I'm looking at buying a Porter Cable 4212 : http://www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com/porter-cable/products/4212.asp
I've bought a few factory made dovetailed drawers for recent projects... my bathroom vanity remodel, and for an art cabinet that I am building for a Christmas present. I've bought them from Barkerdoor.com, and while they have been of decent quality, at $25 each or so, that price adds up quick. I'm looking at rebuilding our kitchen cabinets, and want to upgrade the drawers as well. If I spend extra $$ on the materials, such as use a hardwood for the boxes, the price really goes up a lot. I think a dovetail jig will save me a bunch of money in the long run, plus it looks like a fun tool to have.
Has anyone used the porter cable jig or a similar one? How tough is this to set up?
I read that the best way to learn to use it is to carefully read the directions and buy some cheap stock to build with. Then just practice and about joint #10 or so you start to figure it out. I need repeatability for this. Is the PC a good jig?
Thanks.....
I have one that I've used for 30 years. Until you get the hang of it, you'll wish you never tried one. ;D
Probably after reading the instructions once, you should burn them.
After you figure it out, it's pretty simple.
I use them in production runs. They can do a very good job and are not that hard to get used to. Cutting your own by hand is not as difficult as you might think, the learning curve is fast and you can say you hand cut them yourself. If you really want to go the jig route you will not waste much stock if you are carefull, make your A and B cut, check the fit, readjust the jig, flip the scrap to the other end, insert and try again. Then if you have to readjust the jig for a better fit, cut just the dovetail ends off your test piece and use the same two pieces again. Not much waste.
frazoo
Dovetail are visually impressive and certainly a sturdy joint, but for an amateur, you might consider a Drawer Lock Router Bit. Todays high quality glues make a mechanical joint less important than a century ago when hide glue was the standard.
Here is a Porter Cable bit on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-43510PC-Drawer-Router/dp/B000RHET08/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1324130052&sr=8-2
Certainly cheaper than investing in a Dovetail Jig, faster set-up, and very repeatable. Unless the appearance of dovetails is that important to you, worthy of consideration.
Quote from: Ndrmyr on December 17, 2011, 09:16:38 AM
Dovetail are visually impressive and certainly a sturdy joint, but for an amateur, you might consider a Drawer Lock Router Bit. Todays high quality glues make a mechanical joint less important than a century ago when hide glue was the standard.
Here is a Porter Cable bit on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-43510PC-Drawer-Router/dp/B000RHET08/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1324130052&sr=8-2
Certainly cheaper than investing in a Dovetail Jig, faster set-up, and very repeatable. Unless the appearance of dovetails is that important to you, worthy of consideration.
A good compromise between the two is box joints.
If you have a table saw, you can make a jig that will crank them out in no time. A jig can also be made using the router. They are stronger than Drawer Lock joints and better looking also.
The Kreg jig is another option. I used it to make face frames and a gate and they are solid.
Here are some pics:
http://kregjig.ning.com/forum/topics/drawer-construction?commentId=2900167%3AComment%3A15559
Generally, the depth of the bit is the biggest problem . . . I have a router that is "set up" and dedicated just for the dovetail jig.
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