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I dropped $340 on a used dovetail jig and it cost me a whole kitchen job
So I bought this used Porter Cable dovetail jig off a guy in Garland for $340. He swore it was barely used and cut clean. Got it home and the template was warped, like visibly bowed when I laid it on my bench. I didnt notice at first because I was so excited to use it on a set of maple drawers for a kitchen job in Plano. First three drawer boxes came out with gaps you could slide a dime through. I tried shimming the template, resetting the bit depth, everything. Wasted about 8 hours over two days fighting with it. Ended up having to remake 11 drawer boxes out of maple I already milled and cut, which was another $200 in lumber down the drain. Client was cool about the delay but I ate the cost on the extra material and my own time. Now I'm out almost $550 total and still dont have a working jig. Anyone got a dovetail jig they actually trust or should I just go back to hand cutting them?
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jade_singh14d ago
Man I felt this in my soul because I did basically the same thing with a used Leigh jig off marketplace and the guy even threw in a "it's basically new" which should've been my first red flag. Warped templates are the worst because you won't catch it until you're already cutting and by then your wood is ruined. I'm honestly not sure I'd trust any used jig at this point unless I can lay a straightedge on the template and check it before handing over cash, which I clearly didn't do. For what it's worth, hand cutting might be slower but at least when a joint comes out bad it's my fault and not some bowed piece of aluminum I paid 340 bucks for. Sorry about the maple, that hurts more than the jig honestly.
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