buying a dovetail jig

I think the best recommendation with limited resources would be a Porter Cable jig. There are a number of others out there just stay away from the really cheap ones like Harbor Freight or Crafstsman might sell. That being said if you expect to do a lot of dovetails and box joints the Leigh is the best. I swear by mine.

-- Les B, Oregon

I have seen the Porter cable jigs going cheap as they are trying to push the new omni jigs.

-- Hope Never fails

Thanks, guys,

Does anybody know about the prazi jig?

-- burl, Indiana,

You might take a look at what MLCS has…

John Nixon has a nice video that demos them too! Very simple!
(be sure to watch it!)

They are on Sale now… I got the 1/2” shank Small setup…
With the template and all of the bits, etc. I think it’s a very good buy!

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/dovetailjig.html

If you want Half-blind DT’s just glue a face over the Through DT’s…

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"

I have the Leigh jig and it’s very good for production runs.
The akeda dovetail jig is also one you may be interested in as well.

You should still teach yourself to cut a decent dovetail. That involves practice.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

If you really haven’t got a lot of money to spend on a jig, you could make your own. The inexpensive jigs are all of the comb type. I think you could make your own templates and even make customized ones for different projects. You could even make your template work with the nice slender HSS dovetail bits if you’d like rather than the chubby carbide bits.

You could also cut dovetails with your bandsaw or tablesaw if you want.

Just ideas.

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

Yep, here is a procedure for using a band saw…

http://www.woodworkstuff.net/bsdtj.html

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"

DaveR, Do you know where to get plans for a shop built jig?

-- burl, Indiana,

There was an article a few years back. I think it was written by Jamie Buxton. He wrote about making his own dovetail templates. I’ll see if I can figure out a link to it.

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

Here’s a link. I hope it helps.

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

Thanks, Joe This will give me something to work on for a couple days. Thanks to you all.

-- burl, Indiana,

check out my thread on this subject. Depends what you mean by lack of funds, but the PC 4212 appears to give the best bang for buck. Since then i’ve read on improvements to the HF jig that make it much more functional. they had to do with adding some sandpaper to the clamp faces so the cams dont allow slipping and using perfectly dimensioned stock, i.e. 0.750, 0.500” etc. pieces.

Here’s another inexpensive way to get dovetails…
... very similar to the MLCS jig except you make the Template from a Master!

http://www.stots.com/product/dttm.htm

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"

shopenotes issue 43 has an article on a shop built dovetail jig, i haven’t attempted it myself.

-- David - Houston, Texas.

Dont discount looking on Ebay, and Craigs List to name a few. They often have good deals on tools and there is usually a lot of DT jigs on there.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

As is turns out I’m selling the estate of a relative who was in the process of building a co-op wood shop when he got ill. There are 2 “new in the box” dovetail jigs available. One is the Porter Cable 4212 http://www.cpoworkshop.com/dovetail_jigs/4212.html?ref=froogle4212 and the other is a Woodline Route-R-Joint with videos etc http://www.woodline.com/p-1825-route-r-joint-precision-dovetail-joinery-system.aspx
Either one for $150 including UPS surface continental US freight. Email me at gmiller@pqei.com if interested.

-- A bad day in the shop is better than a normal evening in front of the TV.

Porter Cable 4212 is a good value, if you want standard dovetails. I have it, and it works well. If you’re wanting something more versatile, be prepared to spend some big bucks. However, Prazi has one for around $100 that will do variable spacing. The down side is it’s not as fast or easy as the good ones , especially for mutiple pieces. It depends on what you are looking for in a jig, and how much you are willing to spend.

-- Kent Shepherd * The goal is-----More Tools!

I’m a bit late to this thread, but for basic needs, I highly recommend the Keller dovetail jig. It’s as simple as they get but very well made. And much more affordable than the other jigs. The only drawback is that it won’t do half-blind dovetails and changing spacing and such takes some creativity. I used it to bang out probably 20 sets of drawer boxes in an afternoon and it was a piece of cake.

-- Anything worth doing is worth redoing several times.

I have the rockler jig ( http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17367&tagem=rv ) and it is good. Follow the directions, clamp carefully and mark your pieces. Did I mention about marking your pieces. The dust collection hood is a real nice addition as without it you have chips everywhere.

-- Sharp tools and thin whispy shavings make woodworking a joy.