Leon wrote:


FIY, the Leigh will do sliding DT's in addition to Blind DT's, Through DT's,
and Box Joints with the basic kit.

I knew it'd do half blind and through DTs as well as box joints.
Wasn't
sure about sliding dovetails. I imagine the length of the sliding
dovetail
is limited by the width of the jig. On the JoinTech you can make
them
as long as you want. You refence off the fence and one edge of the
piece to have the female part of the dovetailed slot. The male part
of the dovetail is done with the piece held upright, face against the
fence. Because the dovetail bit's cutting height doesn't change when
cutting both the male and female parts, you can sneak up on the fit
by moving the fence in very fine increments, taking a little off BOTH
sides of the male dovetail.

The Leigh also has been reported to come with 8mm shank bits vs. the 1/4"
shank bits.

So the jig comes with an 8mm collet - for each of the popular
routers?

Now I'll grant you that dovetail jigs - like the Leigh - have lower
"cognative friction" than the Incra and JoinTech fence system
with templates. With the latter, the process of cutting the
pins and tails is not as intuitive as the Leigh, and Akeda.

On the other hand, having a precision positionable fence, with
micro adjustability AND replaceable zero clearance fence
inserts makes doing lock joints, lock miter joints and frame
and panel work not only possible - but fairly easy.

Though I have the JoinTech Cabinet Maker System, I'll probably
get the Akeda package deal anyway. OR - I could save up some
more money and get THE LEIGH FMT!

charlie b
Tool Phreak
Wood Phreak