Cutting dovetails by hand vs. that Leigh jig, 8 years apart

I hand cut dovetails for 8 years because I thought using a jig was cheating, then I took on a 26 drawer job for a client in Portland and realized the jig gets me the same joint in a third of the time. The detail work is still hand done anyway, so what was I proving? Anyone else hold onto the 'purist' thing longer than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

tara_mitchell26d ago

My first big commission had 34 drawers and I did the same dance for two weeks before I caved and bought the Leigh. The real win was teaching my apprentice to use it too, that jig pays for itself in shop hours alone.

barbara27825d ago

That "pays for itself in shop hours" line hits exactly right. I had a kitchen job with 22 dovetailed drawers and swore I'd do them by hand after the first two took me a whole afternoon each. Ended up renting a jig from a buddy for the weekend and managed to finish the rest in two days. Showed my nephew how to set it up and he ran the next batch while I cut the fronts. Now I just tell folks the jig pays for itself in patience alone, never mind the hours.