Improve your Porter Cable DoveTail Jig for consistent results.
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
- Porter Cable DoveTail Jig, Models 4210, 4212, and 4216 is a good jig and with a few easy improvements it can be turned into a great jig that gives consistent results.
My Channel: / @steven.woodward
Best video I’ve seen on the Porter Cable today! I like your speed, lack of humor, and focus. This is a dangerous tool which is why I’m watching several videos prior to unboxing my 4216. I feel you have raised my confidence with this tool, plus possibly reduced my scrap pile!
One of the largest benefits you displayed although did not discuss was the removal of the aluminum finger guide while setting wood in place and aligning / measuring. You placed the template on at the end which made the alignments more logical and achievable.
Thank you,
J.
Thanks for the feedback Jonathan. Motivates me to make more video.
I genuinely admire your attention to detail in your work. You appear to be a true craftsman, Sir. Thank you for you instruction.
Ok … I consider myself a pretty clever guy, that sticker on the front irritated the hell out of me, curled over making it hard to feed the material. *NEVER* occurred to me to remove it!! Thanks for the tip! Great video!
This is the best Porter Cable jig video I’ve watched by far. Thank you for sharing these tips. I just received mine so I’ll be sure to implement these great tips to develop good habits from the beginning. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I just bought this jig, hopefully some of these issues have been resolved.
Have you ever tried to make the face board and the front half blind board the same board? And for an inset cabinet? That's what I'm doing and whew... it's tough! We'll see how it turns out, but I've never seen anyone do that other than antique dressers (which is where I got the idea).
The crisp, clear and concise narrative tops off the great tips.
Thanks for the detailed video. It would help to show exactly where to position the v groove. assume it should be the bottom of the groove. I like the idea to remove the label and adding the clamp.
Steve. I've been watching woodworking home videos for the past few years. Yours is the best. You are a precision kind of guy, explain things very well. Hope to visit you again. Stay Safe...and sane....
Just bought my 4216 jig. This is such valuable information, always nice to hear tips and tricks from the experienced. Thx for posting, sir.
Wow! That was outstanding! Thanks for taking the time to share such a professionally presented video for us!
I appreciate your sharing of how you glue up your boxes with the clamp setup.
Thanks once again.
I assume from your video that you cut the drawer stock exactly to the desired dimensions before you make your dovetail joints?
Yes, I cut the drawer pieces to exact final dimensions before cutting dovetail joints.
Great tips! Thanks so much!
pura vida Don Steven great review and thanks for sharing your knowledge about woodworking and little details about each dovetail process and gluing technique . pura vida
Steve you are a master of making good products great !! Please keep making these very informative and educational videos with the point delivery. Thanks and wishing you happy holidays !!
Thanks Ashok. More video are coming, slowly. If you are interested in dust collection, this is my latest video: ruclips.net/video/QBrFtpTK-5k/видео.html
Excellent video! Great tips! Using the lubricant is genius!!
I have been enriched, thank you Steve for these great tips with the Jig.
Thank you Steve. I have been using this Porter Cable tool suite for a couple of years and your instructional video will certainly bring me to the next level. btw - You are an excellent instructor and videographer as well.
I reworked the material hold down treaded rods or bolds if you will. I took the 1/4 inch studs out for the lock down drilled and taped it for 3/8 got some 3/8 threaded rod cut to the same length as the 1/4 inch bolts plus enough for a nut underneath. Cleaned up the threads and threaded it in put the nuts underneath and locked the studs down.. Then I drilled out the hold down plate and the hold down pivots or bushing what ever you want to call them to 2 sizes larger than 3/8 put the springs back on and the plate and lock down pivot with the lock down shaft. Then threaded the adjustment knobs back on. Did this to both top and side locks. Now when I lock down the boards the rods don't bend outwards and the lock down shaft won't pop out. Works great
Very good video thanks
Yep, good info, I incorporated most of these into my new jig and it made a big difference. Here's 2 other things I found that i was doing wrong. My collet on my PC690 router wasn't tight enough and my bit was working its way down. That ruined several of my work pieces. Also, i switched from my plunge base to the fixed base. Its lighter and more compact, making it easier to maneuver. It seems that I was tilting it at the beginning of the cut which would make the tail board cuts very uneven and produce a big visible gap. Between those 2 things and your tips, im in production with very nice results.
