PORTER-CABLE Dovetail Jig, Woodworking, Mini Template Kit for Precise Alignment (4216)

I love this jig. Granted, I was previously using an awful $20 jig from Home Depot that would make ANY jig seem amazing. But still, I'd be hard-pressed to level a criticism against this one. It's an easy-to-use, intuitive jig. The jig arrives fully assembled, save for some minimal assembly required for the extra templates (<5 mins.). That was a welcome surprise. It worked fairly well right out of the box, and with one, quick round of minor adjustments, I was making tight, flush joints. There are three features that I appreciate most about this jig: 1. Aligning and clamping boards is a cinch. The guides make it easy, and once the knobs are adjusted for the thickness of your boards, you merely need to clamp with the levers to secure each board. It's a ridiculously quick and efficient system. No finger tightening or clumsy clamping apparatuses. While some jigs seem to be built for individuals with three hands, this one is easy to operate for those of us who were only born with two. 2. Basic instructions and guides are printed and/or etched on the jig and templates. If you don't make dovetails regularly, you likely spend a few minutes reacquainting yourself with your jig each time you dust it off. Having everything you need on the jig, rather than in a misplaced instruction book, is a nice feature that's easy to overlook. (And by the way, the instruction book is immensely helpful in its own right--more thorough than it needs to be. Basic operation instructions are supplemented with tips and tricks that make the process simpler. I doubt many other jigs' instruction books are as useful.) 3. Half-blind joints can be made w/ one cut per joint, rather than a separate cut per board. I know that isn't unique to this jig, but it certainly isn't a feature of every jig. Worth mentioning. I haven't had the opportunity to use the additional templates/bits (through, box, miniature), but if I have any problems, I'll update this review. The 1/2" half-blind bit and template worked wonderfully. The bushing fits the form of the template perfectly with no play, minimizing the potential for user error. Setting the depth is easy--I only needed one test cut plus a couple minor adjustments prior to making my final cuts. And my first pair of half-blind drawer boxes came out as good as I possibly could have hoped. I'm looking forward to experimenting with through-joints soon, I hope.

This gets 5 stars because it is exactly as advertised. I researched this carefully before I bought it, so I was not surprised when it lived up to most of the positive reviews on Amazon, in magazines, and elsewhere. I cannot compare the 4216 to others like the PC Omnijig or Leigh D4R except to say that it is much less expensive and works very well. The big limitation, mentioned by most reviewers, is the 12" workpiece limit and fixed DT spacing. Actually, you can cut longer pieces by using the templates out of the jig. (I have not had to do this yet, but it seems straightforward.) Through DT would be especially easy to cut this way. You can also use the templates on a router table. The fixed spacing is a fact, but I decided that variable spacing was not worth the extra bother in setting up the jig, and the large price increase. I prefer box (finger) joints for most of my drawer side/back joints, and fixed box joints are standard. You can break the fixed DT pattern by skipping a position. Anyway, I am not interested in fooling my clients, and the real sign of hand-cut DT is pins that are narrower than a router bit. The 4216 is a heavy, durable tool, with steel body and heavy aluminum templates. It comes with everything you need to use it except a router and a 1/2" straight bit, which is needed for box (finger) joints. You need a router that will accept both 1/2" and 1/4" bits and the Porter-Cable style guide bushings. It comes assembled (for half-blind DT) and works out of the box with minor tweaking, The instructions are so complete that they are actually a bit confusing, but once you go ahead and cut some test pieces, the instructions become very clear. There is no dust collection as far as I know, but the geometry of the jig puts the shavings on the floor and on your apron, so cleanup is not that difficult. Note that I said shavings. The bits come very sharp. Finally, I chose the 4216 (with three templates) instead of smaller kits because I wanted the versatility of half-blind, through, and mini joints, and it was a bit cheaper to buy all three at once. I will continue to cut half-blind DT by hand for top-line drawer fronts but this jig will serve me very well for other DT work. I have always cut box joints on a table saw, but this jig offers an excellent alternative if I don't want to tie up my table saw.

Very sturdy construction. This comes with 3 templates that allows multiple types of dovetail and finger joints. The clamps hold the work piece securely. I've seen some criticisms of the complexity of operation. But once you learn the parts names, and their functions, following the instructions to achieve excellent results is simple. There is a learning curve, but worth the effort. I got great results on the first try, and continued use got me even better results. This jig gives me better joints than I can do by hand, in the fraction of time. And the way it's designed, it makes precision results very repeatable.

I researched a lot of dovetail jigs and settled on this one. Very glad I did. If you follow the instruction booklet it is very simple to cut perfect dovetails, looks daunting to start with but just makes sense eventually. I purchased the 4216 kit because it came with all the templates I could ever need and included the router bits. Look on you tube there are some great videos on how to set it up and make fine adjustments. Well worth the money for accuracy and quality. Be careful, there are some copies on line made in China, avoid them and buy the original, you won't regret it.

La marca tiene buenos comentarios, llegó muy pronto y a un precio muy aceptable con la facilidad de a meses con la tarjeta por eso lo adquiri

fabulosa y muy util

Qality product, a litle big price

I bought this jig after pouring over You Tube vids and other web comparisons/reviews for dovetail jigs or a few hours. It took a while to set up but within a couple of hours of fooling with scrap materials I was able to produce good quality joinery. Like anything else, with a bit more practice, I am sure I can do top notch work with this jig. It functions exactly as described. The manual that comes with it is not perfect, but certainly covers the basic functions of the jig; other user videos found online were very helpful and actual hands on use was not at all intimidating. I am very pleased with the work I can turn out and would recommend getting the other templates at the time of purchase as they are a bit more affordable that way than purchasing them separately later on.