# Porter-Cable 4210 12-Inch Dovetail Jig



## Kelly Rittgers (Aug 6, 2010)

Does anyone have experience with a Porter-Cable 4210 12-Inch Dovetail Jig? I would want it to made half blind dovetails for drawers. Easy? 117.00 at Amazon.

KR


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi KR

Take a look at the jig below , it's almost the same thing just like the PC jig.
Dovetail Machine

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Kelly Rittgers said:


> Does anyone have experience with a Porter-Cable 4210 12-Inch Dovetail Jig? I would want it to made half blind dovetails for drawers. Easy? 117.00 at Amazon.
> 
> KR


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## Kelly Rittgers (Aug 6, 2010)

It is quite a bit less. Looks interesting.

thank you.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Kelly Rittgers said:


> Does anyone have experience with a Porter-Cable 4210 12-Inch Dovetail Jig? I would want it to made half blind dovetails for drawers. Easy? 117.00 at Amazon.
> 
> KR


Yep. Even _I_ can use it. 

The 4200 series (with the right templates) will do half-blind DTs, through DTs, and box joints. There are also templates for using 1/4" bits for mini joints in thin stock.


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## Kelly Rittgers (Aug 6, 2010)

Thanks Ralph.

KR


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Ralph

You need to drop about 300.oo in order to do that on the PC dovetail jig 

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Amazon.com: Porter-Cable 4210 Home Improvement



Ralph Barker said:


> Yep. Even _I_ can use it.
> 
> The 4200 series (with the right templates) will do half-blind DTs, through DTs, and box joints. There are also templates for using 1/4" bits for mini joints in thin stock.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Ralph
> 
> You need to drop about 300.oo in order to do that on the PC dovetail jig
> 
> ...


Actually, only $179.99, when added to your cart, for the 4216 Super Jig with all templates.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Ralph Barker said:


> Actually, only $179.99, when added to your cart, for the 4216 Super Jig with all templates.


I use the 4216 all the time. It works great. Once set up for the half-blind dovetails you do not need to move the setup. It will be the same for thickness of stock from 1/2" to 1-1/8". On thinner material you would use the miniature template. Just size your drawers every 1" + 1/4" to center your joint (2-1/4", 3-1/4", 4-1/4", etc) for the larger template.


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

James, I've been looking at various makers of DT and Box joint jigs as well as joint systems and am going with the PC 4216. It sounds like you are very satisfied with it and believe I will also be happy with it. 

There are many ways to go and products to choose from and believe it will be money well spent


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Marco said:


> James, I've been looking at various makers of DT and Box joint jigs as well as joint systems and am going with the PC 4216. It sounds like you are very satisfied with it and believe I will also be happy with it.
> 
> There are many ways to go and products to choose from and believe it will be money well spent


Hi Marco, The PC jig does what it is supposed to. Here is a couple of pics Of some drawers made with the jig.


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Very nice! I am curious though, 1/2" stock? Oak for sides and Oak for front and back? Front and back extra stain to create color difference?

I love the stain of the Cabinet doors/drawer fronts and face frame. My eye calls that Cherry. What is the stain colour and who is the manufacturer. Curious because Min Wax's Cherry isn't Cherry to me. Min Wax Red Mahagony is closer to Cherry. I would like to know what brand and colour because the colour is great! ..... and look forward to using it in the future.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Marco said:


> Very nice! I am curious though, 1/2" stock? Oak for sides and Oak for front and back? Front and back extra stain to create color difference?
> 
> I love the stain of the Cabinet doors/drawer fronts and face frame. My eye calls that Cherry. What is the stain colour and who is the manufacturer. Curious because Min Wax's Cherry isn't Cherry to me. Min Wax Red Mahagony is closer to Cherry. I would like to know what brand and colour because the colour is great! ..... and look forward to using it in the future.


Hi Jim. These drawers boxes in the pictures are out of Hard Maple with a clear polyurethane finish. I usually mill the parts down to 5/8". No extra color, just finished with sanding sealer & clear polyurethane. The end grain in the joint will give a darker appearance. Other than that is just the way the flash hits the parts.

