[b2rtch]

David, "
There is a formula based on the size of your router plate. You did the math, you worked on the setup, you used flat boards, and you got nice results. All are crucial or the jig will not work well. Dovetail jigs are not designed as "no brainers" where you just slap the boards in, make your cuts, and everything is perfect.

Can you please explain this,I never had or used one of this jig, what are you talking about?
Thank you.
Bert

 

[davidmicraig]

Bert,

If you click on the first pic you will notice two clamps. One clamp holds a board horizontally, one holds the board vertically. These dovetail jigs allow you to create half blinds on two mating pieces. The horizontal clamp also works as a type of stop for your router plate, so there is a formula that is in the instructions that detail how far away to move the horizontal clamp so that you have a proper cut. The formula is based on the size of your router plate. I have heard some complaints about this style dovetail jig but I think part of the problem is that the formula was not followed and test cuts were not performed to make sure the project came out proper.

Some jigs are more user friendly than others, but all require a little work to make sure the settings are correct.

I hope this clarifies a little.

David

 

[b2rtch]

Thank you for explanation David.

 

[CyBorge]

Wow, David, I had no idea that the clamping assembly could be reversed! Never occurred to me to try. I've only had a chance to use mine once, but I found myself unscrewing and removing the lever repeatedly to get it out of the way of the router. It was rather annoying. I successfully reversed my clamp assembly tonight. It's going to save me some grief if I ever get around to using the thing again!

 

[Tim29]

I assembled mine wrong out of the box and put the top handle on the wrong side. I only noticed the error when I put my router up to the jig for the first time.

 

[lanwater]

Thanks for the review.

I appreciate the manual link. I have the same one and the manual is totally useless.

 

[dfletcher]

I have this jig and I love it. I didn't think to change to a 7/16" bushing, though. Might try that next set-up. Also, thanks for the link to the instructions/.

 

[mcoyfrog]

Great review, i just recently got a sears jig at a yard sale and haven't had a chance to use it yet this will help with my trials and errors LOL

 

[Jim Jakosh]

Hi Tim. . I don't know if you get the 20% off coupons for HF but I get them all the time n the AARP magazine and Popular Science. They are good for 20% off the advertized discount price too.

I also have this jig and had to do a bunch of tweaking to it to get it to work right and now I can make all kinds of dovetails with it. I bought another old 1Hp Sears router on E bay just like the one I already have and it came with a set of bushing and I had one set from a garage sale so I set up one router with 5/16" straight bit and use that for roughing out the dove tails to remove the bulk of the material. Then I take the 1/2" dovetail bit on the other router and cut all the dovetail shapes.

I wrote up a set of instructions that I use when setting it up each time because I use it so infrequently that I forgot what worked and might have to do the learning process each time. I do alway use FLAT wood- no cupping- and start with scrap pieces of exactly the same thickness to get the fit right before cutting good wood

 

[tyvekboy]

Tim -

If you look on Page 18 of the manual you referenced, there is a good hint on how to adjust the fit of your dovetails. Look for the section that says FIT TOO TIGHT OR TOO LOOSE. Assuming everything else is setup correctly, how much the bit projects from the base affects the fit of the tails and pins. Just a little tweaking will do.

 

[dbhost]

I had that one, wanted through Dovetail jig when I bought it, sold it, and bought a through jig. I liked the half blinds mine did, am SERIOUSLY considering buying another one…

Thanks for the tip on the manual.

 

[TheWoodsmith]

Thanks for the great review I had just purchased one about a week before i saw your review. I talked the store manager into selling me the display model, walked outta there with it for 18 bucks. no manual however. so i looked at hf's manual online and you called it… it was crap but the manual you referenced had alot better info and I too found that this little jig is sweet for the money!

 

[TheDane]

Tim-Thanks for the review! I picked one of these up at the HF store in Green Bay a couple of weeks ago and finally had time to play with it. By heeding your advice (and throwing away the manual that came with it), I have been able to cut perfect half blind dovetails.

I like it well enough that I have ordered the other templates (7/16" and 9/16" dovetails as well as 5/8" box joint) from Grizzly.com, and plan to build a station for it similar to the one the guys on the WoodSmith Shop TV show had on their website last year.

One thing I would add … to reduce the potential for tear-out, I take a real light left-to-right 'skim cut' across the fingers of the template before I route between the fingers. Gives me cleaner cuts.

 

[b2rtch]

When I read reviews for just about any product, for example on Amazon, I am always amazed that for the very same product some people give 5 stars and some people hate the product.
Same thing with this jig, some people say that it is very easy to learn and to use and some give up trying to use it.

I am somewhere in the middle.
I spent the day yesterday trying to cut a good dovetail so far with no success but I did not yet gave up.
I have used two different manuals and a wood magazine instruction to try to figure this thing out but there is something wrong in the instruction ( even the better manual) or , most likely, there I just don't get it.
I know that in the better manual, the chart with the distance between the fence and the end of the guide is wrong as if I set my jig by the given instruction my dovetail are always way to deep.

Interestingly enough I found out that the first dovetail bit that I was using is undersized by quite a bit.
I went to buy another one.

 

[TheDane]

I, too, was frustrated by the 'Fence Adjustment Table' ... it just about drove me to drink. I don't how they came up with those numbers, but they don't work with anything I have.

I went through about a dozen test cuts using salvaged 5/8" pine.

My router is a PC690, which, AFAIK, is about the most standard standard router you are going to find. I have Porter-Cable bushings, and was using the 7/16" OD guide bushing with a Freud 1/2" 14-degree dovetail bit. My PC690 base is 5 3/4" in diameter. With the bushing installed, the distance from the collar on the bushing to the edge of the base is 2 21/32".

According to the table in the Woodstock Intl version of the manual, with 5/8" stock, the distance from the front edge of the template to the fence should be 3 23/32".

With the bit set to the recommended depth (9/16" from the router base to the bottom edge of the but), this setup produced dovetails that were a) way too shallow, and b) way too tight.

Through trial-and-error, here are the settings I came up with to cut perfect dovetails in my 5/8' stock:
Fence position: 3 7/8" from front of template to the fence
Bit Depth: 21/32"

-Gerry

 

[rogerw]

I bought one of these a couple years ago and was quite disappointed with it but you get what you pay for I guess. Like you said the instructions are about useless. Thanks for the link to the instructions. I will print them out and give it another go.

Hope I have better luck.

roger

 

[woodman1962]

well thanks for all the info.I am new to the site and think the reviews are a great way to here about a product.I have been wanting to purchase one but did not think i could afford it.

 

[b2rtch]

Patience is the name of the game.
I spent 2 days or more tweaking this thing and doing the recommended modifications, finally it works.
I now cut very nice dovetails every time.

 

[TheDane]

Bert-I knew you would nail it! Congrats …

-Gerry

 

[lc48]

has anyone tried the saws-all from HF? Yea or nay? Thanks for your feedback.