Stots dovetail jig question

[Andy F]

Hello.

My first post here. I am an absolute novice at everything to do with wood apart from burning it, but I would like to have a go at making various things, some of which involve dovetail joints.

I was looking around at jigs and came across the Stots jig on you tube, but cannot find out where to get one from. Stots seem to have disappeared now - did the chap die or stop making the jigs?

Anyway, my choice of Stots was purely down to cost and that I have a job in mind that will mean dovetailing a piece of wood greater than 12 inches. The other end of the market seems to be the Leigh, with all sorts in between. Is there some consensus about what is the best to buy? or is it just that you get what you pay for. I don't mind spending time setting up and practising, I am fairly patient.

I know it will be a huge subject and everyone will have their favourites, but I would welcome some thoughts.

Thanks

 

[carlb40]

Hi i have one that i purchased from axminster years ago. Still to use it.
I came across one on ebay the other week. However it is from the usa.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370634310638? ... 1423.l2649

The listing has ended now, but if you contact them they might have/get more in stock?

Also do a search for Milescraft 1218 dovetail jig

 

[mailee]

This is the one I use.http://www.rutlands.co.uk/workshop-&-po ... il-systems It is more expensive than when I bought it a few years ago but is IMHO the best to use. i have used many of the other jigs but found this one so easy to set up and use. With some careful measuring you can move the jig along to make longer runs. i looked at the Stotts jig but couldn't find a supplier over here and this looked like the next best thing....and it was. I have made a few toy boxes with it in the past. it takes minutes to set up and works faultlessly. HTH. :wink:

 

[Andy F]

Thanks for the replies. I will have a look to see if I can get the milescraft one in the next few days. If not, I will go for the Dakota.

Buying from the US is not a problem, other than postage can be prohibitive for larger items. I bought a lock mitre router bit last Wednesday afternoon on ebay. It was posted from Houston, and it arrived on Saturday. Thats a pretty good delivery time.

 

[carlb40]

Yeah the postage can be high from the usa, but i think that is because a lot are now using the faster 2-3 day delivery which bumps the price right up.

You do know you can get those mitre lock bits from wealden etc in the uk

PS if you google the milescraft version, it comes up on amazon for $39.99 i think

 

[Steve Maskery]

I don't mind spending time setting up and practising, I am fairly patient.

At the risk of stating the obvious, have you considered buying a good dovetail saw and cutting them by hand? They won't be perfect straight away, but you will make good progress very quickly and it will be very satisfying.
I agree that 12"+ is a challenge, but you can afford to get away with quite large tails (hence fewer of them) on such a large workpiece.

If you were planning to do batches of them, I'd recommend doing them on the bandsaw. I have written about and filmed this technique, but if you are talking about a small number from time to time, doing them by had is perfectly achievable.

S

 

[Andy F]

I hadn't considered doing it by hand because I sort of assumed that was for those that have been through some kind of instruction. I am self taught (or will be where dovetails are concerned), so I tend to use machinery in the assumption that I will make less mistakes that way.

However I was recently taught to cut hinges by hand and also make fillets to patch up old hinge slots. I saw the importance of sharp tools, gentle pressure and a little patience. It didn't seem so bad, so I would be happy to give hand-made dovetails a go.

 

[Steve Maskery]

That's the spirit!
I like to use a Japanese saw,, others prefer a trad western Gents' saw.

But mostly I use the bandsaw!

S

 

[mailee]

I hadn't considered doing it by hand because I sort of assumed that was for those that have been through some kind of instruction. I am self taught (or will be where dovetails are concerned), so I tend to use machinery in the assumption that I will make less mistakes that way.

However I was recently taught to cut hinges by hand and also make fillets to patch up old hinge slots. I saw the importance of sharp tools, gentle pressure and a little patience. It didn't seem so bad, so I would be happy to give hand-made dovetails a go.

no the use of machinery just means that you make batches of mistakes instead......don't ask me how I know this. :lol:

 

[Eric The Viking]

I was lucky enough to get a Stots template from another forum member secondhand.
I fear Mr. Stots is no longer with us. He made a few though: the serial number of mine is over 100,000!

The Dakota (Rutlands) one is very similar, but not quite identical. I think the operation is pretty much the same. I believe in both cases you can make working templates from what is in effect a master pattern.

The only critical aspect that I can see is the angle of the dovetail cutter. The Stots one is 8 degree angle, 1/2" wide at the bottom, which is fairly hard to find. I think Leigh jigs use it though I couldn't find a Wealden one to match. The angle can't be changed as it matches the "V" side of the jig.

I can imagine the Dakota one being equally easy to use.