Bridge City thru Dovetail Jig

It is very interesting. Kinda pricey though at $1,295.00 US.

I wonder how hard it would be to backward engineer?

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

Nice video, but for a Japanese saw held in a vice at $1295, I think I would rather have the Leigh D4R and a Festool router. I am sure with a little practice, you could make these through dovetails quicker by hand.

I wonder what the next “gimmick” tool will be?

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Scott, the same thought entered my mind when I watched it. I have to admit i is a very novel approach to a basic joint in cabinet making. Still it’s fun to see what folks come up with.

Tony, you nailed it. It’s tough to buy into these thing you have to set up to use when all you need is a decent back saw and a good eye. <g> I have neither by the way!

$1295.00!! Mercy! that’s a lot of elderberry wine!

Bob

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

yes whats it made of platinum? Seriously you could not afford to buy something like this for hobby use when you could knock the same thing up out of birch plywood which would work as well for about $50 or thereabouts all I can say at the price is ouch ouch ouch???Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

It is very interesting.Nice video

-- jeanmarc manosque france

It’s a bit spendy for sure. But just playing devil’s advocate here—- if you used your imagination with this tool seems like there are some things that you could not do with a good eye and practice. Also, for those who are not good at making their own tools/jigs, etc., it might be an OK deal.

For a hobbiest though, I’d have to agree it would be hard to justify the expense.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

thats very cool but i’ll stick to my D4R for now

and my old hand saw and chisel :)

I wonder just how many folks that have only marginal skill sets and never practice the techniques will try to buy their way past this dovetail stuff by tossing money at it?

Please don’‘t misunderstand me if you have the cash and you want the machine I’m O.K. with that.
It just seems that thare are more economical solutions.
Mind you those folks that hand cut their doves can run up a pretty hefty bill on tools too.
p.s. I have a D4R on the floor beside me and I really should start using it. :-)

Bob

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

Hi Bob;

Interesting and also a very clever design. Extremely well conceived. Having said that though, I have to agree with you, throwing money at a technique doen’t sit too well with me.

If it’s as you say, in addition to already known skills, a just a desire for the tool, I could understand.

As already mentioned, a Leigh Jig and a Festool router will still leave you with change.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Now, let me throw in another thought. If you are looking for quiet, safe, and repeatability wouldn’t this type of tool be worth a good look? After all, consider all the router jigs (i.e. leigh and porter cable, etc.) that are on the market. To use them you need routers, bushings, bits, dust collector, etc. – it all adds up. Replacement costs of all those add ons, must come to a sizable amount of dollars. I have not looked on line at the costs of these tools, but I am guessing if you add them up – it comes close to the Bridgecity tool mentioned here.

If you want to do fancy stuff, without all the noise, dust, and safety issues, this tool seems like an interesting find.

It was not long ago that many woodworkers thought that all the dove tails jigs would not make a big dent in the hobby market and if you used one you were obviously not a good woodworker. I think that this assertion has been proven false by all the wonderful projects posted just on this site alone.

And by the looks of the video you would be able to do much more interesting dovetails as far as size than you can with a router and jig.

This tool would certainly be slower than hand cutting or power tools, and it’s probably not a good choice if you are trying to make a living woodworking.

I think the learning curve would be just about the same on all the tools, but that’s just a wild guess.

With all that said, I plan on doing hand cut dovetails because I simply can’t afford this product,and I detest the noise of the routers. But I don’t think it should be dismissed out of hand just because of the cost and the fact that some of us could probably come close to making the same jig in our own shops.

Just my two cents (or 4) spend it wisely. :-)

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

There’s a very thorough review on this over on the Festool Owners Group
http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=3889.0

-- Use the fence Luke

Doug, what’s up with this?

Festool blocks their photos to non members?

”IMAGE NOT SHOWN – GUESTS CANNOT VIEW ATTACHED IMAGES ”

Either a clumsy attempt to increase membership or just plain bad manners.

Either way it doesn’t encourage sales.

Bob

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

Bob
They’re not alone. A number of forums block photos from non-members but I forgot about that when I posted the link. Go ahead and sign up. It’s free and you can lurk all you want to.

-- Use the fence Luke