Rabbeted Half Blind Dovetails on the D4R Pro

[@imanutnur7]

I am retired and work in my shop a lot. I have a habit of watching a bunch of KZbin sites of assorted woodworkers. I consider myself not only a woodworker but also a pretty good KZbin critique so I am putting you at the top of the Woodworking KZbinrs as having the best overall videos out there. Your presentation is unequaled.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

These are some truly flattering words Tom and I appreciate you taking the time to add them to your comment. Thank you so much for tuning in to the show. You comment made my evening.

[@KRWoodworks]

Ok...I've had my jig for about 22 years and this is the best tutorial on the half blinds on it. Thanks a lot.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks for the kind words on the tutorial Kevin. I have others slated for filming so hopefully, when those air, you will be able to tune in to them. Thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@adama163]

Very helpful - I am restoring my mom's childhood dresser for my granddaughter and one drawer front is cracked. So I will be fabricating it with rabetted dovetails. Thanks for the clear instructions.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You're very welcome. Good luck with your restoration and thank you for tuning in to the show.

[@MikeyDonna]

Well , I “bit the bullet” as they say” , and ordered a new Leigh Super 12 jig having sold my Porter Cable 2016 . I thought the PC would be all I needed but soon discovered I wanted to be able to have more than one spacing for pin & tails and adjust ability for box joints. Another thing I look forward to is being able to use wood of any width and have equal size ends. Even though your Leigh jig is different than mine the same benefits apply. Thanks for the great videos .

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

I hope you like your new jig Mikey. Good luck with your setup and your dovetails. Thanks for tuning in to the show and for the kind words.

[@frankingram3382]

Hi Ken, I am always amazed at your videos. They are so well prepared and informative that I fill if I miss one that I have truly missed something that later I might need to know. However today, Its not what I learned that amazed me its what I saw. Pray tell, let me elaborate. I saw a woodworking shop that has not one, not two, but three, count 'em, band saws. I saw two on a shelf and a hu-mongus one on the floor. Then I noticed there was a scroll saw hanging side ways overhead on a wall and if he forgets how to get to them he has a reminder on the ceiling. There in big bold letters is a sign reminding him that they are on the Clint Eastwood Trail. Now for all of you aspiring woodworkers out there this is a wood shop that is prepared for it all. Aaaaaaand did I say, here also is a wood worker that believes in doing things right and who puts out some of the very best of what ever he is making. Plus he is a darn nice guy to go along with it. God Bless my friend.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Well this is definitely my favourite comment of the day Frank. You're going to make me blush if you keep that up. LOL. There's actually a story behind the bandsaws and the scroll saw. The large bandsaw is my original saw and I've had it for years and it has served me well. For years my father had an old table top Delta band saw (one of the ones on the shelf) and it never worked properly. He did everything to set it up and even sent it back to Delta to have them set it up and it still didn't work right. Serious blade drift and problematic thrust bearings etc. Anyway, he was pretty much at wits end with the saw and mentioned it to me where I said, "I can try to set it a calibrate it for you". Well I did and it took about 5 minutes to do. The saw ran beautifully after that and my father basically said that because I was the one who finally got it working right, that I could have it and I've had it ever since. It's an older one when quality was important to companies and it is very well made. The other band saw on the shelf was also my father's. But when he moved to the coast, he didn't need the extra bandsaw and gave it to me as well and I still use that one for smaller jobs as well. I prefer the Delta over the Ryobi but either way, they both have sentimental value and I have a hard time giving them up. As for the scroll saw, it was an older one that (again) my father had and was going to get rid of. I could't let him throw it away so I kept it and mounted it to the wall. It's actually chain driven and still works believe it or not. It's definitely a conversational piece. I love the fact that you not only see the content of the show, but you also see the things in the shop that make the show a little more interesting. Seeing more than just the contents of the box so to speak. You also see the surroundings that the box was presented in. Thanks for your attentive nature Frank. It's always appreciated.

[@bobh64]

Thanks Ken your one of the few Videos featuring the rabbeted half blind dovetail on youtube using the dr4 pro.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You're very welcome Bob. I'm glad that you found this video and I hope you find it useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Thanks for tuning in.

