Customer Reviews

Jet 709060 12-Inch Dovetail Jig

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After spending the last three hours setting up the dovetail jig I was able to fashion my first drawer to my finicky expectations.

As others stated, the instructions leave a _lot_ to be desired, hence the three hour setup.

The hardest part of the setup is getting the dovetail bit at the
perfect height so the joint is neither loose nor too tight. Once you have this height. LEAVE THE BIT IN THE ROUTER!

Use of a straight "clearing bit" saves wear and tear on your dovetail bit. If you decide to use a clearing bit, put it in another router (I'm using a $70.00 cheapo router I got a couple of years ago)
The crucial concept in setting the height is that
you need to adjust 1/2X of what you measure. This is because you're affecting both the pins and tails. For a perfect fit, instead of adjusting the bit and making another pass, cut off the old pins and tails and start fresh.
One more thing. After you make the first pass, go back a second time to clean up anything you might have missed. For me, it's the difference between having to hammer the joint together and just push it together with my hands.

Although the jig clamping system appears sloppy, it should be remembered that it is only a clamping system and works quite well for this task. The stops that require adjusting during setup perform acceptably, although I fine tune the setup after clamping to ensure that the top and side are absolutely flush.

I'm quite pleased with this product. Especially considering what others are selling for. Not only does the Jet take bigger stock, but it appears that I can do both half-blind and full dovetails just by adjusting the stop. This would appear to work only up to 3/4 stock. When I find out for sure, I'll edit this review.

the tool is a good product and at $...also a good value. the only problems encountered were with the manual the technical writing contained errors one being the bit depth listed at 7/8" at this depth you will be burning the top of the wood because the cutting head on the bit is not deep enough the, corect distance is 5/8". a friend let me borrow his manual for the woodstock 12" jig and the people at jet could learn alot from this manual instead of vague descriptions you see detailed drawings and a comprehensive trouble shooting guide. after adjustments I have to say I am very happy with this purchase it is consistant and quick as well as gives a clean joint.

As a previous review said, the manual contains technical errors. You will need to figure out the correct settings for the adjustable back bar. Once I figured out the correct numbers and got the bit depth set (bit depth is always trial and error with any jig) it worked great. I made test drawers out of scrap 3/4" plywood with perfect results. I then made some sample joints using other scraps - particle board, solid oak - with equally perfect results. All this after about 2 hours of set up and learning. Now I can make these joints fairly quickly.

This same style jig is sold under many brand names that all appear to be identical. I previously had 2 of these from Harbor Freight that looked the same, but the fit and finish was awful. I returned both.

I recieved this jig for xmas last year, but just unpacked it this month. Usually cut my dovetails by hand as most of my jewelry box's are 4" or less in depth. With the Lee Valley/Veritas dovetail guide and dovetail saddle, layout and cutting on smaller pieces is pretty quick and accurate. I have a xmas project for 12 jewelry box's this year, for granddaughters, and decided they would all be basically the same design, but using differant woods for each.Also they will be 7" deep. Figured I could set the jig up and then cut all the dovetails for the 12 box's in one session.
The jig, at first, does not seem overly robust. Haven't seen or used any others so my impression may be wrong on this. The manual is pretty dismal, took a couple hours of trial and error to get everything locked in the way I wanted. I ended up making 6 "shop box's" before I was happy with the results. The clamping system does an adequate job of holding the wood in the jig. Seems flimsy but does do the job. I agree with the previous reviewer who said to use a straight bit to hog out first then use the dovetail bit to finish. This makes for a nicer finish on the joints, leaving just a little cleanup. Once I got the jig set it did a pretty good job, it repeated nicely and I had no problems with any of the pieces or parts. Counting setup and cutting time it took about 6 hrs to do all 12 box's. I figure that was 4 hrs actually cutting on the jewelry box's. It probably would have taken me 6hrs to cut and fit them by hand. So..two hours of actual labor saved. The joints fit well and look nice, so I guess I am happy with the results. I don't think I would have bought a dovetail jig for myself, or if I had it would have been a much larger one. Would be nice to use one on the hope chest's I seem to making more of. They tend to be 18"-20" deep and cutting the dovetails by hand takes up a lot of time.
That being said, I do miss some of the satisfaction I get out of cutting them by hand. I will keep this jig and use it when I have "production" work to do, but for individually sized box's, I can cut the dovetails by hand in the time it would take to set this jig up.
For the price I think this jig will be hard to beat, and would recommend it as a first jig, or one for occasional use.

