SHOP-TESTED AND RATED T hrough-dovetail jigs under $350 A THROUGH-DOVETAIL JOINT Through dovetails make a strong and beautiful joint, but who has the time to cut them by hand? We tested 10 router-assisted jigs and found winners in three price ranges. ew things say more about the quality Dovetail jigs have a reputation for being of a project than through-dovetail overpriced and overcomplicated, but is that Tails Fjoinery. Attractive looks aside, the a fair characterization? To find out we joint’s interlocking pins and tails have rounded up 10 jigs capable of producing proven their strength and reliability in join- through dovetails, with prices ranging from Pins ing boards end to end for more than 5,000 $50 to $330. Three jigs (the CMT300, years. Some woodworkers get misty-eyed Craftsman 25455, and Woodline WL-RJT) when they romanticize about cutting dove- require buying accessory equipment to tails with hand tools, but you can use a make this joint, thus inflating their base router and a commercial jig to do the job in prices. After running each jig through rigor- a fraction of the time—and typically with ous testing and letting the dust settle, here’s more precision and airtight fit. what we found. woodmagazine.com 77 Despite unique features, jigs fit one of two styles THE UPSIDE OF UPSIDE DOWN Although the 10 jigs we tested achieve the these, the Katie Jig, Keller, and MLCS jigs same end result—tight-fitting through- can be used in a vise or on a benchtop for dovetail joints—these work-savers certainly handheld routing, or you can use them Bearing-guided bit don’t look the same. You use routers to cut upside down on a router table, as shown the pins and tails by following templates, with the Keller at right. Woodline’s jig con- but that’s where the similarities end. Six of sists of a phenolic and plywood base, and the jigs must be mounted or clamped to a works only on a router table. We prefer using benchtop or workstand. You lock in a work- these jigs on the router table for better visi- piece with the jig’s built-in clamping system, bility and control. then run the router on top of the jig, as Clamping for the latter jigs proves so easy: shown on the previous page. All six feature Just a pair of one-handed clamps safely either cam-clamping bars or threaded knobs secure the workpiece to the jig. When rout- on bars, and proved adequate in our test. ing on the router table, grip the jig body at its The other four jigs consist of templates ends rather than gripping the workpiece. Visibility of the cutter improves and the mounted to either a wood block or plate, Katie Jig and Keller offer optional clamping chips blow away from you when routing with the workpiece clamped to Half-bthe jig.lind Of do vetailkits, but you can get by without them. tails and pins on a router table. How do you like your pins and tails spaced? YOU’LL LIKE MOVABLE FINGERS A N Most of the tested jigs use a one-piece tem- Consider, too, how much function you get Spacer plate to space dovetails equally along the for your hard-earned tool dollars: We like block B O width of the workpiece. But two—the Katie the extra value of jigs that come equipped C P Jig and the Leigh—allow you to arrange the with templates for through dovetails as well template guide fingers to create custom as for half-blind dovetails and box joints, D Q spacing. This same feature also lets you set and some even for sliding dovetails, as E R up perfect half-pins on each end of the joint shown below. The Leigh and Porter-Cable and then space the pins between them models can create all four joints with no S F equally. We like this versatility. One-pieceBox joint need for accessories. Hartville and Rockler Movable Half-blind dovetail fingers G T templates offer no variability unless you jigs cut through and half-blind dovetails. All skip some slots when routing, or reposition other models require optional equipment to H U the jig after cutting. cut joints other than through dovetails. V A N I J W B O X K C P Y D Q L Z Use a spacer for equal positioning of the M adjustable fingers on the Leigh (shown) or E R Katie Jig, or eyeball it for a hand-cut look. Half-blind dovetail Box joint Sliding dovetail S F Box joint Half-blind dovetail G T Sliding dovetail Bushings or bearings: Which guide bits the best? BUSHINGS FOLLOW TEMPLATE’S PATH H U Although these jigs can look quite different, tested jigs require guide-bushing changes V each consists of a multiple-fingered