[@gregohare2406]

Great video. But I do have one question. Seems like the finished drawer is slightly racked. Looks like it rocks while sitting on the router table. Maybe I am wrong. But I guess if it were the case it would be do to slightly off 90 degree cross cuts on the side pieces? Learned a lot on this video. Bought a Leigh jig 20 years ago and gave up on it after a few tries. KZbin wasn’t around back then and for me it was the equivalent of a Rubrics Cube. Think I will now have to pull it off the shelf and give it another try. Was actually thinking about selling it. Can’t believe they are now double the price. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience; it is really appreciated.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

This particular drawer was racked. It was not due to being slightly off of 90 degrees or any other issues like that. During the video, I never had a piece properly clamped down and you have a notice it shift during routing. It was the only footage I had of this procedure so I had to use it. If you looked carefully at the 26:56 mark of the video, you will see in the bottom left corner of the inside of the drawer, there is a dark spot. That is a hole. A hole caused by being routed incorrectly when your piece isn't clamped in properly and it shifts, causing you to rout too deeply. Again, the only footage I had of the assembly and truth be told, the sides of this drawer had to be redone because of it. I kept the footage and produced the video anyway, citing that the video was about the procedure, not about my mistakes. I hope this answers you question. Good luck with your jig and thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@gregohare2406]

kennyearrings1 I appreciate your candor. Was the slippage fixed by just tightening down on the left clamp or some other method? Had thought if I tightened down to much on right clamp, it might bend the bar. Either way, I am looking forward to giving it a try after about 20 years of collecting dust. Thanks again. Great tutorial. Definitely subscribed and consider you a great ‘how to’ source. Thanks also for taking the time to reply. Wishing you well.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

@@gregohare2406 Yes, tightening down the hold down bar corrected the issue. Thankfully, it was only on one piece and that was the only one that I had to recut. Glad to hear that you are going to revisit your jig. Good luck with your dovetails and thank you for the kind words.

[@peterkiernan1668]

Thanks for a well done video,lots of details, clear and precise.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You're very welcome Peter. I'm glad that you enjoyed the show. If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask. Thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@dalewilliamson1125]

Very informative Ken, really appreciate your videos!! Thanks for sharing.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Glad that you liked the show Dale. It's always great to hear your comments. Thanks for tuning in again this week.

[@pcorlis]

Ken, another great "Woodworking Video". I thought it was a great demonstration of the Leigh jig. I don't know how much you use it but it seems that it would take a lot of refreshing to get proficient at it if you don't use it for awhile. The Leigh jig sure is a top of the line tool that provides top of the line results. Super tutorial in just under 30 minutes. Paul / paulsmessyworkshop

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

I don't get the chance to use it as much as I would like Paul but it only took about 15 minutes to familiarize myself with the jig again and get the results that you see in this video. Once you know the basic concepts of the jig, then the rest is child's play. I love this jig. Thanks for tuning in and for taking the time to leave me a comment. I appreciate it.

[@bruce9108]

I am going to try to use this technique to do drawers for Blum soft close drawer slides. The faces are 1” thick planned to use 1/2 for front and 1/2 as pinboard space. There are clearances also required top and bottom. I will used the Leigh Super 12. Is this possible?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

It sounds possible but I am not too familiar with the Super 12 jig. As long as you have the clearance for the 1" piece and the rabbet that will surround the drawer face, I don't see why it wouldn't work. I would suggest consulting your manual of course to see if it will work. Alternatively, you could make the 1/2 blind dovetails and glue the 1/2" thick drawer face onto the drawer box. I hope this helps. Thanks for tuning in.

[@sumosprojects]

Wow to technical for a boofhead like me mate 😂, once again really clearly explained & displayed Kenny, your camera work & audio is crystal clear 👍👍👍, I really hope someone can make Instructional DVDs from your content in order to reward you for the time you take to explain things thoroughly, cheers from Australia mate 👍👍👍

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks Sumo. No one wants a hack like me to make them instructional videos. I think I have a face better suited for radio. LOL. Thanks for tuning in buddy.

[@sumosprojects]

kennyearrings1 you'd be surprised Kenny mate, I personally think the way that you present your content is outstanding & where I an apprentice it would be a go to for both visual & audio, it's how I would wish to be trained if I were a junior 👍👍👍👍

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You're too kind.

[@jeffdeluca1153]

Excellent tutorial Kenny

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

thanks for the kind words Jeff. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@dalerudd6330]

I like your quality workmanship. Can you put half blind dovetails on the drawer front and through dovetails on the back?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks for the kind words Dale. You could definitely do half blind on the drawer front and through dovetails on the back. I personally, have never done it but I can't see any reason why it can't be done. You would just have to make sure that you have some extra pieces of sacrificial stock, as the half blind dovetails and the through dovetails have completely different setups. You would need to test for fit prior to routing your good drawer pieces. Also, you would have to mark each piece and be 100% confident in it's position in the drawer and how it assembles so that when routing, the pieces would be oriented in the jig correctly so that they fit together the right way. My suggestion would be to make a spare drawer for testing just to make sure that you have it right. Great question. Thanks for tuning in to the show and I hope I have helped you with this answer. I appreciate your support.

