# Leigh D3 Dovetail Jig



## daclyn (Sep 25, 2010)

Hello All, 

Need to buy a Dovetail Jig and looking at a Trend 300 and a S/H Leigh D3.

I am a New Comer to routers and just bought a DeWalt 621.

Which is the best Jig for me??

Regards


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Welcome to the forums Lyn.


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## Ramie (Mar 12, 2011)

I am learning about router jigs and looking at buying a d3 leigh jig for 175.00 includes new collars and jig used once no bits is this a good deal for doing various projects and easy set up once i quickly adapt and learn? i can buy a couple high end bits when needed.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Ramie said:


> I am learning about router jigs and looking at buying a d3 leigh jig for 175.00 includes new collars and jig used once no bits is this a good deal for doing various projects and easy set up once i quickly adapt and learn? i can buy a couple high end bits when needed.


$175 might seem a little high for a long-discontinued jig, but compared to the price of a new D4, it might be a bargain. Hopefully, the owner is including the D3 manual, which is no longer in print and is not available for download from Leigh.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

The Leigh D4 instructions can be applied to the D3. Although some parts may vary in appearance all procedures for through, half-blind, sliding dovetails and more are the same. 

this came from the Leigh website:

http://www.leighjigs.com/data/D3.pdf


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## gary hopkinson (Jan 3, 2011)

*leigh D4*

I have just purchased a Leigh D4- but unbsure which router to purchase. Is the dewalt621 the logical choice, or should i choose a fixed base router?


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## walowan (Jan 21, 2011)

gary hopkinson said:


> I have just purchased a Leigh D4- but unbsure which router to purchase. Is the dewalt621 the logical choice, or should i choose a fixed base router?


I use my trusty old PC 360 with mny leigh jig, just about any router will work fine. Except the big monster ones.


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

A fixed base router is best for use with a Leigh dovetail jig. Many of the router bits used will not fit through the required bushings, so accidentally releasing the plunge would be a disaster. A plunge router depth adjustment is also not as precise as a fixed base router and this would cause problems too. You don't need a big router, actually a lighter one is best, but it should have a 1/2" collet as it's best to use the 8mm bits that are recommended by Leigh because they have less flex under load and create better joints. An 8mm adapter is available from Leigh and other sources to use the 8mm bits in 1/2" router collets.

I use DeWalt DW618 routers with my D4R and prefer the D handle bases over the standard fixed bases due to their trigger control, but the fixed base will work OK. I use two routers, one for the dovetail bit and one for the straight bit, to eliminate the need to change the bit after they have been set up correctly.

Charley


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

CharleyL said:


> A fixed base router is best for use with a Leigh dovetail jig. Many of the router bits used will not fit through the required bushings, so accidentally releasing the plunge would be a disaster. A plunge router depth adjustment is also not as precise as a fixed base router and this would cause problems too. You don't need a big router, actually a lighter one is best, but it should have a 1/2" collet as it's best to use the 8mm bits that are recommended by Leigh because they have less flex under load and create better joints. An 8mm adapter is available from Leigh and other sources to use the 8mm bits in 1/2" router collets.


A couple of points to add to that (from a European perspective); firstly most Euro-style plunge routers either have a built-in manual height adjuster these days (e.g. Makita RP2301FCX) or a aftermarket one can be added (e.g. deWalt's own DE6966, etc) which effectively gives you the precision adjustment needed for dovetailing (by effectively converting a plunger into a fixed base router).

As to router choice it's often worth remembering that many small plunge routers by deWalt, Bosch, Felisatti, Festool, _et al_ were designed in the European market and whilst these are sold in the USA as "1/4in routers" they do have available or even come with 8mm collets - a far safer and more robust solution than using a collet reducer. Plungers fitted with fine adjusters have one other advantages over US-style fixed base routers; the guide bush can be accurately centred using a centring mandrel (Festool, Bosch, deWalt and CMTall sell versions of these) and once centred stays centred unlike a fixed base router such as the P-C 690 which depends on swivelling the base to effect a height change and where the guide bush may not be held perfectly centred on the router shaft.

Regards

Phil


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## Kelly Rittgers (Aug 6, 2010)

How do you set up two routers? Center the bit? Hard to do?

KR


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

For through dovetails the bits are adjusted for the thickness of the mating part plus a few thousandths to be certain that the parts overlap each other slightly. This overlap is then trimmed flush after the joint is completed and glued. I use a flush trim 1/2" bit in the router table for this. It leaves a very professional looking smooth joint. To adjust the router bit to cut dovetails, place the router on the jig with the piece to be cut locked in the vertical clamp. Hold the edge of the mating piece under the fingers and against the piece being cut and draw a pencil line across the piece to be cut along the bottom of the mating piece. Now adjust the router bit depth to cut to the center of this line and lock the depth adjustment. The other router and bit is set the same way to cut the mating piece, but with the pieces in the opposite positions. The Straight bit cuts the pins and the dovetail bit cuts the tails. You have to switch routers and also flip the fingers to cut the mating piece.

The Leigh manual covers this information very well and includes step by step instructions and pictures. If you follow it to the letter you can be successful on your first try. There is also a DVD that is included with the new jigs to show you how to successfully cut both through and half blind dovetails. If you are new at this you will need at least one of them to be able to be successful. The leighjigs.com website also contains instructional videos. The Leigh Dovetail Jigs can make perfect dovetails, but only if you learn how to use them correctly. It's much more involved and requires more precision than making a rabbet joint.

Charley


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

YouTube - Router Tables Made Easy

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## Kelly Rittgers (Aug 6, 2010)

Leigh has a very good website and manuals can be downloaded.

KR


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi KR

Very true But the Leigh machine you will need to have the manual on hand to use it but not so with the Katie machine a one page manual is all you will need  once you use it one time you can put the manual away for every it's that easy to setup and use, made in the KISS way..
The dovetail joint is a very simple joint and so many make it hard. 

I saw the video of the guy putting the dovetails in place and I had to hahahahaha all the tools he had out when a simple dovetail bit will do the job so easy and quick, he said it only takes 4 mins. for each corner of the box , I can do that and make all 4 corners in the same time..and they always fit just right..

Why make it hard..
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Kelly Rittgers said:


> Leigh has a very good website and manuals can be downloaded.
> 
> KR


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Kelly Rittgers said:


> How do you set up two routers? Center the bit? Hard to do?
> 
> KR


As Charley said, Kelly, it's mostly a matter of setting/tuning the depth of cut properly for the stock thickness. This also assumes that all of the pieces you are joining are _precisely_ the same thickness. If you are swapping bits back and forth, you're likely to have some variation in depth of cut, even if you use the O-ring in the collet trick. 

Centering is a separate, but equally important issue, and applies both to the bit and the guide bushings being used. Factors involved include the router itself (whether the base always clamps to the same relationship with the shaft), the accuracy of the sub-base, and the precision and fit of the guide bushings. The interplay between these factors prompted me to migrate to Pat Warner's precision sub-bases.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Ralph

You should give the router table way a try I'm sure once you do you will put your PC dovetail jig back in the box 
No oil rings needed the bit can be off center by a 1/4" and the dovetails will come out right, it's all done with the bearing on the bit that is always dead on unlike the using the guide way on the base plate, no need for a high end base plate ,most of the guides are NOT made true and just that will put many dovetail jobs in the trash can..I once use the oil ring way and found out it's bit lame and has many down falls.. 

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