Has anyone used a lock miter bit?

dustmaster · 2004-12-20

It looks pretty nice and seems to make a good joint. Do they come in different sizes or can one size be used for different widths of wood. Any information is appreciated. (as always)

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drbbob

· #21 · Jan 23, 2011

Hey Bob J.... This might sound stupid, but.............
what is the reason you would not use these bits for drawer boxes ? I thought I saw some bits from Amana that were made for that. Or we talking about two different bits ? I have a porter cable dove tail jig, but the set up time varies from quick to " I think its nap time." The stock has to centered between the fingers, or the off set will be off. That's why I thought it would be quicker to rout the stock and then cut it to size. ( My boss wants a lot of different size drawers in her cabinets. )

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jlord

· #22 · Jan 23, 2011

drbbob said:
Hey Bob J.... This might sound stupid, but.............
what is the reason you would not use these bits for drawer boxes ? I thought I saw some bits from Amana that were made for that. Or we talking about two different bits ? I have a porter cable dove tail jig, but the set up time varies from quick to " I think its nap time." The stock has to centered between the fingers, or the off set will be off. That's why I thought it would be quicker to rout the stock and then cut it to size. ( My boss wants a lot of different size drawers in her cabinets. )

Hi Bob.
What type of dovetails are you trying to make. Half-blind dovetails are quick to make once set up & are the preferred for drawers. Through-dovetails are more for boxes. The first setup shouldn't take long as long as you use some basic measurements when sizing your drawers. After that you do not need to change any settings even if you change thickness of material as the joints are referenced off he inside of the joint. If having any problems post it & we will see if we can help adjust it for you.

There is another bit that looks like the lock miter bit but it is a little different. It is a drawer lock bit. It has a little different profile.

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bobj3

· #23 · Jan 23, 2011 (Edited)

Hi Bob

The lock M. bit is one of the hardest bit to setup and use, it needs that very fine edge on all the parts, if it's off by just a little you just made some fire wood, the drawer needs to be dead on, with the Through-dovetails all that's needed is to cut the parts for the drawer to fit in the hole..put the dovetails in place and you are done and it's very strong ,many don't like to see the dovetails of the front side of the drawer but a easy fix with the same stock as the panels/doors etc.glued/screw to the front side of the drawers, no need to use the best high end wood for the drawers, many like to see a overlay on the drawers and by using the glue and screw way it's a easy job,,keep it in the KISS way..

once the drawer box is in the hole it's easy job to put the fronts on..unlike the blind or the M.L. way..

Don't forget about the drawer guides if you going to use them,they need room in the hole to work ,that's why you need to use the glue on fronts the norm.

=========

drbbob said:
Hey Bob J.... This might sound stupid, but.............
what is the reason you would not use these bits for drawer boxes ? I thought I saw some bits from Amana that were made for that. Or we talking about two different bits ? I have a porter cable dove tail jig, but the set up time varies from quick to " I think its nap time." The stock has to centered between the fingers, or the off set will be off. That's why I thought it would be quicker to rout the stock and then cut it to size. ( My boss wants a lot of different size drawers in her cabinets. )

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dovetail_65

· #24 · Jan 23, 2011 (Edited)

I don't even try to use the MITER lock bits anymore, they are a hassle.

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drbbob

· #25 · Jan 23, 2011

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten into the dovetail jig discussion. I now know that a miter lock bit and a drawer lock bit are two different animals. so-- has anyone had any luck using a drawer lock bit ? Are they as big a pain as a miter lock bit ?

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dovetail_65

· #26 · Jan 23, 2011

Actually, no, the drawer lock bit is simpler to use. I meant miter lock bit, I mis-typed.

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jlord

· #27 · Jan 23, 2011 (Edited)

drbbob said:
Maybe I shouldn't have gotten into the dovetail jig discussion. I now know that a miter lock bit and a drawer lock bit are two different animals. so-- has anyone had any luck using a drawer lock bit ? Are they as big a pain as a miter lock bit ?