Terrific video with excellent instruction. Thanks for sharing this.
Excellent job! Thanks for sharing!
Nice boxes, well done
Excellent tips for improving cuts. Thank you for posting. This will make things easier when setting up my jig.
May 16, 2024, 9;28 AM.
I’ve just watched your video on your improvements for Porter Cable dovetail jig. It was very interesting & helpful. I noticed how easily your prices fit together, mine are always very tight & require significant pounding to get the pieces to seat. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you for your video & response!
Cam Elliott
I have
This answer is from the Instruction book, when cutting half-blind dovetails (as shown in video).: "For joints that are too loose, adjust your router to make a deeper cut.
For joints that are too tight, adjust your router to make a more shallow cut. "
The joints in video are a just a little too loose for my liking. For me the perfect fit is when the joint can be assembled half way by hand without glue, Then apply glue and tap the joint home without worry of it coming apart.
Hope this is helpful
This is really helpful. I’ve had such a hard time with those black brackets moving around. I never thought to add a bolt on the top side. I’m definitely going to do that. Thank you!
Sometimes the simple solutions are not obvious. I used my dovetail jig for years before adding that bolt. Finally got fed up with the thing, and decided to search for every source of variation, and see if I could eliminate the variation.
Excellent
Very smart, thanks for sharing
Wonderful advice! Thanks for a great video.
I too appreciate this video very much. It has been invaluable to me and my drawer box builds. I wonder of you are still replying to comments on this video. I have a problem and could use your input. I am having trouble getting the bottom edge of all corners to be aligned. I took your advice and drilled and tapped for a second screw on the edge guide. That improves the inconsistency I was experiencing, but… I get three corners of the box to be completely flush but one corner is slightly off (~1/16”). It’s is not a terribly critical issue as I usually just flush it up with a bench plane. But with your video I have been able to get incredibly consistent half-blind dovetails. It frustrates me that I cannot figure out how to eliminate this inconsistency.
Have you seen this? Any suggestions you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Les
Possible causes that I can think of: 1) The width of the 4 boards is not consistent. Width should be same at each end of board, and all boards same width. 2) when two boards are clamped in place, sometimes one of them moves slightly out of registration. I like to check with a ruler to make sure they are offset by exactly 1/2 inch, as shown at 4 minutes in the video. Hope this works for you, and either way, let us know.
Thanks for the prompt reply and the helpful suggestions. I did find that one of my test pieces was a bit tapered (planer snipe) and was the cause of the misalignment. I ran a few more tests; although not perfect, I am getting a workable result. Much better than before I installed the second screw in the offset guide. Thanks for such a wonderful video and for you willingness to help!
One more question: when I set up my Porter Cable dovetail jig to do 4” drawer sides, I center the drawer side (vertical boards) between the template fingers. When I install 6” drawer sides into the jig set up for 4” drawers, I find that the 6” board is not centered along the template fingers. My question is once I set up the jig for 4” drawers, can I use it t successfully make 6, 7, 8, 10” drawers without resetting the jig? I recall the instruction manual stating that the template fingers use a 1” spacing. These are half-blind dovetails, btw.
@@les264 The Porter Cable instruction manual recommends drawer height of 1.25 or 2.25 or 3.25 or 4.25, etc inches, when making 1/2" half blind dovetails. I have always stuck with these drawer heights and dovetails end up centred. So can't answer your question with any expertise .
very well done video!!! thanks for the tips, they will be a huge help to me - I have 3 kitchens I am working on right now.. I am a cabinet maker and this is the first time using dovetail drawers, so you have help me tons!!!!
Great stuff. Thanks for sharing this!
excellent suggestions... as the results demonstrate. thanks for sharing.