template when changing bits. A N I or templates that you guide your router Another thing to be aware of: Some guide J W B O around to shape the pins and tails. Most of bushings might not fit your router. Porter- X the jigs use guide bushings, as shown at Cable-style bushings (included with five of P K C Y right, that mount to your router subbase or the eight jigs that use guide bushings) need L D Q router-table insert, but the Katie Jig and an adapter for routers outfitted for other Z M Keller 1500 rely on bearing-guided bits, as bushing styles such as Bosch. Also, the E R shown top right. With these, you simply run CMT’s bushings require using its optional S FILENAME:175DoveJoints_#100504459.eps F Box joint the bearing along the template fingers. Ease subbase ($40), or you can use your own of setup proves the Date:chief 6-06advantage with bushings as long as the outer diameters Sliding dovetail Lorna J. Filename: 175dovetail joints G T these jigs because you don’t have to install a match and you shorten their length to fit the Guide Template R LeMoine bushing finger H U guide bushing. The downside: Replacement ‰"-thick template. Craftsman’s bushing for bits can sometimes be difficult to find. cutting pins measures .400", an odd 8-16size. V I A guide bushing offers the advantage of But it’s made to mount only on Craftsman Backer board J W working with any replacement bit that routers. For other routers you’ll need to buy, X matches the dimensions the jig requires. But from Sears, a universal subbase ($13) or a Only the correct-size guide bushings will K even a slight variance in bushing diameter set of Porter-Cable-style bushings that allow you to rout perfectly matching pins Y can affect the fit of the joint. And five of the includes the odd size. and tails that each template requires. L Z M 78 WOOD magazine March 2007 FILENAME:175DoveJoints_#100504459.eps Date: 6-06 Sliding dovetail Lorna J. Filename: 175dovetail joints R LeMoine 8-16 FILENAME:175DoveJoints_#100504459.eps Date: 6-06 Lorna J. Filename: 175dovetail joints R LeMoine 8-16 It’s not “Dovetails for Idiots,” LINEUP TIP SAVES YOU TIME QUICK AND EASY POSITIONING but help is nearby Some manufacturers create shortcuts for the Centering user by putting tips and helpful markings on mark their templates. Porter-Cable has numerous tips etched into its aluminum template, as shown far right. Craftsman also has molded bit-depth settings on its jig body. The Leigh features color-coded settings to ensure that you’re setting up for the right joint, and it also has a precision scale for accurate and Eliminate the worry of getting perfectly easy adjustments. symmetrical pins and tails by centering your Hartville’s GFK1800 has a centering mark workpiece to the template. on its template, shown near right, that allows Porter-Cable’s templates feature depth you to align your workpiece by simply find- CMT’s color-coded edge guides help you settings for bits, width settings for guide ing its center. No need for edge stops. We line up your workpiece in the jig to correctly bushings, and fine-tuning directions. tried this on other unmarked templates by position the pins and tails. The brown and making our own mark and found it worked violet guides serve as workpiece stops for these you simply position your board’s edge great as well. If you don’t want centered and through dovetails in fi" and ‡" stock, against the stop, put its end against the tem- symmetrical pins and tails, either use a jig respectively, on the jig’s face, as indicated in plate, and lock the clamp. Rockler, Katie with adjustable fingers or design your work- the manual. (The other colored stops work Jig, and Craftsman feature similar styles, pieces to have the desired positioning. for half-blind dovetails and box joints.) With although not color-coded. Tame tear-out and bit chatter for better results JUST SAY “NO” TO TEAR-OUT Tear-out (see photo right) proved troublesome Although cut quality proved a nonissue, on both workpiece faces with all the jigs and we found that ‹"-shank bits chattered far in all materials unless we sandwiched the more than fi"-shank bits. Leigh’s 8mm bit workpiece between sacrificial backer boards. (equivalent to ˇ") chattered some, but not as (We cut dovetail joints in red oak, pine, Baltic much as smaller shanks. Chatter stresses the birch plywood, and MDF.) Some jigs only bit and creates discomfort and annoyance for have room for a ‹" front board, but we found the user.