Make half blinds on the Porter Cable 4216 dovetail jig.

This is a complete step by step instructional video of doing half blind dovetails on the Porter Cable 4216 dovetail jig. Be sure to check out the links below for other instructional videos of this jig as well as how to purchase Chad's centering template. Don't forget to hit the subscribe and like buttons and leave me a comment.
Router base centering jig video
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Amazon router base cantering jigs
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Chad Abrams Center template for the Porter Cable dovetail jig
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Purchase Chads jig on etsy
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The following videos are joints made on the porter cable 4216 dovetail jig
Through dovetails
• Through dovetails with...
Sliding dovetails
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Box joints
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[@wetfly44448888]

I am like many have done using KZbin vids to learn how to use this same jig...I'm making my own kitchen Cabinets, and I need drawers...none of which have I ever done before...I have spent significant time looking at any how to vid on this jig and of them all yours are the best, at least for me...Thank you for your efforts...well worth it...

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

@wetfly44448888 thank you. I hope they are helpful. I have a playlist of different methods. I hope you enjoy them

[@wetfly44448888]

@@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679 I know I subscribed and have watched all you have on this jig...I hope to have time to look at your vids on other topics, but I've watched everything you currently have posted on this jig...You are a good teacher....easy to understand, you don't complicate things...

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

@@wetfly44448888 Thank you

[@allenriff9242]

Tracy I order one of the centering jigs hope its helps with alignment. thanks for the info. Great video.

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

@allenriff9242 Chad done a very good job on that centering template. I don't think you will be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by the channel. Let me know what you think about the template when you try it out

[@michaelnorman5640]

Thanks for sharing once again Mr Tracy another great video! Got my template a few months back very satisfied!

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

Thank you. Glad to hear you got one. Those templates are great.

[@charliemurphy2523]

Good video sir. I am in the middle of building a cabinet with drawers like this. I already made the half blind joints and they came out nice. At first I was wondering on how to center the boards with half blinds . I do have Chads little jig and watching this video ,you showed how to center for half blinds . good tip, i will remember that one. I have watched all your other videos on this jig and were very helpful after i purchased the jig. Just my opinion , but it seems like the half blind dovetails are the easiest to make as far as set up goes. Just using one bit and making any adjustments. Thanks again for the tip and good videos.

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

Thank you Charlie. I am so glad it was helpful. It means a lot

[@steffenrichter2449]

Thanks for this Video.

[@alexw7091]

Can you show a setup for a pantry draw which will have sides taller than the front side?

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

I'm not sure I know exactly what you are asking about. Can you send me a photo of an example? [e-mail].

[@jerrypierce8965]

Hey Tracy, Thanks for your videos. I enjoy them and they are vey informative. One quick question on the width of the drawer box sides when it comes to using the centering jig for alignment. Is there a standard width to use so the center of each side of the ends comes out exactly in the center of each finger on the template? I've experimented with whole inches, 3,4,5,6 and half of an inch, 3.5, 4,.5 , 5.5 etc. and when you mark the center the boards and use the jig for alignment those marks don't fall in the middle the fingers.

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

Thanks Jerry. I dont know if there is a standard width or not. I believe I understand what you are asking. I don't think there was a standard in mind when porter cable made the jig. BUT it was made to accommodate any drawer depth up to the width capacity of the jig itself. That's one of the reasons Chad's template is so valuable. It takes all the guess work out of it. But as far as a standard width I don't know of one.

[@wetfly44448888]

Any chance of you doing a video on how to do Rabbeted half blind Dovetails for a drawer front? I've looked and cannot find a single video on that...and that is what I want for my drawer fronts...pg. 20 in manual...

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

@@wetfly44448888 I have never done one. I would have to figure it out myself first

[@wetfly44448888]

