Replies

1. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 10, 2002 06:36pm | #1

   I have the Sears jig. My dad got it in a shop that he bought out. I Have it now because he does not know how to set it up and use it. It is not bad jig, it allows you to make 1/2" and 1/4" dovetails on boards up to about 16" wide. A buddy has the Vermont America jig and it seems to work good for him but it only has a 12" bed.

   I have been looking at getting a Leigh jig for Christmas.

   Scott C. Frankland

   Newfoundland Wood Worker

1. 
   mapleman | Jul 07, 2002 05:59am | #14

   Scott,

   I saw your post on the forum. I used to own the Sears jig but got rid of it to buy a Leigh. The Leigh jig is a BEAR to set up. It's not worth the effort or the price. The only down side to the Sears jig is that the dovetail size is not adjustable but if you can live with that, keep it. Trust me, I wish I had spent that 3 or 4 hundred bucks on something else.

1. 
   SCFrankland | Jul 07, 2002 06:19am | #15

   Well after doing some dovetail work the old fashion way I have looked at buying a LN dovetail saw instead of the Leigh. I have the same idea as you I guess "the money can be better spent somewhere else".Scott C. Frankland

   Newfoundland Wood Worker

2. 
   cuttoff | Jun 10, 2002 06:55pm | #2

   Joe, you used the term "good" and it leaves me speculating a bit about the quality of the jig you intend to buy and whether it will be a long term piece of equipment or just for this job. So, I'll throw some speculative ideas at you -

   Short term use: Woodcraft sells templates that you can use to make your own jigs. This takes a bit of work but is a fairly inexpensive solution.  I've used these.

   Long term light use: Just about any of the economy jigs will get you buy for a job here and there and will last a long time. The setup time is longer than with the better jigs. I don't have one of these.

   Long term heavy use: Although I don't have one of these it seems that the general concensous is that the Leigh is the best.

   Super high end, long term, heavy use: Wood Rat. It can also be used for a variety of other functions and according to the information I have read it is fairly simple to setup and operate.

   I'll make these suggestions with the caveat of "Buyer Beware" because they all take practice and although it is entirely possible to get perfect results right from the start, it is not likely.

   I've made these suggestions based more on logic than any vast knowledge so please just take them as they are intended.

   John

   
   

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   Edited 6/10/2002 11:58:38 AM ET by John

   
   

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   Edited 6/10/2002 2:30:30 PM ET by John

3. 
   Andrew | Jun 11, 2002 02:44am | #3

   First of all I would recommend using solid wood if you are going to be dovetailing your drawers for two reasons, one, when you dovetail you will be able to see the plys on the end of the pins. two, dovetailing plywood with a router and jig will more than likely give you huge problems with splintering. also, if your going to use high end joinery, plywood just seems out of place.

   you can cut dovetails on the bandsaw, which requires no investment (provided you have a bandsaw) and for a once off job is probably faster and easier than learning how to setup and use a dovetail jig. as an extra, they also look handcut, which dovetails done on a jig won't. the only jig I have experience with is the Leigh jig, and while it is great, it takes a little while to learn how to use the jig. they're also expensive, which makes it hard to justify unless you will be cutting a lot of dovetails.

4. 
   woodshaver | Jun 11, 2002 08:13am | #4

   Hi,Joe,in my 20 yr,career,as a cabinet maker,I have seen (2) jigs worth buying my (1)pick is the Leigh , it has a lot of vesatality, my(2)pick is the omni jig by porter-cable.this is agreat jig if all your going to do is make drawers. good luck.

1. 
   MikeK50 | Jul 04, 2002 11:33am | #7

   Joe,

   I agree with Andrew on using solid wood and with Woodshaver on the Leigh jig and the Porter Cable Omnijig.

   Poplar is a good choice for drawer construction as it is stable, has fine grain and is fairly inexpensive.

   The Leigh dovetail jig is probably the most versatile dovetail jig on the market.  It is not cheap though.  The PC Omnijig is built like a tank, but does not offer the versatility of variable pin spacing, etc.

   I also like the Keller jig, but it it limited to through-dovetails.  It will not do blind dovetails that are traditionaly used on drawer fronts.  This was the first dovetil jig I bought years ago and it is incredibley precise and easy to use.  Again, it isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for.

   Mike

5. 
   chairmake1 | Jun 11, 2002 07:44pm | #5

   I'll try to give you some answers -

   If you are making just these and only these drawers then find the least expensive jig that will do the widest drawer that you will be making. Sears comes to mind. These will be fixed spacing jigs.

   Now if you want a jig that will adjust the spacing and do both thru and half-blind pins I would suggest a Leigh 24" jig. I own one of these and have made thouands of connection with it and it still works just fine.

   These are the two ends of the price spread and there are a LOT of other jigs on the market that you should look into before buying - Katie also comes to mind and I think that it's used with a router table.

   One other thing I'll say is that if you are planning to make half-blind dovetails for the front of you drawers, using baltic brich or some other plywood will work, but you might re-think if you plan to use thru tails as the ends of the plywood will show thriugh the front of the drawer.

