# dovetail jigs



## mycroft1912 (Nov 10, 2008)

For the average amateur woodworker who'd like to learn how to make dovetails...which one is the best jig for the money, and, at the same time, the one that is fairly easy to learn..Thanks to everyone....


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## mmtools (Aug 21, 2008)

Honestly, The easiest and most foolproof jig is the Porter Cable 4212. It is precision milled and not expensive for doing half blind dovetails up to 12" in size. Easy to master....
Mike


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

I'd suggest giving the Leigh super-jigs a try. They're not overly expensive, and are easy to learn...Same concept as the porter cable, only much much much more adjustable and versatile. On my first attempt with mine, I cut perfect through dovetails. The jig comes with everything you need to use it except the router itself.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Mycroft1912, cute name. Heinlein fan perchance? Gotta love any book that has computers hurling giant rocks, but I digress...

So I have fairly limited experience with this, but if what you want to do is cut through dovetails accurately, and on the cheap, the MLCS Pins & Tails templates are hard to beat for the price. The trick is getting the mounting block and initial setup done. Low this is a basic template type jig, and is not adjustable like the Liegh or the Porter Cable. So it all depends on what you want to do with it... I like nice, evenly spaced dovetails, so a template is perfect for me. 

I did have a BAD tearout issue that seems to revolve around Home Depot white pine purchased post Hurricane Ike. This allegedly kiln dried stock measures 12% moisture content on my meter, so instead of cutting out in nice little fibers, chunks of wood blow out on the tails. 

MLCS also has what they call a master joinery set which is a DT machine that does through dovetails as well as half blind, and box joints depending on which templates are used... I haven't been disappointed with their stuff as of yet, and their customer service is great!


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