Hi Bob,
The drawer lock bit is much easier to setup. As for the lock miter bit for drawer boxes I have done this once for a customer. He wanted the joints to be put together with a lock miter. The drawers work fine but not worth the amount of work to get right for drawer boxes. I use this bit for columns & newels were you need a strong mitered corner joint.

If using an applied drawer front or not I would stick with the half-blind dovetail or the drawer lock bit. For kitchen cabs & bath vanities I use the half-blind dovetails. My Porter Cable jig is always setup & ready for a drawer project. Just have to cut my drawer sizes accordingly for centered joints which is no problem.

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jlord

· #28 · Jan 24, 2011 (Edited)

drbbob said:
Hey Bob J.... This might sound stupid, but.............
what is the reason you would not use these bits for drawer boxes ? I thought I saw some bits from Amana that were made for that. Or we talking about two different bits ? I have a porter cable dove tail jig, but the set up time varies from quick to " I think its nap time." The stock has to centered between the fingers, or the off set will be off. That's why I thought it would be quicker to rout the stock and then cut it to size. ( My boss wants a lot of different size drawers in her cabinets. )

Hi Bob,
Setting up your jig is not really that hard or time consuming once you understand the drawer sizing. PC uses 1” increments for the joint spacing. To have a joint with half pins top & bottom for a centered joint the sizing of drawer parts are 1” increments + 1/4” so your drawer parts will be ripped to 2-1/4” 3-1/4”, 4-1/4”, 5-1/4” etc. The jig has stops to offset your parts & each corner joint is machined at the same time. Design your drawer openings with these sizes in mind.

If you have a drawer opening of 5” your drawer box height would be the 4-1/4”. If using side mount slides this is enough room top to bottom. If using undermount slides I would suggest add an extra 1/8” to the height of the opening for a little extra room or use the 3-1/4” drawer height. You can use ¼” ply for the drawer bottoms. You can route a ¼” dado ½” up from the bottom. This will put the groove in the center of the tails & will not be seen when opening the drawer.

Your bit height will be in the neighborhood of 5/8" from the base of you router. 1/4" for the dovetail template & 3/8" for the joint. That should get you in the ballpark. You just need to fine tune it very little to get the tightness of fit you desire. Once you find your sweet spot you can route all your parts off this same setting using 1/2" t0 1-1/8" material. The joints will always fit the same.

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Marco

· #29 · Jan 24, 2011

Glad you Posted that jlord

jlord said:
Hi Bob,
Setting up your jig is not really that hard or time consuming once you understand the drawer sizing. PC uses 1” increments for the joint spacing. To have a joint with half pins top & bottom for a centered joint the sizing of drawer parts are 1” increments + 1/4” so your drawer parts will be ripped to 2-1/4” 3-1/4”, 4-1/4”, 5-1/4” etc. The jig has stops to offset your parts & each corner joint is machined at the same time. Design your drawer openings with these sizes in mind.

If you have a drawer opening of 5” your drawer box height would be the 4-1/4”. If using side mount slides this is enough room top to bottom. If using undermount slides I would suggest add an extra 1/8” to the height of the opening for a little extra room or use the 3-1/4” drawer height. You can use ¼” ply for the drawer bottoms. You can route a ¼” dado ½” up from the bottom. This will put the groove in the center of the tails & will not be seen when opening the drawer.

Your bit height will be in the neighborhood of 5/8" from the base of you router. 1/4" for the dovetail template & 3/8" for the joint. That should get you in the ballpark. You just need to fine tune it very little to get the tightness of fit you desire. Once you find your sweet spot you can route all your parts off this same setting using 1/2" t0 1-1/8" material. The joints will always fit the same.

I finally got to aquaint myself with my new PC Dovetail Jig this weekend...... jlord, I wish you had written the manual for PC as what you wrote would have saved me a lot of time and frustration. I won't kidnap this thread but will likely be asking for some clarity on the PC Dovetail jig in the near future as well as some helpful hints and will look forward to your response

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codafile

· #30 · Jan 30, 2011

Wowww, all set to make/replace drawers in my kitchen cabinet after reading the reviews, now bobj3 dos'nt recommend this type of joint, is there a valid reason for this?

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