emailtim

Hi All,

I am a newbie here and am looking for a good dove tail jig/machine to do kitchen, bath, closet and furniture projects. I have browsed the web as well as read the posts here to discover 2-24" dove-tail jigs (Porter Cable and Leigh).

http://www.portercable.com/index.asp?e=547&p=4951

The Leigh looks like the best, but the Porter Cable looks better on the wallet. I would appreciate it if anyone could share their personal feedback on this product and/or recommend some better 24" units.

I want something quick, durable, versatile and accurate.

Sincerely,
Tim

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Billwolley

Hi Tim,

I have the 24" Porter Cable Omnijig and it works very well. The Leigh, which I've never used, has an excellent reputation. I really don't know which one is best because of my inexperience with Leigh. I can tell you that the PC Omnijig does help you do a great job but everything is in the setup no matter what dovetail machine you use. If you are new to making dovetails you've got a learning curve to deal with. I hope you have plenty of scrap wood for practice. If you get the Omnijig it comes with a very good video and owners manual. The video takes you through the setup for each of their templates. I've read that the Leigh also has a very good user manual.
Both of the units you are looking at meet your requirements and I am not aware of a better machine than either of these. Perhaps somebody else will suggest another machine to compare against the PC and Leigh.
Best of luck.

Bill

jeff12002

I personally own the Leigh D4, and recently purchased the Leigh FMT as well. I however made my dovetail jig purchase with the intention of using the jig with the isolock templates as well. I am extremely happy with my purchase. (It was the right decision for me)
If all I had intended to use the jig for was making dovetails, My choice would have been the omnijig. From what I gather, It's a bit more like a commercial machine (More robust) And it also weighs more.
As far as adjustable doetail jigs go, I believe that the two you are considering are the best.
Good luck in your decision.
Jeff

emailtim

Thanks for your help. I picked up the PC OmniJig 7216.

Sincerely,
Tim

emailtim

Bill,

I decided on the PC 24" OmniJig . After a couple of test cuts, it produced a very nice half-blind dovetail.

It seems very solid. The only drawback I see is that you need to design your drawer heights in multiples of 7/8" to get evenly spaced ends.

Thanks,
Tim

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jerrymayfield

Almost any jig will cut nice half-blind (lapped) dovetails. One of the major advantages of the Leigh is the variable spacing that isn't available on the PC.

Regards
Jerry

emailtim

Jerry,

FWIW, the PC 7216 can cut variable spaced through dove tails. See attached picture of variable spacing template.

Cheers,
Tim

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awh

I was seaching and came upon this thread... I have both the Porter Cable Omnijig and Leigh. Price-wise they are nearly identical (when you puchase the optional templates for the Omnijig) and there is nothing the Leigh jig can do that the Omnijig can't do... the only difference is that with the Omnijig to get variable spaced dovetails you need the optional template. They both work very well and I'd give a slight edge to the Porter Cable for easy of use and repeatability.


Tony

jerrymayfield

You are absolutely correct. This must be relatively new they weren't that way when I bought the Leigh.

Regards

Jerry