   Hope this helps,

   Robert

1. 
   mikehaines | Jul 04, 2002 10:35am | #6

   I own both the leigh and the omni jig the both work great.  Now let me explain: leigh - will give you a look close to hand cut (variable spacing)  the omni jig with standard templates will give you uniform spacing.  that is find but looks like production not hand made. the omni jig is easier to use out of the box.  i would use the leigh jig on furniture.  the omni jig on kitchen cabinets. the leigh jig (to me takes a lot of setup time, only a problem if only using once in a while) in the end it depends on how much you will use the jigs.  if not much then they both are fairly expensive,  buy a cheap one.   hope this helps a little

   mike

6. 
   BG | Jul 04, 2002 01:00pm | #8

   I'm a newbee and recently tried my hand at making dovetail draws for my workbench...needed places to hide expenditures from the CFO (lovely wife).  I bought the cheapo 'Reliant' jig (about $49 at WW) and it did cut half blind dovetails.  Using plywood, even the good stuff, did not work well and, as others have suggested, I switched to popular.  But, I have tried slidding dovetails which only require a bit and that has worked relativly well with plywood...especially if I hide the end that will show.  Lastly, don't forget the sawdust/glue trick to cover up mistakes.  good luck 

7. 
   BG | Jul 04, 2002 01:05pm | #9

   One other point Joe, there is a ratio thing that should be observed..but I don't know why.  The ratio relates to the thickness of the front verses the sides...think I read the sides should not exceed 1/2".  Would love to hear some comments form our experts.  Thanks

1. 
   DelDollens | Jul 05, 2002 05:18am | #10

   I have been using an Incra Twin Linear (Very similar to the Incra Ultra) for a while, and although it takes a day or so to master the thing, I am not happy with one aspect.  The dovetails do not fit together perfecly.  Now before I get a rash of "What are you talking about" or "It's because you're a stupid boob" comments, let me expound a bit.  With the Porter cable jig, you have a rounded side on your tails.  Those rounded tails fit exactly with the rounded recess left by the bit in the joining piece.  With the Incra, you have a squared-off tail on the inside, thus weekening the joint.  Now, is it stronger than the joint created by the drawer joint talked about? Yes, of course it is, but is it as strong as it COULD be?  No, it isn't. 

   My question to the forum is this, does the Leigh jig have the same problem, or does every point of the joint come in contact with the the joining peice?

   My suggestion is not to get an incra style jig for use with a router table.  From what I have seen lately, you can get some of the porter cable dovetail jig look-alikes for a reasonable price.

   -Del

1. 
   Andrew | Jul 06, 2002 05:59am | #13

   Del, yes the leigh jig does make a half blind dovetail that contact on all surfaces, and while there is a bit of a learning curve i now find i can set up my leigh jig very quickly to cut dovetails.

   BTW the biggest improvement i've come across yet is to use a 4 flute solid carbide end mill in my router. the spiral flutes eliminate all tearout from the back of the pins, and by using it to remove most of the waste when cutting the tails before putting in the dovetail bit in the router i've eliminated blowout there as well. before i always had problems with blowout, even when using backerboards. as a plus, i can also use a much faster feed rate. keep this in mind if you get the leigh jig.

8. 
   Sancho | Jul 05, 2002 07:35pm | #11

   Joe ,

   How many of these drawers are you going to make?

   How many in the future?

   Is cost a consideration for the jig?

   If your only going to make a few drawers for the armoir and do not plan to make a lot of drawers in the future. I would consider going to a cab shop and pay someone to make the drawers for you. I know its sacreledge here in a WW forum but if your not going to be making enough dovetails to make it worth your while to buy a good jig approximately 400 bucks for the PC and more for the Leigh. Then it would be worth your while to do it that way. If you use solid stock then the drawer bit you mentioned should be plenty strong. I bought a couple of cheaper jigs including the cheaper PC (100 bucks) and found they do a good job but for me they dont last long and soon Im either buying another one or repairing the old one.

    Another option would be through dovetails with the Keller system( roughly 150 bucks) and attach the drawer fronts seperately . I bought a jig at a WW show recently for box and dovetails, j joints ect but havent played with it enough to make a reconmendation either way on it yet. Ive only made j joints and box joints with it and  they came out good and easy to use, but havent played with the dove tails yet.

    Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"

9. 
   joker | Jul 05, 2002 11:53pm | #12

   I have used the Keller dovetail jig when I first started doing dovetails. It worked ok, set up can be a little time consuming, depending on how picky you are. No variance in spacing, etc, but does a nice job. Anyway, I don't use jigs anymore, I cut my dovetails by hand. It took me 4 trys on a series of dovetails, some profanity, actually probably alot of profanity, and about 8-10 hours. Nothing like it. Set up is easy, you can customize your spacing, you can cut "needle pins" , you can always get half pins on the corners (which you will not always be able to do when using certain jigs). I might add that at the end of my learning session that my dovetails were gapless and even in hardwood. If you have not tried it I would highly recommend it. Hand work is very rewarding and the look you can achieve cannot be matched let alone surpassed by a machine.