[@vincegarcia8143]

awesome video, i have been wondering how this is done. i have furniture that has this on the drawers and i want to duplicate. thank you

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You're very welcome Vince. I'm glad that you found the video to be useful. Thanks for tuning in.

[@Spencerbuildsit]

Hi Ken. Just bought a jig and need to rewatch your video. Thanks for the lesson. Question: In set up, why don't pins need to be perfectly equal? Otherwise when flipped end over end to route the other end, the spacing will not be symetrical. ie. large center pin toward the top of the board on the left and toward the bottom on the right?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Because the jig uses the same setup for both the tails and the pins, it is not necessary that they be perfectly equal. The markings that are placed on the boards in the initial layout process assure that you orient your stock in the proper way to avoid pieces being flipped the wrong way and the tails and pin not lining up. As long as you follow the markings that you have laid out and don't change the orientation of the fingers of the dovetail joint, then the pieces will always align. If you flip a piece the wrong way because the initial layout marking weren't heeded, then the pieces won't line up and the un symmetrical layout will now make a big difference in your project, in a negative way. I hope this answers your question Spencer but if not, I have no problem carrying on the conversation until you get a satisfactory answer. Thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@Spencerbuildsit]

@@acutabove_woodworkings Yup, makes sense, I'm ordering a bit, and bushing and will report back. Interesting at 18:00 the pin board is not fully locked down, yet the fit is still perfect. Thanks for your thorough response.

[@Carpenters_Canvas]

Do you think it matters what bushing you use?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

As long as the bushing has the correct diameter, you can use whatever brand bushing you want. I hope this helps. Thanks for tuning in.

[@Carpenters_Canvas]

@@acutabove_woodworkings Thank you so much for responding. I appreciate you. It's my first go with the jig (I have the older version of the D-4, the D-1258R, which is the original version of the d-4) and I have a tendency of being very crucial of following directions and using the best you can get. Like the bits, I was half tempted to spend $500 dollars on the complete set of dovetail router bits from Leightools but did some research and found that Lee Vally absorbed leigh, and they sell a set of dovetail bits that work with the d series machines. thank you so much for your time and explanations.. hands down the best explanation vid I have seen.

[@c0dewarr10]

First of all, Awesome tutorial. Please clarify setup at 24:39 and 25:27. Looks like your first setup was incorrect. I am so grateful of watching your video so that I now know what to do if i want a 1/2 rabbit

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

I'm not exactly sure what kind of clarification you are looking for here. There were some clamping issues with this project as the pieces were too small to allow the rear clamp to proper clamp down the stock but for the routing at the times that you specified, there was no error in setup at all. I think what you are questioning is the stock on the top of the jig. At the first time mentioned, it is closer to the front of the jig and in the second time that you mention, it is further back. This is not an error in setup, but rather a different drawer. These were drawers for my roll top desk build and there were several sizes of drawers that were filmed for this tutorial. The first clip was just a slightly smaller drawer, that's all. Good eye!! I had to watch it three times before I saw that difference. Have no fear though, that the setup that I demonstrate in this show is the setup for the jig. Follow along and you will have no problems. Thanks for tuning in to the show and if you have any other questions (or if I haven't answered your question) please don't hesitate to let me know.

[@c0dewarr10]

@@acutabove_woodworkings It could be that i am wrong - you are really good. I just notice the stock would used to determine the depth of the pin board you had first used a space board with a rabbit of 1/2 then at 25 min into the video i notice the stock board of a 1/4" rabbit was being used. I am not sure. But, I think 23min space board was incorrect because it allowed the pin board to extend 1/2". Like i mention, this was a wonderful tutorial.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

@@c0dewarr10 I think I understand where you are questioning things now. When we rout the front face, we need to compensate for the drawers rabbeted front. So instead of having a piece of stock in place to butt up against, we actually need to place a rabbet in that stock so that our routed piece can protrude past that point by the distance of the width of the rabbet in the drawer face. You are questioning the size of the depth of the rabbet in the spacer block and you would be correct on that. I remember that when I did this, I used the wrong spacer but once I went to edit, I only had the wrong spacer footage and had to use it as a demonstration of the spacer. While the visual aid of that clip is not exact to the measurements that are needed, it still remains as the process required to compensate for the drawer face's rabbet. (man, that was a mouthful). You've got a good eye there. Maybe I should get you to proof watch my show before I post it. LOL.