The major issue I had with my 4212 was that the black brackets that are supposed to correctly position the drawer end...ARE NOT SQUARE! I get better results positioning and measuring the end piece position relative to the actual jig "teeth".
Very concise. Thank you.
I just got my PC Jig and got it dialed in for half blind dovetails. I tried the nut behind the brass adjusting knob. It worked with the half blind dovetail template, but not with the half blind box template. I could not get that template in close enough. A 3/8 jam nuts may work. I made 6 test joints to get it dialed in and would like to offer my observations. 1) the scribed line on the template is to wide to be useful, or maybe it is just not correct on my fixture. By the time I got it dial in, the far edge of the line was aligned with the joint. 2) Getting the template square to the work is also critical. I used a digital calipers to set the template .365" from the face of the vertical work piece to get a flush fit. I clamped 2 pieces, one on each end of the fixture and adjusted the template square with the work pieces. 3) The other issue I had was the black edge stop. My guide was about .010 off. That is, the edges of the finished pieces were off set about .010. After positioning the vertical piece centered on the template fingers, I used a .010" feeler gauge between the black edge stop and the work piece and tightened the screw. This allowed me to position the horizontal piece .010 to the left. I will probably file .010 off the stop gauge. I would also recommend getting a Linemaster foot switch (Amazon). It will let you keep both hands on the router. All in all, I think I will be happy with the fixture.
Looks like each jig has its own set of challenges. Thanks for sharing your findings - others will benefit. Before filing the black edge stop it would be interesting to measure the distance between the two edges of the stop and see if the distance is 1/2 inch or something else. If something other than 1/2 inch then stop must be filed to achieve 1/2 inch, but if the the distance is 1/2 inch then maybe look more for other causes such as 1) boards not meeting squarely with the stop - in this case the stop needs to be squared up, 2) board edges not jointed to 90 degrees...
@@steven.woodward I checked the left end stop gauge as you suggested. With my .010 shim setup, It measured 1/2" offset, as it should. Eye balling, is only good for about +/- .005, so, in my judgment, my .010 shim setting got me pretty close. Not leaving well enough alone, I wanted to check the stop bracket. The horizontal work piece was touching the far end of the gauge and I could see a gap between the work piece and the front of the gauge near the bend. To further check, I used a machinist scale pressed against the side of the horizontal work piece and touching the far end of the stop gauge. I used a feeler gauge to measured the gap at the bend at .014". As such, the fault was a bit more than the .010 adjustment I had made on my test pieces. I concur that every jig may have to be fine tuned to work properly. Filing the bracket is an expedient solution, I think that Porter Cable people should give some though to adding a tab with an adjusting screw to the bracket similar to the bit adjustment feature. One other thing I should have commented on, has to do with the guide bushings. I have a Bosch 1617EVS router with RA1129 quick change template guide bushing adapter. I was concerned that I would have to buy a PC adapter base to able to use the fixture guide bushings. My surprise that the PC bushings fit my Bosch QC adapter. I also ran a very fine grit sand paper over the template to remove the burrs and then applied past car wax.
Great video, thank you for sharing.
excellent clear instructions!!
Awesome video thanks for the tips
good stuff !
Very good. Thank you.
Well Done!!
Great mic btw
Thanks for feedback. Video and microphone all shot with my little old Canon SD4000. So much depends on voice projection. www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd4000is
Great video! Thank you!
Thanks for this video. I am having an issue where the top board gets pushed back from the proper position as I route (the right edge seems to slip backwards). I will try adding a scrap piece to the hold down clamp as you suggested (I was working with 7.25 inch wide board). It also occurred to me that some sticky back sandpaper on the top surface of the jig would help. I think its added thickness would not matter, as you bring the front piece up to be flush. The adhesive holds the sandpaper to the jig.
Assuming you already have self adhesive sandpaper attached to the pressure bar, and pressure bar knobs are adjusted for even pressure, and pressure bar cam is working fine, then the next step would be self adhesive sandpaper to the top surface. Let us know how it goes.
