Some
of the most useful jigs I
use in my workshop are the dovetail jig
and the fingerjoint template. Out of
the many jigs I came
across, the dovetail jig is the most
useful. I tested many different once,
but finally ended up with a Leigh and
a Porter-Cable.
There
are many jigs for dovetailing
on the market. Basically they can be divided
into to categories: fixed template vs. variable
spacing.
Jigs for Woodworking: Porter Cable Dovetail Jig
Another
dovetail jig I used in the passed is the Porter
Cable.It is a typical template dovetail jig
with no variable spacing. I allows half-blind
dovetails up to 12 " board width. It cuts
both boards (tail and pin board) at the same
time. This kind of fixed template
jig give this traditional machined look
of the finished dovetails. They don't look
as professional as the Leigh dovetails, but
the jig is easy to us and gives fast results.
More about pricing on the PorterCable
Dovetail jig.
Leigh
Dovetail Jig
The
Leigh D4R Dovetail Jig is certainly the most
versatile on the market. It is to my knowledge
the only dovetail jig which allows absolute
variable spacing of pins and tails - so I do
not need to adapt the board width to the spacing
of any dovetail template. The Leigh
D4 dovetail jig is one of these
jigs which allow you to machine your parts,
but the result looks 100% handmade.
Woodworking
Jigs: Tenon Jig for Table saws
One
of my favorite jig is the Delta
Tenon Jig for Table Saws. I allows to cut
tenons with a very high precision as the wood
is firmly clamped and guided in the miter gage
groove. The jig can be angled from 45° to
90° to cut miters and angled tenons. It
is certainly one of these jigs
a professional woodworker needs to have in
his workshop.
Another
very nice, quite universal tenon jig comes
from Rockler.
Not as sophisticated but also less expensive than the delta woodworking tenon
jig. It fits into 3/8'' X 3/4'' grooves of the table saw. One of the best
jigs for your table saw. (more details on the Rockler tenon jig here)
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