Dovetail jig woes, where am I going wrong ?

[flanajb]

I am trying to make some drawers with my perform dovetail jig, but no matter what depth I set the cutter the tails end up being too wide and as a result the joint won't go together.

Arghhhhhhhhhh!

Any help welcomed as I have run out of test pieces and am now having to use the material that is for the actual drawers

 

[mailee]

These jigs do take a lot of setting up I am afraid. Make sure when you set the depth of the cutter only to turn the depth control a minute turn at a time. I was amazed at how sensitive the depth setting is with these type of jigs. When I had my dovetail jig I used to have two routers set up with the cutters in them just for this purpose. I gave them up in the end when I found the Dakota jig and haven't looked back. HTH. :wink:

 

[9fingers]

I would stop now and get some more scrap wood - even B&Q banana wood will do!

Don't start on the pukka project wood until you have perfected the joints.

These jigs do take perseverance and be aware that fixed pitch jigs like yours do dictate the optimum widths of the joints to avoid ugly half pins/tails and also to get the groove for the drawer base such that you can't see it when the drawer is open!

Good Luck

Bob

 

[halken]

all dove tail cutters are not the same and i had the same problem till i found the right cutter for my jig look for the instructions for your jig ( you can probably down load them) and you will see the difference it makes. I dont know why this works but it worked for me (cmt jig)

 

[flanajb]

all dove tail cutters are not the same and i had the same problem till i found the right cutter for my jig look for the instructions for your jig ( you can probably down load them) and you will see the difference it makes. I dont know why this works but it worked for me (cmt jig)

That is an interesting point and I wonder if the cutter that came with the perform jig is not the correct one as I have tried at least 15 joints with varying depths from 13mm - 11mm and I cannot get it to work. The tails always seem to thick. If I reduce the depth the tail width does decrease, but there comes a point when I only have around 1-2mm of bearing contact on the comb and that does not seem correct.

 

[Sportique]

If it is of any help, the Perform dovetail cutter supplied with my Perform jig was part no. P217011A (for their standard 1/2" template I think)

I also have part no. SCFFDS which is a finer dovetail cutter for use with the Perform 1/4" template - this fits the same jig.

Both part numbers are 1/4" shank

HTH

Dave

 

[dannykaye]

I have a mallet, a chisel and some other tools you could borrow

[FX] Smug after getting rid of the jig [/FX]

 

[Woodwizard]

Not familiar with the Perform Jig, but if it uses a guide bush, it sounds like yours is to big - undersized sockets - oversize tails.

On most jigs the bush size, cutter size AND cutter angle are all critical.

 

[Benchwayze]

I have an Arcoy Dovetailing Jig, in original box and looks unused. Suitable for drawers up to 9 inches deep.

Doesn't need bushes and all the cutters are provided. All you'd need is a beefy Electric Drill (Cabled type preferably.)

To be more helpful, it does seem you have the wrong sized bush. But it does take some time to set-up these jigs. That's why I bought a cheap B&D router, so I could leave the bush and cutter permanently installed. (I was using a Trend jig at the time.)

:wink:

John

 

[Steve Maskery]

There is a post over in the Jigs section about DT jigs, and I'll make the same comments here.

DT router jigs, even the best (e.g. Leigh) have their limitations. In particular, there is a considerable learning curve.

Danny's suggestion isn't as glib as it sounds. Sooner or late you will want to do them by hand.

In the meantime, you could consider doing them on the bandsaw. The learning curve is much better than the Leigh, the results are much more attractive then any equal tails/pins template, it's almost as fast as a router jig, much quieter and a lot cheaper.

You do need a bandsaw though!

Trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v2udCG6HQw

CHeers
Steve

 

[special bone]

Ok, lets see if we can get you somewhere near sorted.

These jigs are a pig to setup the first time, a real pig. Mine wasn't the Perform version but I'm fairly sure they're all made in the same factory.

I've managed to find one of my previous attempts (that worked) and measured the dimensions:

12mm stock, front and sides.
8mm depth of cut.
Half-blind dovetails.

Now, I'm not sure if the depth of cut changes if you use thicker timber. I would check, but my other attempts are currently buried and it's like the Temple of Doom trying to find things in the garage at the minute.

To make your life easier (and frankly safer), get a 13mm guide bush. If the bearing cutter is struggling to make contact you risk clipping the jig with the cutter. You're then likely to discover that adrenalin is brown.

The type of jig you have is only suitable for cutting half-blind dovetails, it will not cut through-dovetails.

Hope this helps.

 

[Doctor]

PERFORM- there's your problem, rubbish.

 

[woodbloke]

I have a mallet, a chisel and some other tools you could borrow

[FX] Smug after getting rid of the jig [/FX]

You could borrow Danny's but you can leave mine alone :lol: Seriously, forget the jig, either do it handraulicly (which is far more enjoyable) or use a bandsaw as Steve suggests...either way is better than a jig - Rob