Customer Reviews

PORTER-CABLE 7216 24-Inch Omnijig

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I looked at a lot of dovetail jigs and narrowed my short list to the PC 24" OmniJig and the Leigh D4. Since I was primarily interested in halfblind production dovetails, I decided on the OmniJig. When I have more time for artisan joinery, I will probably revisit the Leigh D4.

I purchased the 7216 PC OmniJig a couple of months ago and got the 110% price guarantee from Amazon. [...] had it cheaper, so Amazon matched the price + 10%.

I did not have the same problem reported in PBMFIRE's review about the template guide not fitting my router base. I use a Makita 3612C 3.25HP plunge router and the template guide fit perfectly. No modifications or new router bases were required.

The setup video is a very informational if you are not familiar with the unit's configuration. After a few trial cuts and adjustments, I was able to cut rock solid halfblind dovetails in oak. The clamps will leave marks in softwoods like pine but left no marks in the oak stock.

The only drawback with the OmniJig that I am aware of with using the halfblind template is that your joints have to be multiples of 7/8" to get the ends evenly spaced. You just have to plan accordingly when making your designs. I haven't tried the through dovetail template yet, so I cannot comment on it.

There are a couple of upgrades that I would like to see made to the OmniJig.

1) PC is placing scoring lines on some of their new templates to assist with the alignment and setup with the base. This was not done with the 24" OmniJig that I received, but I have seen it offered in advertisements for some of their other products. This would increase repeatability when switching between templates while saving a few test cuts.

2) The left and right adjustable stops could be made differently so that they have positive locks at true 90 degree angles. This would speed up configuration and switch over times. These stops could also be larger so feeding the boards would square up quicker. If the 2 boards are not squared up snugly together, the joint will have gaps in it. I have seen home made jigs added to the OmniJig to help address this issue. This modification would be nice to have as a stock option to speed up production work.

Overall it is a rock solid unit and highly recommended.

I purchased this jig to make thru dovetails on wide boards for hope chests. I normally hand cut them on small boxes, just takes a minute, but on large chest's it can take quite a bit of time to get them all cut just right. This jig lets me cut them accurately, in wide boards, in a very short period of time. I have used the Leigh jig in the past (borrowed one) and it is a hell of a jig, but I don't need the versatility of that jig at this time. I just want to cut accurate thru dovetails in wide boards and man does this jig excell at that. Watching the video and doing a few practice runs are the key here. I use a smaller PC router with a d-handle and real sharp cutters. I find the smaller router does an excellant job and is easier to control. Since most of the chest's are basically the same dimension, set up has become routine and the results are excellent. I have the sliding dovetail fixture also and have used it twice to make tool boxes for hand tools. It is even easier to set up and use and gives great results. As with most tools, the omni jig is not a do all, but it will do everything I want it to do and do it well. Highly recommend.

The Porter-Cable Omnijig seems to be a good solid fixture that should give years of trouble free use out of it, and even be able to hand it down to my son when I am worn out instead. The only trouble I have had, is with Porter-Cable customer service department. The unit was deliveried to me with one cracked plastic knob and one striped knob. I contacted Porter-Cable online, gave them the model number of the unit and the part numbers of the two knobs. They got back to me the next day and asked for the serial number; I got back to them with the serial number and the next day they sent me back an email stating it was incorrect. So I sent them a photo of the serial number, the next day they told me I needed to fax them the receipt. Instead I went to the local hardware store spent $2.00 to replace the broken knobs and notified Porter-Cable cutomer service that they are off my vendor list for my cabinet making business. I have numerous Porter-Cable power tools, but because of $2.00 worth of knobs I will not be adding to them.

I actually bought the 16 inch jig, but because they are the same I thought I'd post here where there are more comments.

I had bought the Leigh jig about 2 years ago, but after two weeks of frustration and numerous phone calls I sent it back. I could not get the fit and repeatability I was looking for. I visited a fellow woodworker who had the PC omnijig, when I arrived he was blasting out drawers at a speed unknown to me for a home shop. After that I purchased the PC but it has been sitting there waiting for me to get to it. Today I got it out. I built a riser to clamp to the bench as I think these jigs work better and are less tiring at eye level. Put some good bracing on the riser as it will flex as you work the clamps I did not buy the video and used the manual which I must admit is not very good. But it had enough direction to get through it with some woodworking experience and common sense. I completed the setups to the manual specifications and required only a slight tweak on the vertical board ruler adjustment to get the edges to line up. Do yourself a favor and get a 15/16 deep socket if you don't have one, it's much easier to hand tighten the clamp nuts when you can reach in with the socket and the extension. Please note though I did not use the ratchet, the extension just made it easy to get to and turn to hand tighten.

