Dovetails

[wisardd1]

I ran a couple off this morning and the radius part is now hidden. It seems I will have to futz around abit in adjustments because the tails are now proud on the outside. I would think I spacer would work very easily with this unit. An Aside, is Porter Cable units as good as they look. It doesn;t look like they have a stop bar on them. Anyway, I will report back when I find the sweet spot or I will complain about the trouble I am still having, LOL. Anyway, thanks a ton guys. I don;t think I would have figured this out on my own.

dale

[TDHofstetter]

Mar 3, 2010 19:57:46 GMT -6 Beamer said:

I wonder - could one put in a 1/4" thick spacer behind your tail board so that you don't have to futz with the template so much?

It'd still cut the pins full-depth. With a little jigging, though, that could be engineered out, too.

[wisardd1]

Here is my current issue. No matter how much I seem to adjust up or down, I can't seem to get it tighter than this without throwing off the other adjustments

[TDHofstetter]

You need to extend the router bit farther.

[wisardd1]

Mar 4, 2010 15:07:11 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

You need to extend the router bit farther.

I figured that, and I have done that, but I will do it again. This thing is too finicky. Seems like a lot more micro adjustments than should be necessary. I wonder if it has to do with plastic templates?

[TDHofstetter]

Na, it's the angle of the cutter. VERY fussy until you find the right setup. I ended up dedicating one (old Craftsman) router to cutting dovetails. When that router bit gets dull, I'll toss the whole thing & start over with another router.

When you find the right depth, cut a piece of scrap with it. That'll help get the right depth again next time. Drill a 1/4" hole right through the scrap & use it to store that router bit.

You'll have to cut another scrap if you ever sharpen that bit or replace it... even exactly the same model number of router bit won't be exactly the same, so it'll take a different height.

[wisardd1]

Great idea! Thanks Medevil Man!

[wisardd1]

I think I got it. I am going to do a test drawer tomorrow

[Mark]

Mar 4, 2010 15:07:11 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

You need to extend the router bit farther.

Tim, not to challenge an all-around expert such as yourself - It would seem to me that Wisardd1 needs to Shorten the stick-out of the bit, to bring the tapered sides of the pins and tails closer together.

Wisardd1 - Thanks for showing the learning curve of Dovetail Jigs too - Mine doesn't get used much for the very fact that I have short patience with it - LOL

Thanks,
Mark

[sawduster]

Nope, Timmer has it right. "Heighten to tighten, lower to loosen" is what it says for my Incra, and since that works in the table, "heighten" means extend more bit.

[TDHofstetter]

You'd shorten if you were cutting only the tails, but since you're cutting both the tails and the pins at the same time, extending the bit pushes the pin sockets farther into the drawer front. That makes the tip of the pin socket narrower & narrower as you extend the bit further, and makes the skinny part of the tail broader & broader.

[dcarter636]

In view of what a PITA it is to get that bit depth correct...

Once a router is set to make tight dovetails many of us just keep that bit in that router, which becomes the dedicated dove tail router. Mine is an old Craftsman that vibrates my hands numb but immediately cuts a good joint without wasting a bunch of wood in massaging the bit depth each time it is used.

[wisardd1]

You know, it is funny that on the Rockler rate this product for this jig, there must be 70 people who wrote something like "Yep, right out of the box, I cut perfect and tight dovetails" or "
After four adjustments, I cut perfect and tight dovetails"..To tell the truth, I felt like I real retard (banned word in Mass.) because I swear, I have cut atleast 20 to 30 devetails and I think, and I mean I think, I have it ready to go. I can understand why people dedicate a router. It literally has taken me a week to get it even close.

[TDHofstetter]

After you get comfortable with the jig & get a good feel of what adjustment does what, next time'll be quicker & easier. It's never "right out of the box", though - NEVER. Not unless they're using a sledgehammer & a caulking gun to fit 'em. I can't imagine getting 'em to fit right in less than four trials without a dedicated router and bit.

Fortunately, cheap nasty routers are pretty easy to find at yard sales & such. It doesn't even matter whether you get a wrench with it, since you'll keep that bit in that router till one of 'em's dead.

[sawduster]

One of the nice things about the Incra Fence Positioner is that you make your test cuts to set the bit depth into any sort of scrap you have handy and you cut both pieces with them upright using the right angle jig. If you preset the depth to that recommended for the template/bit combination it is pretty darn close. A couple of micro adjustments gets it right on the money, and you can simply slice off the cuts that don't fit between test cuts and when you get it right, you mark one of the pieces with the template/bit combination to use next time you want that particular template bit combination and start off even closer.

With all of the sizes that can be made using different bits and templates, having a router and table set up for each one would not be a good idea.

[wisardd1]

Argh! more adjustments!!! Screw that, I went out and bought an Akeda 16 inch. Now I just have to figure out how to use it.

www.akeda.com/dc16/jig.drawer-construction.html

[TDHofstetter]

Pretty schnazzy jig! Did ya buy the router bit kit that goes with it?

[wisardd1]

No, got the dust collector, two bits (7 & 14 degree), and a collet reducer. Apparently, I need a 11 degree for 3/4 inch. The set up seems pretty simple, but until I get it all figured out I ain't cuttin nothin! Very well built, bulletproof as far as manufacturing goes. Must weigh a solid 30 pounds. The adjustment bars a really cool. Very precision piece of equipment. They get an A+ for build!

dale

[TDHofstetter]

I've looked at those many times since they were introduced & always thought they looked REALLY GOOD... but never could pry all that money outta' my pocket at once.

[jim@jlazy3]

I bought one to try, but sent it back because you can't cut half-blind pins/tails at the same time. I usually make 30-40 drawers at a time and the extra time wasn't an option.
The 24" PC omnijig is what I use.....and a dedicated router!