Newbie Question: Festool Router and What Dovetail Jig?

[Phoenix]

Please forgive me if I've posted this in the wrong forum.  Still feeling my way around as a new guy.

I've recently gotten into cabinet making and am about to begin investing in Festool in a big way.  Just ask my banker.

One of my purchases will probably be a 1010 router and -- I thought -- the VS 600 dovetail jig.  I've since learned, however, this is no longer available in North America.

My first of a thousand questions to come:  What are folks doing for a jig?  The Porter Cable 4216 looks like it works with a Festool 1400 in a YouTube video recently available.  What kind of bearing plate do you need to reconcile metric and imperial?

If not the PC, other jigs?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Wertzy]

I just put together the Leigh D4R pro the other day and in about 2 hours made some sweet tight joints!  It gives a ton of flexibility in spacing and once I got the theory down it really is pretty easy.  Couldn't be happier.  I'm sure it costs more than the others, but I'm not a pro and want something that works well from the get to (which is why my Festool collection keeps growing)....

 

[Nick C]

Any of the Leigh jigs will work with the 1010, and will provide much better results than the VS.

 

[Michael1960]

My experience is the Leigh D4R makes good tight joints and the spacings are flexible.  The user manual is very well written and is useful in the learning phase.  As I don't use my D4R often, I find the need to keep referring to the manual.  If you want a versatile dovetail jig for frequent use it's a good option. 

 

[Sparktrician]

The OF 1010 works very nicely with the Leigh Super Jig 18. 

 

[Phoenix]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts.  Leigh seems to be the only one out there that you like.

How does the guy in this video make the Porter Cable jig work with the 1400?

Porter Cable Jig and Festool 1400

In other words, what template guide/router bit arrangements do I need for my prospective Festool 1010 that would would allow it to work with the Porter Cable jig?  I realize the Leigh is probably better and more flexible, but they are twice to three times as much as the Porter Cable.

 

[Sparktrician]

You might want to acquire a Leigh 704R guide bushing adapter for the OF 1010.  The Festool adapter that came with my OF 1010 fit so tightly that I couldn't center the bit in the bushing.  Also, the Leigh VRS system makes dust collection even better and provides good support for the router. 

 

[gkaiseril]

The sizes are covered in the PC Dovtail Manual and as noted by the presenter on the side of the jig.

 

[Phoenix]

Thanks, everyone.  That answers my questions.  I also paid a visit to my Festool Kool Aid distributor this afternoon and got a hands on feel for most of what I needed to know about other purchases too.

 

[BigfootBuilder]

I hope I will be forgiven for bringing this back from the dead, but I don't quite see it answered directly here, and I have the same-ish question. I'm also out and about right now and want to get the right stuff before I go back to my neck of the woods.

Just got the PC 4216 jig, have a 1400, and am wondering if I need to purchase the appropriately sized festool guide bushings, of if the PC ones that come with the jig will connect to the bushing supplied with the OF1400?

Many thanks...

 

[Palinus]

I hope I will be forgiven for bringing this back from the dead

I hope I will be forgiven too for bringing this back from the dead... have you solved?
I just got a Portar Cable 4216 dovetail jig and have an OF1400 router.
Thanks a lot

 

[Coen]

The VS600 is wider than most other jigs.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

You can use the Festool OF1010 and OF1400 with pretty much any dovetail fixture as long as you equip it with the correct guide bushings and tooling as required for the fixture and the type/size of dovetails you want to make. They work well and cut nice joinery.

That said, this is one of the operations that I much prefer using a typical fixed base router for rather than a plunger. Despite the OF1010's compact design, it still has, at least to my feeling, a higher center of gravity because of the plunge design. "Po-tay-to", "Po-taa-to" but what's most important is that one is comfortable with the setup in every way.

 

[jeffinsgf]

It depends on if you're going into kitchen cabinetry or custom furniture. If I were doing kitchens, I would get a simple comb style jig for half-blind dovetails. Preferably a second-hand Omni-Jig (second-hand only because it's no longer made). There are currently made half-blind jigs, but none of the current crop are as ruggedly built as the Omni. Another out of production well-made half blind jig is the ELU. I picked one of those up last fall for $25 on Facebook Marketplace.

If on the other hand, you're looking to get into custom furniture, I would steer you toward a Leigh that would do both through and half-blind with variable spacing.