@@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679 This is just me venting some frustration cause I started my dovetail journey here, and I don't really have any other place or person who cares about my current frustration with this jig....Please forgive me for venting on your vid, but again....I figure you will understand... I now have hours and hours into this jig trying to do Rabbeted Half-Blind Dovetails. I find this to be much harder than through dovetails and much much harder than half blind dovetails....both of those were fairly easy. I see two initial problems... There are no videos...and the manual is less then specific... The manual actually tells you that to troubleshoot Rabitted half blinds to use the same methods described for the half blinds. And those are completely diffidently than through dovetails BTW... ...not as all the same... On half blinds you "tighten or loosen" your joint by lowering or raising your bit...???!!! I don't want to raise or lower my bit...I want it at a specific depth...? You move the template forward or backward to adjust proud or not proud... On half blind dovetails unlike through dovetails moving the template does nothing towards tightening your joint.... It's counterintuitive at best.... and unlike half blinds...you do your tails and your pins separately and therein lies the issue You would think as Hammer says in his video, "the tails become your reference".. I understand that to mean you make your pins fit your tails... Once cut you do not mess w/the tails... But that's easier said than done... I've gone through so much lumber I'm embarresed to say, but at even the cheapest I can buy, it's been a chunk of change to learn this particular thing.... I am tempted to just do half blinds for my drawers which are easy cause you do the tails and the pins simultaneously....but then that would be admitting defeat... This jig is so touchy, so many different ways to tweak it...and it appears that the "Rabbeted Half Blind Dovetail" is the most demanding and hardest to bring all the little adjustments into harmony to end up with an acceptable joint.... I've gotten it there, but then reproducing it is problematic because the only reference is that guide thing on the left that you move in and out to set a reference...and that is not machined any way near what it should be to serve as a valid reference...I'm not even convinced it's square... Make no mistake this jig was easy to do through dovetails and half blind...it's just this one joinit that seems to be so hard... Thank you for listening... Again I'm more ranting than looking for a response... I will figure this out eventually... I intend to actually call Porter Cable tomorrow to rant to them a bit and hopefully get some enlightenment.

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

@wetfly44448888 I understand your frustrations. I have never done the rabitted halfblind dovetails. I need to figure that one out and do a video on it. Just hadn't had time yet. Unless the manual states to raise or lower the bit in a certain process, I wouldn't. I can't think of how this would loosen or tighten a joint. Seems to me it would only mess the joint up. Unless im missing something. You loosen and tighten joints up by moving the template forward or backward on the jig. Like I said, I haven't tried rabitted dovetails. Maybe the height of the bit effects that. Don't know. Never done that joint on this jig. As soon as I can I will try to figure it out and do a video on it. Honestly I don't know when that will be. I have a lot going on and it may be awhile.

[@wetfly44448888]

@@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679 Thank you for the response...I'm thinking I'll get it figured out first cause I'm the one who needs it now...lol... So this is in the manual page 20...and this is in the section for Rabitted Half Blinds.... "FITTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING Fitting and troubleshooting methods for the lipped front half-blind dovetail are the same as for the regular half blind dovetail." So let me show you what their referring us to in the Half Blind Dovetail Troubleshooting sections...pg. 19 "FITTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING For joints that are too loose, adjust your router to make a deeper cut. (Measure the gap (A) Fig. Q10 in the test cut and adjust the router for that amount). For joints that are too tight, adjust your router to make a more shallow cut. Once you achieve the correct depth, secure the router bit depth guide in place with a 3/8" wrench. If the drawer front overlaps the drawer side, reposition the template toward you (Fig. Q11). If the drawer front is recessed from the edge of the drawer side (Fig. Q12), reposition the template away from you." See, this makes no sense to me.... I'm calling them tomorrow to see if there is some sort of typo in this... But no, please don't rush to do a vid on my account....

[@thedecoyinn]

Thanks for making these videos. I order on of Chad's centering templates and it works great. I do have a question about the half blinds. When I tried making them they fit to tight. I tried adjusting the depth like the instruction say but it didn't help. Do you have any insight on what I should do. Thanks Jeff

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

The only thing I can think of would be adjusting the depth also. Which honestly shouldn't make a difference because the same bit at the same depth is cutting both tails and pins. They should come out as a perfect fit. I really don't have a corrective tip for you. Sorry about that. If they are not excessively tight, use epoxy for the glue up. Epoxy will help them slide together like a lube without swelling the material

[@thedecoyinn]

Thanks for getting back so quickly. I will try the epoxy trick.@@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679

[@MarkDixon]

How do you determine what depth of cut you set the router for?

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

@MarkDixon You have a plunge dept guage on the left side of the template. Set your router on the template and plunge down to the stop, which is a black knob with a threaded height adjustment screw. It should be labeled on the template. The stop is suppose to be set at the factory for the proper depth. If it is not correct you may have to tweak it some up or down. I think the common depth for halfblinds is 3/8 inch below the dovetail template while the router is sitting on top of the template and plunged down exposing 3/8 of the bit below the template. You can tweak it from there to preference. Hope that makes sense

[@MarkDixon]

@@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679 Thank you!