PRAZI PR-3900 ChestMate Dovetail Jig

This item has to be used with a particular thickness of wood. In addition some of the screws to hold the dovetails broke.. I wish i could of return it right away.

I ordered this from Amazon. Arrived on time. Works as advertised. The indexing board you make is brilliant idea for allowing infinitely variable spacing of through dovetails. Some changes have been made and will now work for a 7 degree dovetail as well as a 14 degree. Have not yet tested the instructions for making 1/2" dovetails. Only tested with a 3/4" dovetail. Now the downsides (as compared to hand cutting the dovetails). It is optimized for 13/16" material. If your material is thinner than that, you have to "pad out" the material to be 13/16" if you want to get the best results from the jig by adding shims to make the 13/16" thickness. If you have a planner, then this is not so terribly onerous as you can get the thickness you need fairly easily. A little less than 13/16" seems to still work okay but if you are working with 1/2 inch stock you will definitely need to shim to the 13/16" thickness. Additionally, you need to be aware that not just any 5/16" straight bit will work for making the pins. You need one with a lot of heft and a long shank so make sure you get one that has a 1/2" shaft and is at least 2 1/2" inches long in total. One of my 1/4" 5/16th bits was only 2" long and could not reach the 1 and 5/16th inch depth required while having enough of the bit in the collet to be safe. Additionally, another 2 1/2 inch long 1/4" 5/16th bit had a real tendency to flex when it was at the 1 5/16th inch depth you have have to get to. When cutting the pin boards, you will need to take four or five very shallow passes with the 5/16th straight bit to get to the total depth required. Course, as far as I know, you don't have this option on the 3/4" dovetail bit so be aware you are hogging lots of material in each tail so go slow and be very careful. Don't skimp on the bit or you will regret it. Make sure the dovetail bit is extremely sharp and of very high quality. All in all, this is a good product and I enjoyed using it. Just realize the limitations and you will be fine. If you don't have a planner to make the needed shim boards when working with 1/2" material, this is not a good choice when compared to hand cutting. My two cents worth.

This jig reminds me of the old saw: "You can have it: 1)Fast 2)Good 3)Cheap PICK TWO!" This jig is cheap, and it's good, but if you need to make two dozen drawers, this is not the tool for you. I was able to make picture-perfect through dovetails in 3/4' stock within about an hour of opening the box. Subsequent attempts went much faster. If you make individual pieces of furniture, and want to make precise through dovetails for less than half the price of any other quality jig, let alone one with variable spacing, then this is a great option. A couple things to keep in mind: --The operation of this jig requires several good-size pieces of scrap/cutoffs, both for the register board and the backer boards. --In addition to a router, you need a tablesaw with a standard (1/8")kerf blade, and a bench vise capable of holding your workpiece securely. --My 5/8" template guide bushing (Porter-Cable) was too long and had to be ground down by 1/16" --My jig came with inserts for 7 and 14 degree dovetails. A 14-degree 3/4 dovetail, cut in one pass, makes a TON of chips. Some kind of dust collection is almost a requirement. Grizzly router bits, available on Amazon, have worked great. I got the 1/2" shank bits, and using my Porter Cable 690, I get plenty of the bit shank in the collet. For the price, this jig is easy to recommend. If Prazi offered a dust-collection attachment, I'd give the Chestmate 5 stars.

I first saw this product at a woodworking show at pre-ordered one on the spot. And then I bought a second so that I could speed up my dovetailing by having one setup for tails and the other for pins. It works by moving the jig from slot to slot along a spacing index template that you create and clamp to your work piece. At each index position, you zip the router through the jig to create either the tail (or pin) on the piece. When you're done cutting you first set of cuts you clamp you index template to the other work piece, reconfigure the jig for the mating part of the joint, and zip along the same way. PROs: * No fixed templates; you create your own spacing template (with fixed or variable spaced slots) * No fixed templates; you can dovetail work pieces several feet long * Solid construction (I dropped it on my concrete shop floor and it survived) * Removable routing insert to accommodate different dovetail bits in the future CONs: * Only one dovetail bit supported (at the moment) TIP: * To ensure you line up your template to the work piece in the correct orientation, screw a washer onto the end of the template to keep the work piece flush with your template before clamping it up.

Bought this last year and finally got to use it this week (unheated shop and a very very long winter). It works like a champ. I was able to create the spaced dovetails required for one of my signature blanket chest pieces and I got three chests fully completed in just four days of working nights only. The dovetails fit tight and are near flawless. I plan on using this tool to do some mortise work in the near future and, who knows, even some box joints since the parts were included. I was able to set this up and run it by just reading the written instructions. One previous reviewer sort of trashed the written instructions, but they worked well for me. I was looking at paying $500 for an adjustable through dovetail jig and I am glad I decided to go this route for only about $120, including router bit set. If you have a small shop and a limited budget, this tool is the way to go for professional looking dovetails.