[@jamescampbell7780]

Any issues with breakout when rabbeting Ken? And are these Leigh screws durable?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

None whatsoever James. I've never had any issue with breakout. As for the screws....I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to. I think you may be referring to the square head drive screws. They are a Canadian thing and we have been using them forever and a day. Once you use them, you will wish every screw was a square drive. (Robertson drive). I hope this helps. If this isn't what you were asking, please feel free to clarify your question and I would be more than happy to help if I can. Thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@barryroberts6470]

Another great video from you Ken, and i wonder what that drawer was made for? If i guess right do i win a prize ha ha ha Only joking but well done on a very informative and helpful video. Barry (ENG)

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks Barry. No, you don't get a prize. LOL. I'm hoping to do a few more Leigh Jig videos in the future because there seems to be some confusion as to how to properly use this jig. As long as you pay attention to your set up, this jig performs flawlessly and with it having such a high price tag, it's a shame that people are giving up on it because they won't take the time to learn how to use it properly. Thanks for tuning in.

[@davidmcmullen6962]

Nice job! Great video also.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Glad that you liked it David. Thanks for tuning in and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate it.

[@dasilva7719]

Fantastic work! A job well done!!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Glad that you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind words. Thanks for tuning in and for taking the time to leave a comment. It's appreciated.

[@Bill_CBR]

I'm curious how you got a perfect fit when your board that you were cutting the pins in moved back about a 1/4" during the cut? kzbin.info/www/bejne/paunp357rKh6hpom15s

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You've got a good eye there Bill. The clamping pressure was slightly too light during the rout of the pins and the board did in fact move. The good news is that it only moved from front to back and didn't move from side to side. So after a test fit, I was able to adjust the clamping pressure and re-rout the pins to get the fit that I wanted. By the board moving in the way it did, all it accomplished was making the sockets too shallow. If it were to have moved from side to side, the sockets would have been completely the wrong size and the board would have been scrap. On the correction pass of the router, I forgot to film the footage. I'm always amazed at how perceptive my viewers are when it comes to these videos and you sir, are no exception. Thanks for chiming in and thank for tuning in to the show. It's always appreciated.

[@BDM_PT]

Hi there from Portugal, Nice Drawer :D Obrigado(Thanks)

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks for the kind words and for tuning in to the show. I'm glad that you like the project. Always great to hear from you,

[@chrismoore9997]

I saw one of your parts move in the jig while you were making your cut, so I am sure you fixed some problems in editing and this guide doesn't really tell what needs to be known.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

While you are 100% correct that pieces did move during the filming of that segment Chris, it has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not this guide tells what needs to be known. The movement of the parts was caused by my own user error and the only thing that I changed was doing a better job in clamping them in for future passes. The piece that moved had to be scrapped and I made a new one but the methods that I demonstrate here on this show are EXACTLY what needs to be known. Thanks for tuning in.

[@woodysranch2690]

Wow Ken, you had a lot more hair four years ago!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

A lot of things were different a four years ago David. LOL. At least I'm still on the right side of the sod. Thanks for tuning in to the show and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate it.

[@oceanusn]

@@acutabove_woodworkings Holy Freudian slip Woody! 👍

[@paulbertsch7540]

Great well explained video.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thank you for the kind words Paul. I'm glad that you enjoyed the show. Thank you for tuning in.

[@michaelroof1969]

well done.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks for the kind word Michael. I appreciate you tuning in to the show.

[@totobill22]

10:10 and 10:17 .....le morceau bouge et n'a pas été serré !

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You are 100% correct. I didn't have the piece clamped in properly and they shifted during the routing. I had to remake the piece that shifted and I also had to make sure that I had them clamped in a little better for future router passes. Mistakes happen. Be sure to clamp in the pieces firmly before routing. Thank you for tuning in to the show.

[@rakmaarcg1553]

Seems you lost some weight, hope you are OK :-)

[@barstad-9591]

Rakmaar CG I ditto your comment. His weight loss was the first thing I noticed when seeing the viewed.

[@barstad-9591]

Video, not viewed.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks for the concern Rakmaar. I had some issues with my heart back in September of 2016 and have been on dietary restrictions and an exercise program ever since. I also spent 6 months in a cardiac rehabilitation program and the combination of diet change and exercise has resulted in an over 60 pound weight loss. My health is fantastic these days and I am feeling good now. Thanks again for the concern and for tuning in to the show. I hope you enjoyed it.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Barbara, Thans for the concern on the weight loss, I will just copy and paste what I said the Rakmaar CG to address your comment. I had some issues with my heart back in September of 2016 and have been on dietary restrictions and an exercise program ever since. I also spent 6 months in a cardiac rehabilitation program and the combination of diet change and exercise has resulted in an over 60 pound weight loss. My health is fantastic these days and I am feeling good now. Thanks again for the concern and for tuning in to the show. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

[@MrPatdeeee]

May Jesus continue to bring you good health. Your DIY's are outstanding.