# The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly



## Dominic (Oct 22, 2007)

I'm a long way from buying a machine, but I must say I would expect it to make dovetails on 1/2" boards. Is not that the reason you buy this equipment for in the first place. Than you start to play with it for other things. 
Thanks for the heads up.


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## Woodshopfreak (Feb 26, 2008)

I want a dovetail jig really bad but the money is the problem. I was looking at the 12 inch porter cable and the 12 inch leigh, but now that I have read this review I'm looking down upon the porter cable. Do you know if this is a problem with all the porter cable dovetail jigs or just this one.


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## FloridaUFGator (May 31, 2007)

NewMexico: It was a wood show here in Atlanta. It is a great show that comes every year. All the big (and some little) vendors are there but some really good deals.

Woodshopfreak: I'm not sure of the other PC jigs. There is a 16" version of this one that would have the same issues.

Don't get me wrong - it is a great jig - just be prepared to spend additional money if you want to do to anything other than the 3/4".


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

Hi Guys;

If I had spent that kind of money, only to find it won't do dovetails in 1/2" stock, unless I spend $ 250.00 more, I would return it in a heart beat. If for no other reason than the principal of it. It really drives me nuts when I get sold a bill of goods that have a surprise attached to it.

I have the Leigh Dovetail jig and never use it, well rarely ever. D-4 is the model I think.

Seems my dovetails are always on curved parts thanks to some nut named Lee. I have come to the conclusion I get much more satisfaction from cutting them by hand anyway. The precision required is nothing more than good practice at using hand tools. something I feel is pretty important.

If I had to cut a bunch of them I guess I would set the jig up, but other than that, I'll keep cutting them by hand, and liking it.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Lee


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## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

Thanks for the review… I saw this monster at Woodcraft the other day and wondered it was worth it.


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## FloridaUFGator (May 31, 2007)

Lee, I've just started learning to cut them by hand. I've purchased several of the Rob Cosman videos (very good by the way) and am giving that a shot. I've gotten a lot more into hand tools since the dovetail jig purchase. I will keep it because there are times I need to batch out several drawers and this jig will do it very well. However, I agree that the hand cut DTs are very satisfying and as soon as I get good enough to actually apply them to a real piece I will be very happy.

I don't want to mislead anyone. The $250 spent would be to get the remaining stops (they only ship the ones for the 3/4") and remaining bits. This will allow other sizes besides 1/2". It won't however allow the miniature dovetails or the sliding through dovetail. That is an extra set of stops, bits and entire finger set.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

Thanks for the review. I have been considering one of these. But, not being able to do dovetails in 1/2" stock without shelling out more money probably swings me more towards the Leigh D4R.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

Thanks for the review…I have the 24 and all the whistles and bell's.and am working on a review/ test myself..and planning some video on it…when I get it finished Ill post it here…i also agree nothing beats hand cutting dovetails..but in my world jigs can help ya eat a little better when ya got alot of dovetailing to do…thanks again a good write


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## rob2 (Nov 27, 2007)

I have the little cheep Rockler Jig. It does any thickness I thing from about 1/2 to 1 1/8. (To Quote their Catalog) Jig will cut half-blind dovetailed joints from 1/2" to 1-1/8" thick and full through dovetails from 3/8" to 3/4" thick. Accommodates stock up to 11" wide. $99.99. It isn't perfect but it works well. I wish it were a bit stiffer.


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## mattg (May 6, 2008)

I saw that very demonstration at our annual Woodworking show. I too was impressed with the fact that there were presets on the jig so you didn't have any trial and error test pieces. Once you use a Leigh D4R, and master it, having presets are pretty amazing. I often wondered how P/C accomplished it? I guess I know now. I'm glad I bought my D4R last year. I previously owned a P/C 4212, and that is a good jig, but you can't always have a 1/2 pin on either ends all the time. Also, P/C says that you can just take the finger assembly off the jig, mount it to a thick board, and do infinite length through dovetails. I found that this is true, but I tried it so many times, and couldn't get them to align. Since I had to dovetail the upper case of my Highboy, and it was 17" wide, I decided to buy the D4R. I didn't want any mistakes. I'm so happy with my Leigh jig. The only thing you need to do different thickness boards are the right bits. All of the drawers on my Highboy are 1/2" draw sides, dovetailed into 7/8" thick draw fronts. I only own 4 dovetail bits for my Leigh jig, but I want them all!!!


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## motthunter (Dec 31, 2007)

Leigh works so much better and no extra gizmos to bleed your wallet with when you have to buy them

Porter cable should include all the necessary parts at this high price.


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## FloridaUFGator (May 31, 2007)

Charles,
Are you at liberty to say where you got your 'bells and whistles'? I've been hard pressed to find them online anywhere (other than the dust collection hood and parts box).


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## Kipster (Feb 15, 2008)

I agree with Lee J. jesberger. Take it back.


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## ChuckM (May 12, 2008)

Sorry to hear about what you found out about the Porter Cable jig. I hope they'd accept your return and your review has done a service to everyone who is contemplating a purchase of this jig.

I recently bought a Leigh Super Jig 12" (under $200) and I don't think that's breaking any bank for that kind of amount. It doesn't have any quality issue with the fingers as you found with yours. You may want to check out with your local store to see if they'd do a demo or allow you to do a test piece. I tried out the 24" model and bought the smaller one because I don't foresee doing thing that's over 12".

About hand cutting dovetail joints, the feeling was really good but after doing several pieces, I thought I'd take the easy way out. If one day, I need to a jint that my 12" jig can't do, I'd go back to hand cutting for that piece.


