This is final episode on the D4R jig. It shows the Technical Bulletins that are available to allow you to make inlaid dovetails, simple or compound angle corners, end-on-end dovetails, and shelf pin holes and notches.Please remember, this is a Leigh-produced video, not my own. I have permission from Leigh to use the videos on my blog.
In the next episode I will start publishing the video series on the Super Jigs (12″, 18″, and 24″ width dovetail jigs).
Sliding dovetails are a great option when dealing with end grain joints, or with fixed shelves or dividers on a chest of drawers. I made a large sliding dovetail on the partition of the changing table I made some time ago (I used my old D4 jig, the predecessor to the D4R).
The D4R jig makes it simple and easy to create sliding dovetails:
Select the router bit and a suitable guide bushing
Route the dovetail slot - the board is clamped horizontally
Route the tail at the same bit depth, and with the same router bit - the board is clamped vertically
To fine-tune the fit, adjust the tail size by moving the finger assembly either forward or backward in small increments. It is possible to make adjustments as small as 0.001″ (one thousand of an inch!).
Disclaimer: This is a Leigh-produced video, not my own production. My thanks to Leigh Industries for allowing me to post the jig video series on my blog.
The best hand-tool workers in America have been invited to this event. The list is a Who’s Who of Woodworkers. But also some of the top woodworking bloggers will be there, “…to interview attendees, toolmakers and teachers, and share their impressions of the conference online…: The Wood Whisperer (aka Marc Spagnuolo), Matt’s Basement Workshop (aka Matt Vanderlist), The Village Carpenter (aka Kari Hultman) and Furnitology.com (aka Neil Lamens).”
Hope to see everyone there - I am trying to get better with my hand tools. I cannot think of a better gift Sandy could give me for our 41st wedding anniversary! Now, if I could just find a comparable, wonderful present for her… suggestions humbly accepted… a foot-powered scroll saw? … a magical carving tool, since she already has the Powercrafter? I keep searching, folks!
This episode shows the detailed instructions to cut half-blind dovetails on the Leigh D4R jig.On half-blind dovetail joints, only one side shows. The D4R has specific scales to create these in three steps:
Space the fingers to suit your taste - creating the joint design
Route the tails using a suitable router bit, and with the board arranged vertically
Route the pins with with the same router bit as was used to route the tails, and with the pin board clamped horizontally
Fine-tune the tail / pin fit by adjusting the bit height in the router, typically moving up just a few thousands of an inch. This will make the pins a little narrower, loosening the fit ever so slightly.
When I first started using my D4, this was the one adjustment that took me about an hour to master. The adjustment of the router bit is very small, to obtain the best fit!It IS truly this simple with the D4R!
I have used my old D4 for several years; by recording all the settings when I make a new box, I can return to the same setting(s) in just two minutes or less; in addition, I keep the old setup pieces I used when making the original adjustments for each router bit and wood thickness. I recommend you follow the same practice, and you will be quite happy with the results, no matter how much time passes between projects requiring half-blind dovetails.
This episode shows in detail the procedures to make through dovetails on the Leigh D4R jig. The steps are very simple:
Arrange the guide pin spacing
Route the tails
Route the pins
The variable pin spacing makes the D4R a very versatile dovetail jig, allowing an almost infinite arrangement of dovetail spacing. In addition, this capability also allows setting half pins near the edge of the boards, which I find a neat feature.
As many of you know already, I love to make boxes - and the predecessor, the D4, is my go-to dovetail jig, exclusively.
The two episodes that follow will show the procedures to make half-blind dovetails and sliding dovetails.
In this episode I will be trying something new - I think you will like it: I have been given permission by Leigh to post on the blog the videos they have produced for their entire product line, updated for 2008.
I will publish the entire set of videos over the next few weeks. These will thus become a full reference video library on the entire Leigh product line. So, let me know in the Comments section, or via e-mail, how well you like the series. Thanks!