@@steven.woodward I realized after writing you that the added thickness of the abrasive might raise the wood above the height of the edge positioning fixture. A better source of this material might be anti-slip tapes for stair steps or even bathrooms - normal PSA backed abrasives are sold in larger and wider rolls than needed. I do need to try the scrap wood insert first.
@@ctmurray if scrap wood insert does not do it, then try adjusting the two knobs on top of the pressure bar, so that the pressure bar exerts more pressure on the side of board that is slipping. Another thought: perhaps the sandpaper, on bottom of pressure bar, has become slick and need to be replaced. And one more thought: is the router bit dull, causing excessive force on the piece of wood ?
@@steven.woodward Thanks for the input. I had not been using a scrap piece of wood, and I have high hopes this evens out the pressure across the bar. I have adjusted the knobs on top, and I keep tightening them, and thus was surprised when this last test cut slipped a bit, again I should have had a scrap piece. I am willing to tighten them more and really press even harder. I don't think the top sandpaper has gotten too worn out, I have not made very many cuts, this is my first time using so maybe 10 cuts so far in my tests for setting the bit. I worry that the bit could be dull even with this few cuts, I only have access to a 1/4 router and had to purchase a third party bit, I do have to press inward quite a bit. And the router is weak, 1050 watts, so 1.5 HP. I am doing this in a community workshop. I purchased the jig and the router bit but the router is theirs. I am really glad I found your video, very helpful.
@@ctmurray A couple more thoughts: 1) you are likely using the cam lever to lock the pressure bar down, but thought I should mention that in case you are trying to lock down with just the knobs. I adjust the knobs so that the cam lever is beginning to grab the wood when the lever is a mid position (straight up for the top clamp) then have lots of room to clamp down hard with the lever. 2) is it a carbide tipped router bit ?
Thanks for the info!!
Great video Steve, I just got this jig and haven’t used it yet but just watching videos on it’s use to see if I can pick up some tricks and ur’s was very useful, thankx
The extra screw you drilled and tapped in the stop, does that not take away your ability to adjust? Great work on the video!
Yes the extra screw does take away the ability to adjust, however once set correctly, I have no desire to adjust.
I was thinking the same thing.
@@steven.woodward are you plaining all parts to exact same thickness... or what variable is it that you control so that you never have to adjust?
I assume you never change material thickness.
@@allensupcycle1958 Once the jig is set up to make joints that fit nicely, I found that I can change material thickness without adjusting the jig and the joints fit the same. This may seem counterintuitive, but it worked for me.
I appreciate wanting to get good results but with the amount of prep work you're doing you're probably better off going with a Leigh jig.
What replacement bits do you use? I’m curious to know if there are other bits which are better than the porter cable ones included in the kit?
Any bit with the following specifications should work: 17/32-Inch Diameter, 7 degree Angle, 1/2-Inch shank is not necessary but gives less vibration than 1/4" shank. Porter Cable 43776PC or Freud 22-115 or Whiteside D7-531 all meet these requirements. I am still using the Porter Cable bit that came with the jig. Based on a Fine Woodworking test of router bits I think the Whiteside will be the best.
Again, an awesome video. My problem is that the bit depth gauge isn’t quite right. Someone, not me!, moved it a little. Do you know what the setting should be? I have a digital depth gauge that I can use, but have no idea for the correct setting. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Just measured the router, with bit, that I have dedicated to the Jig. The router bit is 0.640 inches below the bottom surface of the router base. The depth gauge should be 0.640 inch below the top surface of the aluminum template. This will give a good starting point, then you can try on some scrap material so see how the joint fits, and then adjust the depth of router bit to get the fit you want. And then set the depth gauge so that you can go back to that setting in the future.
@@steven.woodward Thanks a million! This really helps.
