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Leigh

1K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  Redoak49 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
So i have been working with this leigh super 18 jig. I can't seam to close the gap between mye pins and my pin slots. I'm doing hb tails. i have set the bit as much as i can to tighten the joint but i still have a gap at the end. I wish i had a pic but i don't. Feel free to ask question i will answer them as best i can. Thank you all for honest and humble response on all my post so far you all have helped out a lot
 
#3 ·
Actually, the best thing to do may be to call Leigh. They have super CS, and have solved almost every problem that can be invented with their jigs. It's going to get you fixed up faster than most any alternative.
 
#5 ·
Joints like dovetails and finger joints take a lot of care in getting good results and the setup can be tedious especially the first few times that you use it.

I have the D4 Leigh jig and had some issues at the beginning. I found that for me there were a couple of things that I had to do-

-Make certain that the pieces were snug in the jig, against the stops and clamped so that they could not move.

-Make small adjustments and record what you are doing. Getting the two pieces to fit together perfectly takes exact setting of the depth of the router bit. You can measure the depth each time and record it or measure how much you raise or lower the bit. Also, you might have a problem with the router bit being slightly loose in the collet. Sometimes as the bit gets warm it can move a little and that will throw the fit off.

As someone else mentioned, they have good customer service and calling them would give you some help. Leigh makes good jigs that do make good joints. Once you figure it out, you will be happy with it.
 
#6 ·
I would echo redoaks observations. Ensuring that your boards are of the same thickness as your test pieces sound like an obvious thing to do but it is critical. I found once I precisely followed the Leigh instructions I started getting consistent reliable results.
 
#7 ·
turns out that my boards where not staying stug in the clams and on the stops. So i had to add a stop block on the side of the piece so that it would not kick out to the side and folded a index car in half and placed it ontop of my board to get the board to fix the way it was ment to. I'm getting perfect dt now just a little bit more fine tuning and i will be mass producing some boxs. Thanks guys.
 
#9 ·
One thing that you can do to keep the piece in the right place is to use some sand paper with sticky glue on one side. Put them on the inside of the clamps. Doing this will also keep you from clamping down to hard with the jig clamps which can cause some jig breakage or bending.

Trust me that many of us with dovetail jigs have been through the same thing. I a few boards until I figure out that they were moving on my.

Good Luck
 
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