# Porter Cable dove tail jig problem



## Rob Zombie (Oct 20, 2013)

I recently purchased a Porter Cable PC4212 dove tail jig.
I have made several attempts to make dove tail joints with both templates, both template guides and both router bits supplied with the kit. When using the 5/8" guide my joints have approximately a 1/16" gap between all of the tails and pins making for a very loose joint. When using the 3/4" template guide the Pins are about 1/8" larger than the tails. The edges of the two pieces line up well, I just can't get the size of the tails and pins to match. This scenario repeats itself with any combination of template guides and router bits. What am I doing wrong??


----------



## guglipm63 (Feb 27, 2013)

I have an older model but it came with a video and it ran through all the adjustments needed. Off hand it sounds as if the depth of cut needs adjusting


----------



## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

The instructions are poor so I downloaded a few including the Rockler instructions (their jig was the same back then) and yes, I would agree with guglipm63 - the depth needs adjusting. That is to say the back fence your router bumps needs to be adjusted and I believe moving it forward makes your joints tighter and pushing it back makes them looser.

This being your 1st post Rob, please give us your 2nd post in the intro forum and introduce yourself. Are you new to woodworking or just the jig? Welcome anyways...


----------



## Rob Zombie (Oct 20, 2013)

*PC4012 jig problem*

I am enclosing a close up of the problem I am having with the 5/8" template adapter. This problem repeats itself with both router bits supplied by Porter Cable. If I use the 3/4" template guide the problem is the opposite. The pins are too big to fit into the tails.


----------



## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

Have you tried moving the stop bar? I believe that will solve your problem.


----------



## bladeburner (Jun 8, 2013)

DT Jig Rule #1:

Heighten to Tighten

So if your bit is now 9/16" above the base, raise the height to (10/16") 5/8" and make a test run. Let us know what you get.

Also, that bit is a proprietary sized bit.17/32 I believe. It's been a long time since I held classes on it, so check my memory. Just measure it tip to tip.


----------



## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

You do need a 3/4 bushing, and then you need to move the template toward the rear of the jig. You do this by moving the brass nuts back.


----------



## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

BernieL said:


> Have you tried moving the stop bar? I believe that will solve your problem.


The PC jig doesn't have a fence bar like the rockler or harbor fright jig. The depth of the joint is set by the location of the template.


----------



## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Here is the trouble shooting info from the manual......now that said, the router bushing does need to be a snug fit in the template or you'll never get a good fit.


I might try going through the manual step by step on the setup and start over. 

http://www.portercable.com/jigs/dovetail/DovetailJigManual.pdf


----------



## Rob Zombie (Oct 20, 2013)

Thank you ryan50hrl and bladeburner for making me think! I got to checking my router bit size and what I thought was the dovetail bit supplied witht he unit was actually an older dovetail bit that was not the correct size. After changing to the correct bit size my dovetail joints are beautiful!!


----------



## kentora (Oct 22, 2013)

I have same problem. I measure the template and it's 1" per unit. For a perfect fit it should be a 15/32 + 17/32(bit) . The height should be (17/32 - 15/32) / 2 * tan(83) = 0.25451082 very close to 1/4". The height 3/8" listed in the manual should be a wrong one.


----------



## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I set up my jig step by step from the manual and ha flawless dovetails in a matter of minutes.


----------



## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

Wow Ryan - just checked your link to the PC jig and saw the picture. I never realized it didn't have a depth fence. Glad you were able to help out Rob. These jigs do make perfect fitting dovetail joints once they're set correctly and I like using mine to make drawers. But for case work, they look machine made... too uniform. So last week I discovered how to make custom dovetails on the table saw. I like the way thin pins and wide tails look. Just having fun learning new tricks. :yes:


----------



## kentora (Oct 22, 2013)

I use CAD soft with 17/32" bit and 3/8" height to figure out what actually happened. 35.8937/64" -34/64" = 1.8937/64" is not a big number. Actually I used a HAMMER to join pin and tail after 30+ adjustments.


----------