I'm hoping you will entertain a question. I've used the Porter Cable jig many times (and have incorporated your suggestions from this video). However, regardless of how well the half-blind actually fits, the boards never line up. They are nearly 1/8" inch out of alignment, which screws up the dada for the drawer bottom (which I must make oversized and the edge of the proud side must be severely hand-planed. I've looked everywhere but can't seem to find a solution. Please note, the problem does not lie with the stock preparation. I've very carefully made each pieces identical in width and thickness and verified they are square. It seems the machined offset is incorrect, but there is no adjustment for that. Have you ever encountered this and if so is there a solution?
SUPPLEMENTAL: I measured the misalignment and used a feeler gauge (0.032") and added it to the right side lower stop. The result was as near a perfect alignment as I could hope for. I'm going to take the left alignment stop to a machine shop and have .032" milled off of the upper portion of the stop. Hopefully, that will permanently solve the issue. I still don't understand, though, why this error occurs. I compared the left stop to the right-side stop and they appear mirror images and I could not find a difference in the width of the offset.
Edward, I have not had that problem so can't say what a solution would be. Others have had this problem. For possible solutions check the comments, including replies, if any, of Geoffrey Stearns, Paul Crave, and Jay Williams. Good luck and please post solution that works for you if you find one.
I had the same problem with my PC jig and found the little offset stop block was not quite 1/2" and never sat square to the jig. I spent many hours trying to get flush tops with no luck, though the joints themselves were tight.
Out of frustration I decided to drill and tap some 1/4-20 holes and made longer slotted stop blocks out of 1/4 MDF for the top and front that I could move independently until my tops flushed out perfectly. Once the boards zeroed to my liking, I clamped boards in the top and front to hold my settings and glued the two stop blocks together. My offset is dead nuts now and I like having a much thicker reference point than a 2" long piece of stamped metal.
I like this jig a lot, but hate having to re-engineer what is one of most important functions of the tool.
@@capitaleyes4942 Excellent solution. Thanks for the contribution. Hope others with the same problem see your comment.
@@steven.woodward No problem, Steven. Thank you. I used many of your helpful tips and figured sharing my solution was the least I could do to help a fellow woodworker.
Also, I recently added the Leigh VRS 1200 support and vacuum attachment for my PC jig and really love that thing. I used to get a little tipping forward from my router base and sawdust everywhere. I now have tighter fitting inside corners and a much cleaner shop since adding this feature.
Wait wait wait.....I thought that top piece of wood was just scrap wood to reduce tear out! You mean you just cut two boards at once that went together??
Yes, both boards are cut at the same time.
Bought the same jig and came with 1/2" stems. My router uses 1/4" stems. What would the 1/4" equivalent of this router bit be if you know? I've seen them with angles of 7.4 and 14 degrees
7 degree angle with 17/32 cutting diameter. They are not very common. Here is a high quality one made by Whiteside: www.whitesiderouterbits.com/products/d7-530
I have this jig as well.. Curious if anyone else has experienced the width of the pins being ever so slightly too wide to fit between the tails? It is as if the guide bushing is just a touch too large. If you have experienced this issue, what was your solution?
Have you tried this: Adjust the router so that the router bit is making a more shallow cut. Ideal fit is that the joint will go together half way by hand, and remainder by mallet.
@@steven.woodward wow! Thanks for the quick reply! I did and ended up with tails that were too long (obviously not an issue with traditional dovetails but problematic in halfblind). I will fiddle with it again and see if I can get it dialed in.
@@innocuous_name7212 Is the joint able to go together after adjusting the router depth of cut ? Perhaps now the brass rings need to be adjusted.
I understand your reason for tapping the upper bolt.. But do you just use the jig in that position for all drawers? Otherwise you cant set up for wider or narrower fingers without re drilling and re tapping another hole on the top after setting the stop.. Just curious.. Thank You for a great tip video.. I have dealt with all these same issues on my own PC 4216..
I have not moved the stop since setting it with the upper bolt. I only use the 1/2 inch template so has not been an issue. If I was switching back and forth between 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch fingers then might need another hole.
