I don't have any of Sommerfield's jigs but I do have three of his sets including tongue and groove and a couple of the rail and stiles sets. I like them and the main reason is his selling point that when switching bits I do not have to adjust the height. When edging boards with the tongue and groove set, the alignment is as good as with my Domino. That's been my experience. JimE

 

I have several sets, including the glass panel and Shaker door set. They are great, seem very well made and the matched feature is really nice. I have the easy set jig for setting his brand of bits. What makes this so nice to use is that it adjusts to the thickness of the workpiece, so setup is very precise and easy. You may find yourself not bothering with test pieces after awhile. I fear I sometimes sound like a shill for the company, but Sommerfeld has earned my respect by producing good (if a little pricey) products. There are many brands of bits and jigs out there, but I think Sommerfeld's are hard to beat. His videos have been among the most helpful I've seen and I have the full set. Lots of good technique and he stays with the process all the way through so you don't miss a thing, or a trick.

 

Thanks all,
What better advice can one get ? Those that have been there and done it. That have first hand experience on those things, that some of us are about to embark upon. I love this site and all the helpful advice that can be found within by a multitude of sources you the woodworkers yourselves. I will post back once I get my own Sommerfeld router bit sets and let everyone know how they worked out.

 

Hey Jack,,, me again

Sommerfeld is some good stuff!!! Even if Mark has resourced his bits, I'd bet a dollar to a donut that he has em spec'd out to meet the same high standards of the old bits.
Bout the only jig of his I have is the "Easy Set-up jig"...works beautifully!!
As far as router bits go, I have the "Ultimate Rabbet" set, 6 piece "Joint making" set, 12 piece 3-wingslot cutting set, 3 piece glue joint set and a couple of singles...only ever had one problem. A small chunk of a cutter broke off. I contacted Sommerfeld, advised them as to what had happened and they said they'd replace it as soon as I sent it back to em. Fair enough I thought. Couple of weeks went by and nothing,,, couple more weeks and still nothing, finally I got a bit anxious and made a call. After a little digging, I guess they just lost my bit in the sauce somewhere.. They were indeed, very kind about it, shipped the replacement the next day. In two days I not only had my bit but they sent along the entire DVD collection as an apology. Now not too much surprises my wife when it comes to my wood working stuff, but she was floored by this, thoroughly impressed by the company...as am I

Bill

 

@TwoSkies57 I've had a couple of interactions with Mark and staff, not problems, but suggestions. Aren't those videos great? Really walks you through the process. And I like the wooden cases in which the bit sets are packaged. Very protective. I think I learned more from those than any other videos.

 

Thanks Twoskies57 Great info you have provided. I received an email from Sommerfeld Tools today. Answering my questions that I had and I was impressed with their response. Going to let me have a military discount. Which is really awesome they don't have too. I just have to prove that I am a Veteran. That is not hard, sent them a scan of my Veteran's ID Card. I hope to hear back from them tomorrow I will be ordering all of my bits from there along with the videos to refresh the old brain. There are so many ways to build a cabinet now days. I will also order the jigs especially the easy set-up jig. The eyes are not the same any more the meds the VA doctors have me on are affecting my eye sight. I will also be moving forward with the Incra table purchase and your input there along with others was extremely insightful and educational. I am going to have to practice like I was back in woodshop in high school and try to forget all the things I know old school and embrace new ways a doing things. I have shied away from dovetails but not anymore.

 

CMT, Freud, and Amana were all on par with each other when tested by Fine Woodworking in 2007. Whiteside and Eagle America (which I've always heard was made by Whiteside) tested at the very top but would lack the set up ease of the Sommerfeld set. If CMT no longer makes the Sommerfeld bits I'm sure Marc would make sure that they are at least as good as they were before. He doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would settle for something inferior. I haven't dealt with him that much because of the border and shipping issues but the CS was top notch.

 

@CM1 Jack, I also have their Katey Jig for cutting dovetails on the router table. It is much easier to use than conventional dovetail jig. The videos will show how to use it. There are other great brands and versions of the table top dovetail jig, including one that is much larger. I just like doing business with Sommerfeld and don't need the extra long jig.

If you are going to use pocket screws to assemble cabinet carcasses, you can get the Kreg setup (K4 kit works fine). Pocket hole construction is remarkably strong, and if you add glue, joints aren't going to come apart. You have to think carefully about where to place the screws so they are not visible.

If you're going to assemble using rabbits and dados plus glue, you might consider one of the precise fit devices or a home made jig. I have and like the DadoWiz, but there are several other devices out there. I know Rockler has one and I have seen others. Here is a video on a shop made exact fit dado jig, which is a good option:

With most of the commercial devices you'll need a straight edge guide that fits the device. Some of these come with clamps, but they lose their grip after awhile, so you'll need regular clamps to make it work.

 

I want to THANK all who responded to my question on which router bits to buy. I waited and just purchased a Craftsman 30 piece Router Bit set on sale for $69.99, but I used my Sears points and actually got the set for $45.00. the guys told me what to look for and this set has everything I will need to get started. The router forum community has been fantastic and the advice one gets is great. I'm getting ready to start on a project once the weather finally gets nice out. Again Thanks for all the helpful advice.

Rick

 

Also and a little off topic has anyone used Sommerfeld Tools jigs?
I.E. easy set up jig, Easy hinge boring jig, hardware marking jig.

I have the Shaker and glass door set and it worked well on the test piece I made to see if my wife would like it (jury is out still!). Easy to set up using the Easy Set jig.
I also bought the Easy Bore jig for drilling the hinge mounting holes. It works well, BUT I would advise getting the hinges from Sommerfeld. I notice that the two side holes that it drills are not just screw, but are larger to encompass the plastic inserts that some hinges have. Some hinges from Rockler, for example, require just screw holes for bare screws. But the prices that Sommerfeld has on the hinges is good, and the service is very good, so I plan to order the rest of the hinges I need from him.

Larry

 

Larry you can buy both from most suppliers ,just make sure you specify in inserts, no inserts

 

Good to know - this is my first foray into mounting Blum hinges. I was startled to see the size of holes that the Sommerfeld jig made on the side, but it matched the hinges he sent along. I just finished a Kitchen Cabinet class at my local Rockler, and the Blum hinges we used just had screws on the sides. I wanted the OP to be aware that the Sommerfeld jig requires the hinges with inserts.


Larry

 

Re reading this string reminds me how good Sommerfelt and several other suppliers are at customer service. We should be grateful for the companies that refuse to sell out their brand to be exploited by some big, (stupid?) corporation where not a soul does or respects woodworking.

 

I would like to also comment on how great Mark and his company are. I just received my rail and style with panel bit ysterday and couldnt wait to get home check out this matched height feature. I couldnt beleive how smooth things went together using there easy set jig. I will be doing more cabinets with raised panel doors in the future. Mark answered all my questions quickly and will be ordering more from him soon, I especially want to get his tongue and groove set for my next cabinet.

 

I have 4 different sets from Sommerfeld 2 different rail & stiles sets a juniors rail & stile set
And the tongue and groove set.
Great customer service and I have been dealing with Mark for a long time.
The only complaint I have with Summerfeld is that Mark needs to make more videos most informative videos I have ever seen.
I wished I had a need for his bit set for curved cabinets would love to try it!

 

The advantage of having his videos is that you can watch them just before doing a project so it's fresh in your mind. I'm with semipro on the videos. They are very simple, no fancy cuts or not-so-clever reparte', just the facts mam.