Elu dovetailing jig - bushing diameter please?

Making progress slowly...

fire65 said:

The Porter Cable, which looks exactly like the Elu, has 1/2" gaps in the fingers, the Leigh is adjustable. I am not familiar with the Elu router, if the Bosch guides fit the router base I see no reason why they would not work.

Click to expand...

Thanks again. I've re-assembled the jig and I'm checking what bushes I have. The spacings on mine are 3/8" or just over 10 mm, so even though there is in fact a 7/16" bush in the Bosch kit, it aint going to work. Only the smallest bush in the kit is fitting in between the jig's fingers, and the dovetail cutter barely clears it. Bosch bushings are a unique bayonet fit, not the standard screw-in type, they won't fit the Elu. It's too cold out in my shed to do any more this evening (-6C) so I'll get back to it tomorrow - next step is to mill some wood and commence experiments.

(I know the red-orange colour combination is terrible, but it's better than rust :laugh2

JC

Do you know the jig model number??

On a whim, I did a Google search for the Elu 40040 dovetail jig and found these UK parts suppliers:

https://www.partshopdirect.co.uk/elu-e40040-type-1-dovetail-jig-spare-parts-s4486/
https://www.mtmc.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=95239&L=1
Elu AccessoriesSpare Parts, Elu Accessories, Attachments and Unpowered Spare Parts on Power Tool Centre
Buy Spare Parts for Elu E40040 DOVETAIL JIG - E40040 Type 1 - Powertool Spares

This site links ELU with the DeWalt dovetail jigs:
https://www.toolsandpartsdirect.co.uk/spare-parts/dewalt-spare-parts/dovetail-jig-spare-parts

If they do not have the part, they made be able to refer to a parts dealer who might??

Also found a similar Elu jig 400-47 on UK-eBay.

John, I could never afford a MOF96 40 years ago, but still have some documentation from a wealthier fellow woodworker. The guide bush is given as 11mm - differed from all other Elu guide bushes, which went up in even mm from 10 up.
The kit came with the attachment you show, the guide bush, the dovetail bit, and a cutter depth gauge.
The bit had to protrude exactly 15mm from the base plate. The cutter depth gauge was really just a bent piece of stiff sheet metal, formed into a U-shape, with a bolt and nut going through the base of the U, and a wing nut to secure the bolt, once properly adjusted. This allowed rapid repeat setup, but the first time still needed test cuts.
The dovetail bit used by Elu was also particular: 8mm shank , 14,3mm largest diameter, 13,5mm cutting height, 15 degree angle.
Having said that, I seem to remember trying out my old Hitachi on the attachment (fitted the same guide bush), with a different dovetail bit. Worked fine, just a bit fiddlier in getting the setup right.
The cutting movement was straight in and out - no in one side, out the other was required. which is not to say that it could not be done with a 10mm guide bushing, using the motion you describe.
BTW, there was a thread on the MOF96 here a while back - one of the contributors posted a wealth of info about Elu.

John, I could never afford a MOF96 40 years ago, but still have some documentation from a wealthier fellow woodworker. The guide bush is given as 11mm - differed from all other Elu guide bushes, which went up in even mm from 10 up.
The kit came with the attachment you show, the guide bush, the dovetail bit, and a cutter depth gauge.
The bit had to protrude exactly 15mm from the base plate. The cutter depth gauge was really just a bent piece of stiff sheet metal, formed into a U-shape, with a bolt and nut going through the base of the U, and a wing nut to secure the bolt, once properly adjusted. This allowed rapid repeat setup, but the first time still needed test cuts.
The dovetail bit used by Elu was also particular: 8mm shank , 14,3mm largest diameter, 13,5mm cutting height, 15 degree angle.
Having said that, I seem to remember trying out my old Hitachi on the attachment (fitted the same guide bush), with a different dovetail bit. Worked fine, just a bit fiddlier in getting the setup right.
The cutting movement was straight in and out - no in one side, out the other was required. which is not to say that it could not be done with a 10mm guide bushing, using the motion you describe.
BTW, there was a thread on the MOF96 here a while back - one of the contributors posted a wealth of info about Elu.

Hi John, At my impecunious worst, I used my friend's aluminium template to make a copy in acrylate (Perspex). Kind of worked, but too finicky to set up. The thing about templates is that it is surprisingly easy to ding them - just try lifting the router a smidgin before the bit is completely clear of the template (you cannot rely on sound to guide you, as the bit will have completed the cut before it exits the template fingers). Steel fingers might be a bit rough on you dovetail bit under the circumstances- can your friend cut aluminium on his plasma cutter?
What the Milescraft thing does, is to give you a master template, from which one makes any number of working templates, from whatever is to hand - mdf being very suitable because of its dimensional stability.
Have a look at the manual on the Milescraft website - it shows how to make full, spaced and angled dovetails and box joints. You may get some ideas for the new templates you want to design.
Where the Elu jig outshines the Milescraft one, is in half-blind dovetails, where both front/back and side are machined in one pass. But remember which way each must face, and against which side of the jig, otherwise you land up with the equivalent of the apocryphal Aussie submarine, where instead of two matching halves, they built two identical halves - the world's first spoon-shaped submarine.
The Milescraft also cannot make rebated dovetails directly. The work-around is to glue on a false front, after completing the through-dovetails.

Nollaig shona dhuit, and all that sort of thing.
Biagio

Setbacks...

Hi Biagio - many thanks again for all the info and the impressive greeting! I haven't had a chance to check out the Milescraft template yet. Well, on my first attempt with the new bushing, disaster immediately struck. In the second finger slot, the bushing seemed to jam, and of course I tried to wiggle it. The router kicked up, we had metal-to-metal, and the results were as you describe - a chunk eaten out of the template and a chunk flown off the cutter, so I'm chastened and back to the credit card. I've ordered a new cutter on Ebay, and I'll make spacer blocks so that routing will re-commence in slot No. 3. I wasn't planning on doing 12" box sides anyway ;-)

Best JC