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wrote:
All,

I am new to the dovetailing game and I need some advice. I recently
was
given a Leigh D4 as a graduation gift and am attempting to make some
boxes. The boxes will have 4 sides only (i.e. no bottom or top) and
will be used as modular storage in my new apartment. I will be using
through dovetails to join them.

According to the Leigh manual, the maximum thickness of the pin board
is 1" but the stock I have is 5/4". What dovetail/straight bit
combination do I need to join these thick pieces? I'd rather not
plane
it down as I like the look of the very thick walls.

Here's what I would do: Plane em down to 1", route the dovetails,
build the box, then build up the edge with a tapered wedge maybe 1-2"
wide, going from 0 thick to 1/4", and glue them so the 1/4" is on the
inside of the box making it appear to be 5/4" thick.

Done right I think it would also add additional style to the piece,
rather than just being a box.

I *love* my D4. For through dovetails it takes 5 minutes to set the
thing up. Just make sure you route them a *bit* deeper than the
thickness of the board so you can sand them smooth after they're glued
up. DON'T try to make them perfectly flush.

For half blind, it takes a bit more setup since you only get one shot
to make them fit (with through DTs, you can creep up on the fit). What
I recommend is that you make a test pair of boards so the next time you
do a half blind, it takes just a minute to adjust everything.

I can understand why someone would want to cut them by hand, but I
don't have the patience or time to learn to cut them equivalent to the
quality of the D4.