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Dovetail Machines....

5/16/17       
Leo G Member

Thinking about moving up from the smaller manual dovetail jig up to a dovetail machine. Shop Fox, Powermatic, Cantek, Hoffman all make these machines. Looking for one of the manual ones as they get pricey quick.

Seem to come in two flavors, 11 1/4" and 16". Big price jump from the smaller to the bigger one.

Anyone have experience with any of these? What to look for, what to stay away from. Sources to buy (I'm in the North East).

5/17/17       #2: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Robwood

Check out the Dodds, I've been happy for years with it

5/20/17       #3: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Andrew J. Coholic  Member

Website: http://www.joecoholiccustomfurniture.com

We used a few of the old cast aluminum Porter Cable DT jigs for years... three years ago I bought a Cantek JDT65, and it has been very nice for our shop (custom wood furniture and cabinetry, we do several hundred drawers and trays yearly but not production).

Anyhow, other than the addition of a PCD bit (from Royce/Ayr) so we can do Baltic birch as well as hardwood, it has proven itself to be a step up from the router & jig for sure. The pneumatic hold downs are excellent, the machine is easy to use (takes a few runs of drawers to get used to moving the cutter around the template, and getting quick at placing the parts in and swapping sides etc but after a few times its easy.

Since were hooked up to dust collection, no no more mess either.

I am glad we went with the 16" unit as we do deep boxes often enough.

Heres a link to the site - they actually linked my Youtube video I made as soon as I took delivery of the machine back in 2004.

Manual Dovetail Machine

5/20/17       #4: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Leo G

I had looked at that machine along with a few others. Ended up going with the Grizzly G0611X which is the 16 1/2" machine.

I've seen reviews that the bit that they sell for their machine breaks easy and one of the owners had found that the Omec 750 Single Flute Dovetail Bit solves this problem.

I do 95% Baltic Birch boxes. Am I going to have issues with the cutter?

One of the main reasons I went up to the machine is my Reliant Dovetail jig uses a 1/2" 14º bit which I break often enough that it is annoying (to say the least). I get pretty good result otherwise using a standard 2 flute bit. Sometimes a bit of the pin breaks off because the lamination fails, but since it's hidden inside the socket it doesn't really matter that much.

5/20/17       #5: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Andrew J. Coholic  Member

Website: http://www.joecoholiccustomfurniture.com

Baltic birch is a lot harder on bits than solid wood - the diamond cutter will just last longer, thats all.

The single flute cutter is easy to set up, and seems to cut just fine. I always do a light climbing cut to sever the face fibers, then do my full cuts from left to right.

The Cantek and Omec single flute are the same physical size, yes. I used a few of the Canteks before switching last year to the PCD. No breakage issues.

5/20/17       #6: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Leo G

Any chance you could give me a cost on the PCD bit?

The Omec was $69 but the shipping was $22, so it really cost me about $90 for the bit which was a bit hard to chew on. The Grizzly bit was around $35.

Not even sure if the machine will come with a dovetail bit, it didn't give a "what's in the box" description.

5/20/17       #7: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Andrew J. Coholic  Member

Website: http://www.joecoholiccustomfurniture.com

If you thought the Omec was steep... you will have to cough up about $250 for a PCD bit. But, look at it this way - they claim dozens of times more life than carbide. Its no sharper, but should stay as sharp as a fresh carbide bit for a long time.

I'd have to look up my invoice, but I am sure it was somewhere in the $250 C range..

At the IWF show last August, I talked to several companies who manufacture tooling about alternatives for the stock single flute DT bit. Not much else made besides the brazed carbide. I decided to try the diamond, and so far its working fine. Leaves a bit of fuzz on the tails cut, in the rounded portion but that comes off quickly when we presand the sides before assembly. Only on solid wood though, Baltic cuts fine.

5/20/17       #8: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Leo G

How about prefinishing before cutting the dovetails? Would it work, or no matter what you'd be putting another coat on the exterior.

I know it'll work for the interior of the drawer, not sure about the exterior.

5/20/17       #9: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Andrew J. Coholic  Member

Website: http://www.joecoholiccustomfurniture.com

I never cared for prefinishing - you either leave the end grain of the front/back unfinished, or touch it up. Plus there is always some small filling to be done. EVen with the high end CNC dovetailers, if you want perfect looking joints it is necessary to finish after assembly, sanding, etc.

We assemble, sand and finish our drawers with two coats of vinyl sealer, two top coats after buffing of post cat lacquer.

5/20/17       #10: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Leo G

Thanks, sort of what I figured. Had to ask.

5/26/17       #11: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Adam

Leo,

How many boxes has your old Reliant put out? I remember those blue ones from the woodworker's whorehouse days. We had one for a year or so and the template broke. We moved on to the better Porter Cable ones. That had to be almost 20 years ago.

5/26/17       #12: Dovetail Machines.... ...
Leo G

Probably thousands. Still going strong. The router bits are the weak point in that system.


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