This episode is the Introduction to the Leigh D4R 24-inch dovetail jig. The D4R is an update to the D4 I have in my shop, and that I use exclusively for many of my box projects - I LOVE to make boxes!
Some of you are already familiar with a little box I made with inlaid dovetails, and with what I called “bow ties” on the lid; the bow ties are inlaid end-on-end dovetails. At the request of one of the nice people at Leigh, photos of this little box found a home in the Leigh Inlaid Dovetail Gallery- the photos below reside at the Gallery:
As many of you know, Leigh Industries is one of my two new sponsors. What some people have not yet discovered is that Leigh has produced many videos on the use of their dovetails jigs; also, for the various templates used with these dovetail jigs; and for the FMT; for the router bit sets made for the jigs; for the vacuum systems used on the jigs; and for the superb User Guides they publish.
In this episode I show the two router bit sets provided by Sommerfeld Tools as the May 2008 giveaway.The deadline to register your name for this first monthly drawing is fast approaching - make sure to register by midnight of May 31, 2008. I will draw two names at random on June 1, 2008, and will post the names of the winners here on the same day.The only rules to enter the drawing are:
I encourage my readers to register, as I would like to keep the monthly drawings as a special feature of the blog. Marc Sommerfeld has provided these prizes free to the winners. Of course, shipping is always free on all our orders from Sommerfeld, excluding only a few major (large) items. Will ship only to North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico).
The more people who register for a chance to win, the better the chances we can keep this monthly drawing going. Thanks for entering, and always a huge THANKS to every one of my readers for your support!
In the last episode I showed how I flattened the workbench top using hand planes.
In this short episode I show how to apply a wipe-on finish to the now flat workbench top. By”finish” I mean something that is easy to apply, and easy to repair or redo in the future. Let’s face it - the workbench is beat up quite a bit in our shops.
I, for one, don’t like film-forming finishes on the bench; I prefer to apply an oil, such boiled linseed oil (BLO), or tung oil. But be very careful! You always want to take the pad used to apply these oils outside, let them dry thoroughly, and then dispose of them properly.
Why? These materials cure by reacting with oxygen in an exothermic (heat-forming) reaction, and can cause self-ignition of the rags, cloths, etc., used to apply them. So, learn how to dispose of the rags and cloths properly, or you could suffer a fire in your shop.
All that remains at this point is to apply some wax to the top, and I will be making sawdust on the workbench again!
The heating season ended a few weeks ago, and it is now time to flatten the workbench.
You will recall that my workbench had developed a severe crown, or high spot, along most of the length, and in the middle of the bench. This made for for a poor work surface, as items would not sit flat on the surface.
What likely caused the crown to develop was uneven moisture content in the wood making up the bench top. Heating during the Winter months can and will lead to drying out of the wood; it slowly loses moisture, ultimately leading to the problem I experienced.
The solution to the problem: Flatten the top.
I elected to use my Fulton #7 jointer plane to do the flattening. In this episode I show how I went about doing it, stopping along the way not only to catch my breath, but to measure progress with a straight edge and also with winding sticks. I then used my Stanley # 4-1/2 smoother to eliminate most of the blade marks left by the jointer. In the end I had to use my random orbital sander (ROS) to eliminate even the smoother’s blade edge tracks. This was necessary, as I always put a little camber on the irons.
I hope the galoots of the world find my hand plane technique acceptable. If you don’t, I ask that you don’t laugh too loudly. I am trying to get better with my hand tool use.
My name is Al Navas, and I live in NW Missouri with my bride of many years.
We are both woodworkers who love to be in the shop together, sharing wonderful times. She is a woodturner, and also carves and does pyrography. I do what many call flat work, which includes jewelry boxes to blanket chests; armoires to entertainment centers; church altars to prayer kneelers; custom cabinets to rustic furniture.
In our “spare” time in the shop we make toys, bird houses, etc., for our granddaughters. In late 2007 we finished serving as officers for the St Joseph Woodworkers Guild.