The router collar fit onto my PC router fine and there was no issue with the bit or anything to do with the router. The bit depth setup took awhile, the manual gives you no start point so I started with a 1/4 depth below the colar on 1/2 stock, you will have to go deeper somewhere around 3/8 maybe below the collar. I didn't continue to fuss with it as I quickly learned that very small changes have a big effect on snugness or looseness, do the best you can and stop fooling with it as you won't get it perfect. With the manual setup on the Template guide to the 19/32 dimension I did not get a flush condition form side to side the Dovetails stuck out past the sides of the drawer. I had to move the template guide back about 1/8 of an inch from the recommended dimension, again the manual is terrible as to how to do it. Loosen the guide knobs and to gain access to turn the threaded nut in the desired direction to move the guide forward or towards the back, remember to adjust the opposite side the same amount. Even after you do this like the other adjustment it won't be perfect. I decided to have it stand a slight amount proud of the opposite surface and will just hit it with a time sander when it's glued up to make it flush.

After the setups I made a very respectable drawer in less than 5 minutes, a real time saver. I very much like this guide and am glad I bought it, it has quality written all over it. I'm excited that the next chest of drawers won't be the PIA it normally is and they look a whole lot better.

A couple more tips, dedicate a router to this job and leave the bit setup in it. You don't want to setup every time you use it. Hold the router flat against the guide and don't let it rock as you move from right to left. Like the Leigh jig you will not get a good fit if it tilts. Make sure the boards are clamped tightly, it's an over the center clamp and it looses pressure at either stop limit. Mark the boards sides, front, back inside and outside like the manual says and pay attention to what you are doing as it is easy to put it in the opposite way or use the wrong piece.

The 7216 Omnijig comes with a template guide which unfortunately will require you to find, or make, a new sub-base to accomodate it. I fabricated one but the time consumption seemed unnecessary.

The only other weakness witnessed in the unit was the scarring on the template where the guide rides it. It is about $80 to replace and seems to new to show such wear.

The tool does as advertised and performs flawlessly once you have peformed all recommended settings.

I have the 24" Omnijig in a small production cabinet shop, we build 20-30 dovetail drawers a month. This jig works pretty well, except just one issue. There is a pin that connects the handle to the part clamp bar, and this pin is too small, and is constantly needing to be replaced. Beyond that, we really like the jig, it is very solid and well built.

I'm going to cut dovetails within the next two weeks. But not with this jig. I bought this unit more than 10 years ago and at that time Porter Cable used to supply a VHS video with the unit. My video arrived cracked and unusable. After repeated calls to their customer service I gave up trying to get it replaced. You'd think that after spending over $300.00 for the basic unit (1996 prices) and another couple hundred for additional templates that it would be fairly simple to aquire the cheap video replacement that was needed. Not on your life! Porter Cable made me feel as if I was asking for the combination to the safe. They wanted proof of purchase, serial numbers, reciepts...and then they wanted me to send the damaged VHS back to them before they would send me another one. I was going to try cutting dovetails again last week but now I can't find the instructions and the unit is no longer made and besides I would need a DVD since I no longer own a video player. I haven't used the unit for years and this week I remembered why. I don't like the company anymore. It started me thinking about why I bought DeWalt cordless drills and Jet sanders and Laguna bandsaws and the list goes on and on. After they pulled this stunt about the "valuable" VHS I got angry and never bought another Porter Cable tool again. (That was about $9000.00 ago) I'm still going to make machine cut dovetails in the next two weeks, but that will be after my new Leigh jig arrives.

I spent a lot of time and effort reserching dovetail jigs before I made my purchase 2 yrs ago. I decided on the Leigh D4R 24" dovetail jig, the best woodworking decision I have ever made. Unlike Porter Cable, the Leigh jig is made from a "extruded hunk of aluminum" and CNC'd to within 1/10,000 of an inch. The other nice thing about the jig is its ease of use compared to a lot of other jigs. Leigh just dropped their price on the DR4 to 399.00, and its worth every penny, go to their website before you drop 300.00 on a Porter Cable jig!