# New member- Dovetail Jig Question



## JMR254 (Sep 21, 2008)

New member- love the reading so far. I have one question.

I was at my local Rockler store for their store closing sale. I bought 2 dovetail templates used on the Rockler Dovetail Jig. So now I have the half blind and through dove tail templates, but no jig. I already have the bits, collars, and now the templates, so buying the jig which comes with those things seems sort of a lot of duplication for me. Do any of you know if I can some how buy just the jig (aka clamping portion of the jig) or somehow make my own set up? Or is it just worth it to buy the whole kit and have extra bits/templates?

Thanks for any input, I look forward to participating in some discussions.

Joe


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Joe

You have got the horse b/4 the cart thing going on,, you will need the jig frame , the extra template don't come with the kit the norm and you can always use the extra guides...
So to say you will need to step up to the pump and get the main part ,I'm not real sure what templates you have but you may want to look at the HF dovetail jig it's a bit less than the Rockler one..

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34102

It maybe the same one.. 


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JMR254 said:


> New member- love the reading so far. I have one question.
> 
> I was at my local Rockler store for their store closing sale. I bought 2 dovetail templates used on the Rockler Dovetail Jig. So now I have the half blind and through dove tail templates, but no jig. I already have the bits, collars, and now the templates, so buying the jig which comes with those things seems sort of a lot of duplication for me. Do any of you know if I can some how buy just the jig (aka clamping portion of the jig) or somehow make my own set up? Or is it just worth it to buy the whole kit and have extra bits/templates?
> 
> ...


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## JMR254 (Sep 21, 2008)

Thanks BJ. Yeah the cart is definitely before the horse here...but when I saw the templates at 90% off, I sorta buy all I see :sold: I will check the local harbor freight- at $43 it will probably be cheaper to modify that one rather try to build an unsuccessful light bulb!


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Over at the MLCS site they have a demonstration video that might help you. The forum board isn't letting me post URLs because I don't have 10 posts. So I'll describe where to find the video.

If you enter "Dovetail Templates" into the search box at mlscwoodworking.com, the first link in the results should get you to their product page and the video link is about 1/3 the way down.

If the templates you have are pre-drilled with some fixed and slotted holes, maybe you could adapt the method shown in the show. Or just drill the templates yourself?

Just guessing but it does look like a promising of not fiddly way to of doing it.


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## JMR254 (Sep 21, 2008)

hey guys, I have spent the past few days testing the jig (i bought the HF one). Now it comes with a nice aluminum template- so no more sagging.

anywho- i have been running test piece after test piece...and time after time the joint is waaaay too tight. The manual says if it is too tight, the adjustment will be to either lower or heighten the bit in the router. I have been doing this as well as other adjustments to no avail. Any tips? Thanks.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI JMR

Don't forget It's a pair of joints and they both need to be right on, if one is off it will not fit right.


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JMR254 said:


> hey guys, I have spent the past few days testing the jig (i bought the HF one). Now it comes with a nice aluminum template- so no more sagging.
> 
> anywho- i have been running test piece after test piece...and time after time the joint is waaaay too tight. The manual says if it is too tight, the adjustment will be to either lower or heighten the bit in the router. I have been doing this as well as other adjustments to no avail. Any tips? Thanks.


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## Al Killian (Jul 22, 2008)

The HF jig is a pita to adjust. For me I gave up and sent it back. I rather spend the cah then spend all day to try and adjust one setting.


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## daleh (Oct 18, 2008)

I looked around for some time on this purchase. I ended up passing over the HF and Rockler, waited for a sale and got the Porter Cable 4212 jig. I have never regretted the purchase. I love the tool. A couple reviews ding it for being difficult to adjust and must be done often. I set it up once and did over 20 drawers, all of them perfect. Set up was a breeze.


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