I received this as a gift for what I thought would be an "upgrade" from an old Craftsman dovetail jig. The Craftsman saw some heavy use. If not for the plastic construction, it would probably be still in use.
I have also had several opportunities to use the Porter Cable 12" dovetail jig with excellent results.
I have over 25 years experience as a woodworker, building custom cabinets, furniture and other specialty items.
The first time I attempted to work with this Dovetail jig, to add to our bedroom set of Honduran Mahogany, I was livid. The instruction manual is the most useless piece of misinformation I have ever laid my eyes on.
Set your router bit 7/8" below the base as they recommend, and see what happens. One look at the results and it is obvious that this will not produce a workable dovetail.

If you have countless hours to spend trying to figure out how to make this dovetail jig work, go for it... If you want a dovetail jig that will work for YOU - look somewhere else!

I just recently purchased the Jet Dovetail jig, and I have to say I had absolutely no problems with it. I didn't have to make any adjustments besides the fence to get a perfect dovetail the first time used. For the weekend woodworker this jig is definately worth it, considering the low price. The equation in the instruction booklet made no sense, just trial and error on some scrap pieces of wood to set the fence. I gave this jig 5 stars because of the low price and beautiful dovetails this jig produced for me the first time out of the box.

I purchased this and have now returned it. The instructions that come with it give very clear instructions how to assemble and line up the and wood, but not clear at all on setting up the routher to use with it. The instructions walk you through one setup, using I think it was 1/2" material, but if you're using different templates (that they sell) they don't give you any instruction for setup using the other templates, nor do any instructions come with the template. I contacted JET and they mailed to me some further instructions, but they were still very hard to understand. Also unless you dedicate a router to this jig you have to set it up, trial and error, every time till you get it right, then cut your parts. It took me 3 hours and lots of scrap lumber to get a good setup, then the parts cut rather quickly, but my router bit was almost to short to hold in the collet, and wanted to keep pulling down on me. (I was cutting 3/4" material). I think I'm going to try the Porter Cable brand jig, even though it doesn't have the quick clamp system like this one does.

The set up of this jig is totally trial and error and the instruction booklet is loaded with errors. I couldn't believe you actually have to remove some parts to get at adjustments. The set up guide instructs you to do the first trial cut at a bit depth of 7/8". This is extremely dangerous because if you are experimenting with narrow stock, the bit will dig into the metal jig. That's what happened to me, causing a brand new carbide dovetail bit to disintegrate. I'm lucky I wasn't injured. This is a dangerous item and I do not recommend it to anyone.

I have made some drawers with this jig and find it adequate. It has been some time since i read the instructions, and the other reviewers may have a ligitimate complaint about them being poorly written. I had no major problems. Initial adjustment of the jig takes a few minutes. Also initial adjustment of your router takes a little time and maybe a few trial pieces. I recommend buying a good quality dovetail bit. The cheapo bits are generally shorter in legnth and cause it to be inserted way to shallow in your router. This can be dangerous. After everything is set up, making the dovetails is a breeze, just number your pieces and insert them into the jig the right way. The clamps work well and hold the boards firmly. KEEP IN MIND - the jig is not adjustable like a Leigh. I have found that the dovetails end up looking the best if the drawer height is limited to 1" increments. I rated this at 4 stars because i felt that is was a good value for the money. It's certainly not the best jig out there, but i think it has been a great easy to use starter jig (once set up)and i'm sure it will provide good service until i can justify the cost of a larger one.

This product is a nice quality piece of equipment for the money. I would buy it again, and it does what it is advertised to do.

I read the comments about the manual. It's not the best manual, but if you read the manual and follow the directions it's correct. The biggest problem I see from people in here and what I experienced is that you have to follow the text written directions for measuring the router base, wood, and router bit. If you follow the quick reference table, it will not be correct. It doesn't imply some of the proper math. Other than that, it's a drawer making machine!