Harbor Freight dovetail jig. Different templates?

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  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    Harbor Freight dovetail jig. Different templates?

    I didn't want to resurrect a zombie thread here, so starting a new one.

    The blue HF dovetail jig includes the half blind dovetail template. I am curious though, other similarly designed jigs reportedly have templates available that allow for through dovetails, and box joints.

    There is a thread here that is pretty old, probably in the BT3Central days where a jig sold by Grizzly has the templates available and they work with the HF jig.

    I am wondering if anyone knows if these templates are still available, and also if there is a user guide available that can help with setting up and and using them?

    The thought process here? I have the HF half blind dovetail jig. PLUS the MLCS "Pins and Tails" templates on their respective "jig" mount blocks, PLUS a shop made finger joint jig etc... a few misc aluminum templates could slide easily in a drawer, allowing me to buy back the storage space in my shop the through dovetail jig, and the box joint jig take up. And hopefully make for a better ability to have a more flexible joinery setup.
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  • twistsol
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 2893
    • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
    • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

    #2
    If I recall correctly, that style of jig can't be used for through dovetails which is why I switched to a Katie jig from Sommerfeld.

    This looks like a clone of the Porter Cable 4112 which has the 4114 and 4115 templates for 1/4" dovetails and 1/2" box joints respectively. The manual for the Grizzly shows the 7/16 and 9/16 dovetail templates, but I couldn't see any way to order them.

    To guess if the PC templates might fit, the templates for the Porter cable 4112 are 16 1/4" wide, the screws are spaced 1/2" from the ends and 1" and 2" in from the front of the template.
    Chr's
    __________
    An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
    A moral man does it.

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    • dbhost
      Slow and steady
      • Apr 2008
      • 9209
      • League City, Texas
      • Ryobi BT3100

      #3
      Originally posted by twistsol
      If I recall correctly, that style of jig can't be used for through dovetails which is why I switched to a Katie jig from Sommerfeld.

      This looks like a clone of the Porter Cable 4112 which has the 4114 and 4115 templates for 1/4" dovetails and 1/2" box joints respectively. The manual for the Grizzly shows the 7/16 and 9/16 dovetail templates, but I couldn't see any way to order them.

      To guess if the PC templates might fit, the templates for the Porter cable 4112 are 16 1/4" wide, the screws are spaced 1/2" from the ends and 1" and 2" in from the front of the template.
      If it comes down to it, I might just sell the MLCS and HF jigs / templates and grab the Porter Cable 4116 which does do half blind, through dovetails and a couple of sizes of box joints in one jig...

      It's about space really... I may just be able to solve my issue by better situating the existing jigs...
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      • leehljp
        Just me
        • Dec 2002
        • 8429
        • Tunica, MS
        • BT3000/3100

        #4
        Peachtree had this one on sale for $99 last summer:

        Peachtree Woodworking Supply is your one stop supply shop for all your woodworking needs.


        I bought it after I had made my own Here:
        https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...-dove-tail-jig

        I haven't used either yet, but when I do, I will use them with the router table.
        Hank Lee

        Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

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      • twistsol
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2002
        • 2893
        • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
        • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

        #5
        That Peachtree jig also looks like a fixed spacing version of the Katie jig.

        The Katie jig comes with a set of forks to let you space dovetails anyway you want very much like the Leigh Jigs, but it is typically used on a router table rather than using the router handheld although you can use it either way.

        You can also use box joint forks or intermix box and dovetail joint forks, and if you want to get crazy, you can join multiples together to build chests and dressers.
        Chr's
        __________
        An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
        A moral man does it.

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