I purchased the Leigh dovetail jig over 15 years ago, and while it is versatile, I found it lacking in a few ways. 1) Its complicated to use. I don't use if very often, but when I do, I have to relearn how to use it. 2) The template is not stable enough. I found that the template flexes a bit, which causes a slight misalignment of my pieces when I go to assemble my parts.
I believe that the newer versions of the Leigh may have addressed the flexing issue, but still wonder if its somewhat complex to use. I have seen the Keller jig at the last WW show I attended and it seemed rock solid and simple to use. Help me out and let me know what your preferred system is.
For nearly all the work, I use it upside down on the router table. I started out with the bigger 24" aluminum for case work, then bought the aluminum 16", and finally got a deal on a plastic combo unit when I did a demo at a show. Once you set it for the bit fit, you never touch any adjustment ever again. Love it!
- Veritas dual marking gauge, which replaces a home made cutting gauge that still works good enough for dovetail baselines.
- Stanley #25 Type 2 8" sliding T-bevel. Newer models with a wing nut don't work nearly as well. Chris Vesper and others make them that are much better, but don't give any better results. You should also consider making your own from some aluminum angle. For dovetails, you might like a 6" bevel better.
- Chester Toolworks spear point marking knife. The Blue Spruce is a better tool, but the Chester Toolworks is good enough, unless you are cutting single-entry tails. There are other, much less expensive knives available that work just as well, but I won't use one with bevels on both faces); Another viable option is to make one yourself, using a Hock blade.
- Lie-Nielsen Independence Dovetail Saw (but a Veritas would work just as well);
- Knew Concepts 5" fret saw; Some prefer their 3" fretsaw or their coping saw. I also have a home made coping saw that works well.
- Lie-Nielsen Toolworks bevel edged socket chisels (sizes needed depend on the scale of the work you are doing). I also have a pair of their 1/4" skew chisels, but a single 1/8" works as well for cleaning out the corners of half blind pins.
- home made Hophornbeam carving mallet; I've also turned them from bloodwood, purpleheart, cocobolo, dogwood, hard maple and trifoliate orange.
- home made Moxon vise, using my own design bench-on-bench for the rear jaw. So far, the only Moxon hardware I've found that works better than mine is Benchcrafted's.
If this seems too complicated, you might want to read Chris Schwarz' The Anarchist's Toolchest
If I were forced to use a router and jig (due to time constraints on a huge job, for example, which I don't do anymore) by far my favorite would be the Porter-Cable 24" Omnijig. It will do anything the Leigh jig will do, is more precise, and all the documentation you need to set it up (after reading the relatively short and well written manual) is on the machine itself, in color coded icons.
I have the big original Leigh jig of roughly the same vintage as yours as well as a couple of their accessory guides. I've not found any problem with the flexing-induced imprecision you describe but the re-learning is a real problem if I go for a while without using it.
I'd have to leave the Leigh at the top of my list.
I had a Leigh D4 and had the same problem Dick has: I used it so seldom, I had to re-learn it every time I dragged it out to use. It was complicated, but it cut great joints. A also had an older smaller model Leigh (12" (I think). I finally bit the bullet and learned to cut dovetails by hand and discovered it's not all that hard. I can cut a bunch of dovetails in the time it used to take me to assemble the Leigh jig and review the manual. I kept the little Leigh in case I ever had a big project with lots of dovetails and gave the D4 to my son-in-law. I haven't missed it and I've cut a lot of dovetails since I gave it away. I haven't had a project yet that I thought was big enough to use the little Leigh.
For drawer boxes, I use a Porter Cable 12" deluxe, which is fairly easy to use. It has cam lock hold-downs which are quick. While I leave a router dedicated to it setup, it isn't too hard to set up, in that it has a little depth setting on the end, which takes the guess work out of it.
For everything else, I cut by hand,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Well, I use my hands and a TS with a sled, and the boards up on end going over the blade.
I have the Leigh, a D4 I think. To shorten the re-learning curve, I bought two routers to go with it and leave them set up. If the stock is all the same thickness the reset is fairly simple, but I still walk myself through with the manual each time.
Oops. I got distracted and forgot a couple of essential tools on my hand tool list: two pairs of spring dividers for laying out tails. Small ones work better for almost all dovetail layout projects. My favorites are Starrett 277-2 (discontinued) and 277-3. While the 277-2 are becoming rare and expensive on the used tool market, other small dividers by Starrett, B&S, K&E, Lufkin, Dietzgen, and several others can be found inexpensively.
I purchased the Leigh dovetail jig over 15 years ago, and while it is versatile, I found it lacking in a few ways. 1) Its complicated to use. I don't use if very often, but when I do, I have to relearn how to use it. 2) The template is not stable enough. I found that the template flexes a bit, which causes a slight misalignment of my pieces when I go to assemble my parts.
Hi Bart
Have you been using your Leigh much over the past 15 years, that is, do you use dovetails enough to consider them an important joint in the woodwork you do?
If so, rather than replacing the Leigh with another jig - since all jigs appear to have issue with set up - have you considered cutting them by hand? It is really just sawing to a short line. I am not going to say that it is super easy, but it is not a skill that would take much time to master ... in particular, the type of dovetails that are similar in shape to those off a jig are the easiest. And once proficient with these, then you will have gained the confidence to move to more complex types of dovetails - ones that a jig simply cannot replicate.
Cutting pins on a TS is easy and precise; tails, not so much. Steve Latta offers a tip: Get a cheap Diablo ATB blade and break off every other tooth. (Doesn't work with rip blades or combo ATBR blades. Tilt the blade until the top of the kerf is horizontal. Later, set your miter fence with your pin cutting jig to the same angle and cut pins with an ATBR, rip, dado or box joint blade.
I have ownd a Leigh D4 for a number of years. Cutting-out 84 blanket chests in red oak by hand was not an option. I use it regularly and it works great! Chopping dovetails in pine or poplar might work ok but in hardwoods such as maple and cherry I love my Leigh!!!
