"Edmiester" wrote in message
news:v%38d.171990$D%.164206@attbi_s51...
This is my first post so if the subject has already been discussed,
forgive
me.

What is the best dovetail jig on the market today? I have a Sears model,
but its more frustrating to set up and use then getting an answer from my
wife.

I work for a drawer company, and we use a DODDS CNC SE25, but I don't have
20-30,000 dollars laying around.

Any help would be appreciated.

I use the Leigh Dovetail Jig. It is a top dollar jig but it is very
versatile. As you may have already found out, the cheaper jigs like the
Sears jig typically do no let you adjust the size of the tails and pins.
You are stuck with the fixed spacing on the template. The big advantage of
being able to adjust the spacing of the pins and tails is that if you do not
have to make the project fit your Dove Tail Jig set up. Typically you want
to have a half pin on both ends of the joint. With the ability to adjust
the sizes and spacing of the pins and tails you can easily accomplish this.
With fixed spacing jigs you may end up with a non symmetrical DT Joint and
perhaps no pin on one end of the joint. To have the joints come out
properly spaced on a project, you have to size the joint length to the
spacing on your jig. If building a chest of drawers, you must first
determine the height of each drawer to have proper spacing on the drawer
joints and then design the chest around the drawers. With a jig like the
Leigh you can design the chest and build the drawers to fit.
With that in mind, the Leigh is not the only jig with this capability. I am
only pointing this out as I consider this to be an important feature to
consider.