The rest of the cabinets are all Cherry hardwood for face frame, doors, & drawer fronts. A-1 Cherry ply was used for the boxes. 
On these I used Zar oil base stain. The color I used was Rosewood #124. I usually apply Minwax pre-stain to control blotching. I did 4 coats of stain to get this color. The inside of the cabinet boxes were finished with clear. Only the cabinets with the glass doors were stained inside.

What I did:
Minwax Pre-stain (let dry no wiping).
Zar oil base stain, Rosewood #124 (4 coats no sanding).
Spray 2 coats sanding sealer - Zinsser Seal Coat wax free (lightly sand 320 between coats).
Spray 4 coats Deft oil base polyurethane (lightly sand 320 between coats).


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Well the color is perfect and well worth your effort to achieve it. Thanks for your response and some of your secrets to your success


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Marco said:


> Well the color is perfect and well worth your effort to achieve it. Thanks for your response and some of your secrets to your success


No problem. I'm sure professional finishers would go about the process in a different way, but this worked for me.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Beautiful work, James.. Did you brush, wipe or spray the pre-stain and stain? 

Also, I've been considering taking my spray gun w/ oil based poly to some of the maple cabinets in my shop. I was thinking about it but hadn't heard anyone talk about spraying poly so wondered if there were any issues.

Do you spray it out of the can or thin it 1:1 or more? By volume or with a Ford cup?

It's way too cold to take it outside to spray until spring but it might make a good project then!

Jim


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

BigJimAK said:


> Beautiful work, James.. Did you brush, wipe or spray the pre-stain and stain?
> 
> Also, I've been considering taking my spray gun w/ oil based poly to some of the maple cabinets in my shop. I was thinking about it but hadn't heard anyone talk about spraying poly so wondered if there were any issues.
> 
> ...


Hi Jim,
Pre-stain was brushed on with foam brush & let dry on it's own. Stain was brushed on with foam brush & then wiped with rag. Wax free sanding sealer was filtered out of can & sprayed on. Some poly was poured into smaller can (mixed only what I was going to spray) & thinned with Naptha then sprayed on. The ratio I used was to lift the stir stick out of mix & material would stream off stick for about 4 seconds till it started to drip. Then poured thru filter into spray cup. I sprayed it with an HVLP off my 60 gal compressor. The only issue with the poly is to use a wax free sanding sealer & spray light coats. You get a feel for it after awhile to avoid drips. Hope this helps.


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## Mark Mayo (Jan 27, 2011)

*Request for help seting up my dovetail jig*

Wow!

I live in Long Beach and used a friends "pre-setup" PC dovetail jig since mine is not fully adjusted. Any suggestions how to get mine set up to approach your absolute success?

His jig made this joint:









[email protected]


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Mark Mayo said:


> Wow!
> 
> I live in Long Beach and used a friends "pre-setup" PC dovetail jig since mine is not fully adjusted. Any suggestions how to get mine set up to approach your absolute success?
> 
> ...


Hi Mark,
For the half-blind dovetails install recommended template guide & bit. Set the bit height at 5/8" from the base plate of the router (1/4" for template thickness & 3/8" for joint). This will get you in the ball park. Do a sample to fine tune it & get it where you want it before you use project material. Everybody has their preference as to how tight they want the joint to be. You want your joint snug but not to tight so to leave room for glue. Tighter if not using any glue. I glue all my joints.

Once setup you can use material thickness's of 1/2" to 1-1/8" & it will fit the same with out changing your setup. If using thinner material you should use the mini template.


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## Mark Mayo (Jan 27, 2011)

Thanks

I just finished a chest of drawers today with sanding and finishing to go. With the heavy lifting done I will pull out my PC jig and adjust as you have described. Thanks!


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## Pete_Judd (Oct 19, 2010)

I have 2 of the 4212's one for tails and one for pins for all the through dove tails that I do. I also keep 2 PC routers dedicated to the 2 jigs, just to reduce setup time. I am very happy with these jigs, And I think that I paid around $120 each. Easy to use and fast to set up. Also if you go to PC web site, there is another manual to show all the other things that these jigs can do. 
4200 Series Dovetail Jigs


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## Maxell (Jan 30, 2011)

Kelly, you picked the right jig. Easy and accurate set-ups. Lowe's stocks the 4210
jig. Try to pick the lightest router you can. You will find it easier to follow your templet.

Maxell


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