON wrote: Does the Leigh support square half-blind box joints? I think I would find that more attractive than the round.
Actually, I think I might find them more attractive, too, but I don't know whether the Leigh supports them or not. I think not. I don't yet own one of the beasts. I was just playing devil's advocate with you. I still cut my dovetails by hand and I've just done a jig for box joints on the tablesaw. It won't do variables, though. I'd like to take a look at that jig you've been talking about. Could you repeat the link for where to find it?
CWDAYMON wrote: Not attacking you Lee, just giving my point of view.
I never thought you were. I like having open discussion about such topics.
CWDAYMON wrote: Also trying to discuss more ways to do things as I feel that the more ways I have to do a woodworking task, the better chance I have of finding the one that works best for the given situation.
I agree fully. If you catch another one of my posts, I really can't remember which thread, I have also advocated for woodworkers to know more than one way of doing the tasks that they do. So many people just lock in on one way for each task and they limit themselves severely.
You don't need a pair of massive router bits or shaper bits to make good looking paneled doors. It can all be done with a tablesaw and a bit of hand chisel work. An expensive dado blade set is not needed to cut dadoes and rabbets. You can do them with an inexpensive router bit or your regular tablesaw blade plus a chisel, or even with a hand rabbet plane or router plane.
Having all these different ways to "skin a cat" gives a woodworker, or any worker/craftsman a versatility that enables him to meet any challenge head on with confidence.
Shout it from the rooftops.
--
Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
For all interested in a hands-on review of the Akeda jig, check out
http://www.woodshopdemos.com/
For comparison, I think John also has hands-on reviews of most of the other available dovetail jigs including, although not limited to dovetails, the Woodrat and Little Woodrat.
Lee,
This isn't exactly the jig I have, but it works on the same principle and is probably even less expensive to make than mine. Mine came from a book by WOOD magazine entitled, "Shop-Tested Woodworking Tools You Can Make", ISBN #0-696-20745-1. Here is the link to plans for "Lynn's Box Joint Jig" at Mark's Woodshop:
http://www.netexperts.cc/~lambertm/Wood/lynnjig.html
I think Mark has built himself a bit of an industry around this jig with the CD-ROM and pre-built jigs, but the plans are still there for free.
Hope it works as well for you as it has for me.
-Craig
Looks interesting. I think I'll give it a try after I clear the decks. Thanks, Craig. I appreciate it.
--
Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
Sure .006 X 4 machined surfaces is .024
Way more than a fat 64th... closer to a 32 of an inch.
A cat could run thru that :)The proof is in the puddin'
In my further waste of time looking for Akeda reviews I found this on Wood Central in a review, and wonder if it would help with the bushing fit issue...
"3. Unlike the Leigh, where you move the "template" toward or away from you to loosen or tighten a fit, on this one you use a slightly oversized or slightly undersized straight bit to change the fit. The supplied bit made a very tight joint so I simply slide a sheet of sandpaper in between the piece and the support, this brought the piece further up the sloped fingers for the pins and took off more wood, and yep, a perfect fit. "
But having not used the jig... does it seem like this would help the problem with the bushing? Or is this fit problem in another axis?
The URL is: http://www.woodcentral.com/newforum/msgset.shtml if anyone wants to read the rest.
Edward
I can't see where sandpaper would help'
just get the right size bushings.The proof is in the puddin'
Okay. I finally got the right size bushing and tested out the Akeda DC jig this weekend and here is my experience. If you want a jig that is simple, clean, and accurate from a company that is unresponsive, then this is the perfect jig.
I created both half-blind and through dovetail joints with good results, but not "practically out of the box" as one of Woodcraft's ads implies. The half-blind was dead-on accurate, but only after trial and error. (I was trying to imagine what I should say to Woodcraft after I threw the jig through their front window! How about, "Yeah, Akeda's ad is right. Pigs do fly!")
I finally found that you have to use their recommended dovetail bits for particular stock widths, otherwise you get very sloppy results. For example, their 7-degree supplied dovetail bit does not work well with 3/4" stock for half-blinds. Their recommended bit is a 9-degrees. I tried it and it worked great. However, the 9-degree bit is not supplied with the basic jig. I purchased the accessory kit, which included 7, 9, 11, 14, 20 degree bits as well some other necessary accessories so I was in business. To be fair, I was trying to see whether I could get away with just what was supplied first, so I ignored their "recommended" size bit in the instructions.
The through dovetail bit produced decent results, but not perfect, yet. It was very easy to use. I found though that the jig was sensitive to my heavyhandedness, meaning if you push too hard against the plastic-resin guide, it had a tendency to produce looser joints. Once I got the feel for this, the joints were better, but still not perfect. It may be because the template guide bushing (Porter Cable's supplied by Woodcraft) is off. A common problem apparently. I haven't been able to test the over and undersize straight cutters to see how this has an impact on the results.
The vacuum attachment is a must-have. I tried the jig without it, and although the jig still prevents wood chips spraying all over you, you cannot see the work from the build up in the plastic window. The vacuum attachment works well and makes this a clean process.
But expect to be ignored if you call and e-mail Akeda. At least that is what my experience has been so far. I called, got a voice-mail greeting and left a message. When I did not hear back, I e-mailed the president and have not heard back. My guess is they are too busy marketing the tool to pay attention to needy early-adopters.
My only basis of comparison is to the Porter Cable basic jig (the $99 one that makes only half-blind joints). This is night and day. And I don't know how the Akeda compares to the Leigh, which is the tool I was originally planning to buy. But I am satisfied with this tool. The engineering is really well-thought out. It is very easy to set up, once you learn the basic principles. And this is going to sound strange, but the jig gave me confidence to the point that I could quickly set it up, do one test cut, and then move on to the actual work piece. For my needs, which is to build one-off's on weekends, I think I've made the right choice.
I am curious if anyone else out there has purchased the jig and if so, any tips that might be helpful. Anybody know who manufactures a "precision" template guide bushing? It isn't Porter-Cable's.
Paul
Edited 10/21/2002 2:54:34 PM ET by PAULDEYOUNG
I took my mic with me to the store and bought a guide bushing that was .001 under.
It works perfect. I think one that was dead on 7/16" would make a joint that was a bit too tight.The proof is in the puddin'
Thank you. Do you know what brand it was? Unfortunately, there are no woodworking stores that I have easy access to, so I have to do most purchasing through the mail. I am hoping a particular brand has higher quality levels.
The bushing I ended up with was a Porter-cable one. The guys in the store weren't too happy about me opening up all their 7/16" guide bushing packages until I told them about my problems with the jig. They said they would send the off sized ones back.
If you have to mail order it'll just be pot luck. You can send them back too.
Try one made by Leigh. You might have better luck as their jigs need highly accurate bushings too.
Good luckThe proof is in the puddin'
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