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## DustDawg (Jul 4, 2008)

Thanks for the review…This jig *was* on my short list…


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## FloridaUFGator (May 31, 2007)

Yeah, if I had to do it again I would go with the Leigh. I was days away from buying that one but came across this at a wood show. It IS very powerful but you better be willing to drop some $s. I don't know if you compared Leigh (apples) to Porter Cable (apples) if the Leigh would be cheaper.

Unfortunately I can't return it. I bought it too long ago (January I think). I didn't have a chance to open the box until June. I will slowly add accessories to it and try to forget about the $s. Once complete it will serve me well for many years.


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## TheHarr (Sep 16, 2008)

First, I want to thank FloridaUFGator for this review. My woodworking budget is too tight to waste on tools that disappoint. You saved me much heart ake and frustration. The more I hang around this site, the more I like it here.

I have the old PC #4112 12" dovetail machine and it has worked well for me. I found it a little touchy to set up for different wood thicknesses, but I manage to get the correct depth setting on a few scrap pieces. All in all, I am happy with it, however, I would like to do the vairable spaced through dove tails. I'll get around to that just after I master the 50 ft high dive on to a wet sponge (that's not going to happen any time soon.)

Keep the reviews commin'. 
Your buddy, TheHarr.


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## Richforever (Mar 19, 2008)

I have the Rockler dovetail jig, which works fine.

Recently, I saw a nice looking jig that you can make - in the Woodsmith *"Shop-built Jigs & Fixtures"* book. They have a hardware kit for the jig, and there is a kit that even includes the lumber for the jig.

Thanks for the review on the PC jig.


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## FloridaUFGator (May 31, 2007)

Hey TheHarr,
Welcome to the site. I'm glad the review served useful to you. The longer I own this tool the more I regret my purchase. Not because it isn't a quality tool but because of the things mentioned in the review. I've also come to not like the size of it. It is huge. I don't have a lot of space so I cant leave it out when it's not in use. Finding a place to store it is a challenge. Every time I go to Woodcraft the Leigh mocks me when I walk down the isle.


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## rwyoung (Nov 22, 2008)

Clarification: when you say you can't do anything other than 3/4" stock, do you mean because it cannot be ADUSTED or becase it didn't come with pre-set stops?

Looking at the pictures I can find, I would think you could do any size stock (within limits) but when it comes time to adjust the router bit depth and finger postition (front to back) you could do this manually. Once set up after a practice piece, it would be locked down and away you go. A few scribe lines on some setup blocks and you could return to these settings (or at least close enough to fine tune after a single test cut) later.

For what it is worth, the less expensive and less adjustable PC4212 is a great jig if you don't mind non-variable spacing. You can do "skip pin" with the less expensive jig but you cannot adjust the pin width. Likewise, you are pretty much locked into workpiece WIDTH of 1" + 1/4" increments (4-1/4, 5-1/4, etc) to get 1/2 pin widths on each end.


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## FloridaUFGator (May 31, 2007)

I meant because the provided stops that came with it were for 3/4" only. You need to buy additional stops (at a very high $ figure) to get other thicknesses. Yes, you can manually adjust the stops provided to get any thickness but that defeats the main purpose and supposed 'big win' of the tool.

I know it has been a long time since I posted this review but my feelings of this product have only been downgraded. I very much wish I didn't purchase this jig. I haven't bought any of the additional stops / bits, etc. because the cost is very high. I've already dumped too much money into the initial system that I can't justify additional $s spent. I've used it sparingly and being such a large appliance it takes up valuable space in my shop - not a fault of the jig (I knew that going in).

If anyone is looking to pick one up cheap I am looking for a buyer


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## Powerdiamond (Jun 14, 2009)

I have the 24 as well and as with others I wished I had seen your review before I bought it.


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## BuzzsawLouie (Jul 29, 2009)

FloridaUFGator,
Thank you for the review. Unfortunately, your information is wrong. The 24" Omnijig out of the box can make "through dovetail joints in any thickness of wood up to 3/4." (page 18 of the manual) This includes 1/2" and 3/8" thick wood, and the stops do not need to be reset for these thicknesses. I don't know who you talked to at Porter-Cable, but they unfortunately were wrong.

You can get other stops and bits that will make the pins narrower in 1/2" stock, but that is purely for aesthetic reasons.


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## EbenGP (Apr 10, 2010)

I have one and agree with BuzzsawLouie, i have bought all the accessorie and yes it's expensive, the same if you buy all the accessories goes with Leight system DR4. But the most important things with this system, it's the repetabilitie, you have a set-up list for each thickness, you just have to change the bit, collet and the template if you need. You want to do the same six month later you got it without the headakes of calculatings. You just put the router on the jig and it's done.

Yes with all the accessories, but it's worht the bucks

My 2 cents


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## cabal80 (Dec 18, 2011)

I read all the comments about Omnijig 24 ", I was thinking if I buy one, the problem is that I live in Colombia and I have to make the best decision, in conclusion this machine works only with a thickness of 3 / 4 or not?

The problem of the thickness could not solve with this accessory?

http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-77247-Generic-Double-Stop/dp/B0019QH822/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1325237421&sr=1-1

Or would be better to buy Leigh …!!!

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2005398/21283/Leigh-D4RPRO-With-Accessory-Kit.aspx#Videos

Thanks …!!


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## Sniffer_1 (Apr 11, 2013)

Thank you for the cautionary review. I was torn between this DT Jig and the Leigh. Looks like the Leigh is in my future.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

This thing must be expensive if some folks are touting Leigh jigs as a cheaper alternative.
For those looking for a cheaper way to make nice deep 14 degree dovetails, check out this blog…
http://lumberjocks.com/pintodeluxe/blog/36246


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