@@steven.woodward I assumed thats what you were doing.. I done that to mine and it did really help stiffen it up on the top side of the stop.. Thanks for the tips.. I just finished 16 Halfblind drawers and they turned out great..
@@steven.woodward Or when switching from 1/2" to 1/4" fingers, just buy an extra dedicated jig. I just bought a used 1210 for $75. I will set it up as you suggest and keep it for making drawers only. Btw, thanks so much for your video, I've watched it a few times already. So much information that goes way beyond other videos.
@@tomruth9487 Good idea on the second dedicated jig. Does not cost much more than a good router bit, and saves a lot of time in set up.
How do you line up your side guides so the dovetails are spaced equally on each end of the joint?
1) Make the drawer height equal to 1.25 inch, or 2.25, or 3.25, or 4.25, etc. Then the dovetails will look good.
2) The black stop on the left will have to be adjusted initially to get the dovetails even. Then you can set it and forget it.
@@steven.woodward Do you just line up the right side of your drawer side to the middle of one of the template indentions?
@@paulcrave3112
1) Line up both drawer pieces against the black stop on the left. That offsets the drawer pieces by 1/2 inch.
2) Place template on Jig and visually see if the template teeth are symmetric over the drawer end. If not then adjust the black stop left or right, re-align the pieces against black stop and check again with template.
and
As mentioned in the video, you need to create some scrap to get the jig set up correct. But after that it stays set.
Purchased in 2015.
@@steven.woodward Got it. Thanks.
what is the size of the hex nuts you added behind the brass rings?
On my jig 3/8-16 new nuts. My jig was purchased long ago, and I don't know if they have changed to metric. Most hardware stores have a thread checking set up that allow customers to check thread size, so you could take the brass ring to hardware store and check the thread size that way.
So what is the depth of the top board???
The pieces for front and back of drawer go on top of the jig. I make these pieces about 1/16" longer than the desired width of drawer, then plane or sand off the excess after assembly. The width of the piece is the height of the drawer.
Your set screw won't present a problem as long as your drw box ht changes the same as the spacing of the fingers on the template, right?!
I just used my jig for the first time today and the offset guide doesn't allow for proper alignment of the side and the front/back pcs when fit together (side is high by about 3/32")
At 4:00 minutes, in the video, it shows how to check with a ruler that there is exactly 0.5 inch offset between the two pieces. If offset is correct, and both pieces are the same width then there should be no offset when the routed pieces are assembled.
@@steven.woodward I did ck the offset and it is 1/2” but every single time it’s approx 3/32” off! If I use a pc of laminate for a spacer for the sides they align almost perfectly!
I don’t get it!
I’m getting 2 new offset guides and will just modify one set I suppose!
@@jaywilliams415 That is a tough problem! I don't have any other ideas, other than the obvious: 1) check for correct router bit: 17/32 diameter, 7 degree - Porter Cable 43776PC or Freud 22-115. 2) check for correct template bushing: 3/4 inch OD - Porter Cable 42040.
I had the same problem, but only about .010 offset. My solution was to use a .010 feeler gauge between the vertical work piece and the black stop before tightening the screw. This would allow the horizontal work piece to shift left .010" to correct the offset. I expect that I will eventually file .010 of the horizonal work piece leg of the bracket.
@@JohnJohnson-wx2oi Thx for tip!
I’m doing that now but have a free extra set of offset guides coming and I’ll grind them to the correct offset!
Way too much trouble
I tend to agree, a lot of trouble to cut a dovetail joint. When I am only making one box, I cut the dovetail corners by hand, they look better that way as well. However I recently made a complete set of kitchen cupboards with lots of drawers and found the initial effort in setting up the dovetail jig did pay off over the whole project.
Youre way over complicating this jig. Some people r weird
I used the jig for years without the simple modifications shown in video. Always disappointed because results were not consistent so sometimes joints too loose and sometimes too tight. No amount of fiddling would remove the variation. Finally decided to tackle every variation I could think of and now getting consistent results. I accept the "weird" as a compliment '. Not the first time I have been told that. As Popeye said: "I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam,"