PORTER-CABLE Dovetail Jig, 12-Inch (4210) Silver

It is really nice to have and works great. Made drawers that went together perfectly. It took a while to set up, and we had to order additional parts for our router. Only comes with one template, so that’s a bummer. Most of this is in the description and you should expect it. However, it’s still a bummer.

I have worked as a professional furniture /cabinet maker since 1980 and although this is not a professional tool I find the results to be more than adequate. My need was for a quick portable jig and this fits the bill. The initial results were excellent and my project is complete. Take care and go slow with the router, pay attention to your alignment and your results will be fine.I do own a professional jig for the shop and still hand cut many dovetails but for this job I have no complaints.Bottom line, I am very happy and will use this tool for many projects.

I started out with the $38 Harbor Freight dovetail jig. It does work, but it’s not the Porter Cable jig. The Porter Cable jig makes the dovetail process so much easier. And, it works with greater precision and ease. Granted, I got my feet wet using the Harbor Freight jig, but I wish I had started out with the Porter Cable jig first. Also, it is more cost effective to buy the upgraded version of the Porter Cable jig with the additional templates.

I wish the instructions stressed the importance of using the bit that came with this tool. I spent a day trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, My first use with this tool went like a charm I made quite a few drawers, I had this on a shelf for a few years and took it down to make a drawer, everything went wrong I spent more time trying to fine tune this jig but The dovetails didn't work out I adjusted the height so many times and failed, You must use the size bit that comes with this jig or you will pull your hair out, the bit that came with this I used the first time making drawers this time I used another that was used in my old craftsman Jig big mistake I just ordered a new one from Amazon

There are some other good reviews and tips but I discovered two helpful things.1. Some others mentioned the pieces not lining up perfectly flush and this is due to the offset guide not offsetting the pieces by exactly 1/2”. There were some solutions mentioned but I found it easiest to use a small piece of duct tape on the edge of the vertical portion of the guide. For me, this displaces the vertical piece (the tails) a little more to the right and giving the correct (1/2”) offset. I actually used two pieces of tape (1 thickness of tape was not quite enough). The most important thing though, I think, is to measure the offset before making the cut. Place the pieces using the guide and clamp them down securely but before cutting, measure to make sure the offset is 1/2”. You probably will have to lift the template up to get a good measurement. Then just put the template back on top, secure it, and cut.2. The guide bushing may not be a perfect circle. It may be oval by just a few thousandths of a inch. On my first cut, the tails were too big “around” (when looking at them end on) and they would not fit into the pins even with a hammer. Then, I rotated the router 45 degrees and the joint fit together easily by hand. What is happening is when I rotated the router, I was using a part of the guide bushing that was actually very slightly smaller (in diameter) which means the tails are very slight smaller and the pins (actually the gaps between the pins, where the tails fit into) are slightly larger. If you can’t find a position of the guide bushing the gives the right fit, you could gently file the the sides of the bushing just a few thousandths at a time until you get a good fit. Also, once you find the part of the guide bushing that gives that perfect fit, you could mark the opposite sides with a permanent marker. Then, rotate the bushing in the base plate so that the marks are parallel to the handles on the router so you can make the cuts with the router handles in the comfortable position (parallel to the width of the jig and wood). The marks will also be useful for future reference when you reinstall the baseplate and bushing.All in all, the jig is very good. It is very sturdy and the clamps hold the wood really well. The main shortcoming is the offset guide (mine was off by almost a full 1/16” (two thicknesses of duct tape). Then the guide bushing being a little off was a problem until I figured out what was going on.

This is absolutely the easiest jig that I have ever used! I have a Leigh jig and trying to get it setup for half blind dovetails is ridiculous, so I bought this for half blind dovetails and it excels at easy setup. I made a drawer with this after 30 minute setup. I have been watching a video on setup before purchasing it so I was kinda familiar with it sort of. If you want to do halfblind dovetails order this jig!

Ordered and after 2 weeks canceled it. Ordered again from a different vendor and it was lost. Got a refund and went to Rockler store to get it. Works great after set up.

I tried a slightly cheaper General American dovetail jig first and it was flimsy, warped easily, and generally was a pain to dial to precision.This jig is so much better. It's sturdy, and the ability to do both sides (pins and tails) at once is going to save you a lot of headache in making the two sides match perfectly.The only problem is in working with longer wood, unless you have a way to mount this jig at a 90degree angle. I can only mount this on top of the work table, just as the picture shows, and the wood pieces come up from underneath. I'm working with 60" pieces, so I had to mount this on my deck and feed the wood from the hill beneath.