# What do you think?



## rcp612 (Oct 22, 2008)

I was just looking at this:The EZ Pro Dovetail Jig Makes Perfect Through Joints & Dovetail Joints! - General Tools & Instruments.
All I want to do is half blind joints and I want to save over $400.00 on a dovetail jig. This looks very interesting to me and, most importantly, easy to use, especially on a table. Personally, I think there is a good possibility that this could be very useful but, as always, the skeptic in me is looking for others opinions.


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Hello Roger, That looks like it would do the trick. Have you ever checked out Oak Park, They have one that uses little room, and lays flat on the table. You can make dove tails, and box joints very easily. All that is necessary, is that the dado, and the space are all the same thickness. That is how theirs works.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

I am following this thread to help me decide which DT jig to get.


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

Harbor Freight has one for $40. 
Several of us have them.
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
I believe the Grizzly inserts fit it.


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

You'll have to jig up the one from Harbor freight though to get it to work correctly.


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## rcp612 (Oct 22, 2008)

Duane867 said:


> You'll have to jig up the one from Harbor freight though to get it to work correctly.


What, exactly, do you mean?
I've looked at the HF model and it seemed to be of very poor quality, if quality is a virtue at that price.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

rcp612 said:


> I was just looking at this:The EZ Pro Dovetail Jig Makes Perfect Through Joints & Dovetail Joints! - General Tools & Instruments.
> All I want to do is half blind joints and I want to save over $400.00 on a dovetail jig. This looks very interesting to me and, most importantly, easy to use, especially on a table. Personally, I think there is a good possibility that this could be very useful but, as always, the skeptic in me is looking for others opinions.


That jig looks veeerrrry attractive. It comes with a bit though and I wonder if it will take bits from another mfg. I also uses two half inch bearings which don't appear to be attached to the shank, just trapped between the collett and the cutting head. Wonder if you could use a 3/8 spiral straight bit and 1/2" guide bushing to make box joints with it.
I have some other General Tools and find them to be exceptional for the price. I have one of their Digital Metric/Decimal/Fractional Calipers and last week I got in some plastic shim stock down to .0005" and the caliper was dead on down to the lowest resolution it had, .001. I was impressed for a $30 caliper, except my sons $15 Harbor freight was almost as good :cray: his just doesn't do fractions.


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Not sure about that General jig. It isn't very common to do 1/2 tails in a joint. Usually you have 1/2 PINS at the two outside edges of the joint. It could just be the goofy presenter though. Notice to they edited the video via on-screen text to correct the times he said "bushing" when he meant to say "bearing".

Also, those workpiece clamps look pretty flimsy, at least in the video. Notice that he does point out you can move one over to pick up the center threaded hole but look closely at the video, he only has about 1/2 the pad head in contact with the work piece. Looks a bit slippery to me, if you get a little heavy handed with things it might move a spoil the workpiece.

That said, I think you could make this work with a little modification to the clamps (sticky back sandpaper) and some attention to detail when setting up.

On the other hand, I saved up my pennies and got the PC 4212 and it has been great. Yes, it costs more than $40 but way less than $400. The pin size is fixed but you can play games and get variable spacing. And people that complain about the "odd" bit sizes are just the ones that can't deal with fractions. It works with other bit sizes too, you just have to know how to add (pencil and paper optional). And you can do long work pieces (blanket chests) by removing the templates from the jig base and using them separately. Similar to the MLCS rig. However I've used it (4212) primarily for half-blind dovetails to replace some busted drawers in a kitchen. Worked like a charm for that. Also played around with cutting box joints and through dovetails for some smaller projects. Worked exactly as advertised.

I paid around $150 after rebate (rebate may no longer be available). I've seen them on eBay in what looks to be a complete condition (manuals can be downloaded) for less. And oddly enough, for more than MSRP too but that's just the nature of eBay.

I've had some good General branded tools and some junk from them. Generally, their small measuring and marking tools are pretty good. I've also gotten good light duty use from their pocket hole jig, but I don't think it would stand up to a few hundred face frames.

Same thing with Harbor Freight. Sometimes a good deal (the brass inserts and bushings come to mind), other times junk. 

In this case, at $40 I'd ALMOST consider getting one to play with if I didn't already have the PC 4212. $40 is pretty darn close to my "threshold of pain" for experimental tool purchases...


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