kehoe dovetail jig and company

Erm! – Did you post the wrong picture ?

-- Don, Somerset UK, http://www.donjohnson24.co.uk

Thanks for the review. I’ve used the Kehoe jig for a while now and like it a lot. The splines add strength and interest to the corners. I had a problem with the 1/4” bits that come with the kit. They shear off easily if you use very hard wood like jatoba or cocobolo. I substituted 3/8” shaft bits bought from Lee Valley and haven’t had a problem since. I agree customer sevrice is above par. If you have a a problem they’ll get back to you right away.

I second the above… great product and great service.. I have had mine for a while now and it is fabulous.

-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ larrysworkshop.wordpress.com For lovers of all things timber...

I would of posted the spline jig but it’s in my shop which is 5 hours away. Don’t ask. What I posted was the replacement TS spline making jig and the wood I just receiver in the mail today. I don’t know what kind of wood it is but it has some strange colors.

If it’s 5 hours away, that must curtail your actual ‘on the job’ time in each working day LOL

-- Don, Somerset UK, http://www.donjohnson24.co.uk

sounds to me like another ad for chucky, Why would you give 5 stars to something that shear off easily? I hope LJ was well paid for this ad

-- My favorite projects were firewood bound

Riverwood, please re-read the posts again. I said the router bits supplied broke. I didn’t do the initial review. My comment said the device works great and service is very good. My only adverse comment was that the router bits broke under my use conditions. If I had to do it over I definitely would buy the system again and I would recommend it to anyone. It does something that isn’t easy to do any other way.

Glad this works well for you & thanks for the review. I have made tons of boxes with dovetail splines just on a router table. Nothing new here, except if you don’t have a router table. Hope you enjoy working with it..the dovetails on the corner always look nice

-- We call the destruction of replaceable human made items vandalism, while the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources is called development.

I do not have a business relationship with Kehoe Dovetail jig company. I’m a customer that enjoys working with there jig and the results achieve from using it. In my experience personal customer service is almost nonexistent. Finding a company that makes sure your satisfied with there product and stands by it is a super plus. I stand by my rating.

they have changed the material used for the jig, mine is plastic, and the spline cutting jig is hardboard.

-- Smitty!!!

Will,

Thanks for your kind words about our product and service. Thanks also to Larry & Jim, although I no longer see Jim’s post.

Michelle, there’s nothing wrong with standard splines, they look great and add that different look to a project and I commend you for incorporating them into your work. Many woodworkers will not make the extra effort. Where our jig excels is the rapid manner in which you can install them, the versatility of the many combinations of splines both dovetailed & straight, but especially the strength inherent in the 1 degree taper. This is the key to the phenomenal strength achieved by this system as evidenced in the Z-Chair’s ability to be as functional as it is striking in appearance. You would never want to depend on a Z-Chair made of standard splines. In projects where the joint strength is paramount, I believe our splines outperform traditional dovetails even. If you would like to try our jig send me your mailing address and I’ll drop one in the mail. If you like it you can pay for it when convenient – if you don’t like it, I’ll email you a prepaid label and you can return it no questions asked. We’ll call it the MichelleTwo LJ Special.

Smitty, the jig you have is made of vinyl. One of the things I did when I became owner is to immediately look for a better material from which to extrude the K shape. Aluminum was the easy choice, but it was a two year search to find an aluminum extruder that could guarantee the extremely tight tolerances we demanded for the jig. Once we found one, we were delighted to also discover that they do not use foreign ore. They use 100% domestically-mined aluminum ore so the jig really is all-American. If you would like to upgrade your jig and spline maker, drop me an email or PM and I will make you a much better offer than you can get off the website. We’ll call it the Smitty LJ Special. ;)

-- "Sure, listen to what the experts have to say, just don't let it get in the way of your woodworking."

I called it plastic, just using a generic term to describe a material that I was not aware of it’s true nature. Will, I believe the wood you have is possibly Box Elder, is that right, Texas Timber? at least what I can see of it, it sure looks like it.

-- Smitty!!!

I just happened to watch that Charles Neil video yesterday, and I saw this review today! Weird… Thanks for posting!

-Jim; aka “Stumpy Nubs”
” Blue Collar Woodworking? FINALLY, a woodworking show for us morons! ” -The Hoboken Evening Review

-- It's the best woodworking show since the invention of wood... New episodes Wednesdays at: http://www.stumpynubs.com

When I want to make tapered sliding dovetails, I place apiece of paper or plastic (depending on how much taper I want) at the “exit” side of the router table. Why not use a jig similar to the one used on the table saw with the router table and then just place a piece of paper or plastic on the exit side to create the taper on the dovetail spline?

I would probably do these by hand if I was to make them (don’t make many boxes, but I am thinking of a chair design that might benefit from these splines).

Disclaimer: I have never seen this keyhole jig, but if it is anything like a dovetail jig, thanks but no thanks I am doing it by hand or with a jig I can make and be sure I do not have to fiddle with adjustments…. :-)

-- Just because you’ve always done it that way doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly stupid.