Get documents about "Gifkins Hand Cut Dovetail Templates
Document Sample
USER REPORT
Gifkins ‘Hand Cut’
Dovetail Templates
by Neil Scobie
R
oger Gifkins, the designer and one to another. If you
manufacturer of the highly success- are using the one jig
ful Gifkins Dovetail Jig, has re- body and swapping
leased new upgrades to accompany his templates, you will
dovetail jig. These consist of two new need to place a new
templates to produce smaller more deli- MDF packing board to suit the cutters Photo.1: Some sample dovetails
cate joints, featuring narrower pins, being used. If you can afford it, it is well cut with the new templates.
which give a more ‘hand cut’ dovetail worth buying the extra jig body to save
set up time. 9.5mm thick timber, I then swapped cut-
look (Photo.1).
ters, placing the straight TGHS12 cutter
The H10 template has 18mm pin I thicknessed some Jarrah and Silver
in the router to cut the pins. The pins
spacings, and the H20 template has Ash to 9.5mm and 6mm thick to make
have to be cut with the straight cutter
26mm pin spacings. Both these tem- the test cuts. These timbers were chosen
and the other side of the jig, which has
plates are used with new cutters de- because they would contrast well. I then
the tapered fingers.
signed specifically for their purpose, and proceeded to cut dovetails with the H10
template on both thicknesses of timber. As with all new jigs, it is important to
manufactured by the renowned Aus-
make a trial cut to check how tight the
tralian router bit manufacturer, Carb-I- The set up is exactly the same as for
joint is. I found that I had to remove two
Tool. The dovetail cutter has a catalogue using the ‘A’ or ‘B’ templates. You use
paper shims, but I won’t have to adjust
number of TGHD12 and the straight cut- the fingers with the straight slots in con-
the shims again until I get the cutters
ter is TGHS12. junction with the TGHD12 dovetail cut-
sharpened, somewhere down the track.
With the "Handcut" templates, you ter to cut the dovetails (Photo.2), firstly
setting the height of the cutter slightly As I expected, the finished joints
can dovetail timber up to 10mm in
higher than the thickness of the timber. were absolutely perfect with no gaps,
thickness and as thin as 2mm. I have
You can position your timber centrally and the edges lined up exactly. I pro-
been using the Gifkins Dovetail jig with
on the jig fingers so that you have either ceeded to cut a dovetail joint on the
the A and B templates for a number of
half or full pins on the edges of your tim- 6mm thick timber using the same
years, so I am very familiar with the
ber. Once you have positioned the tim- process as mentioned above, and it, too,
process of cutting dovetails. My new ‘H’
ber, slide the stop up to the edge of the was faultless (Photo.3). You do need to
templates arrived with an extra jig body,
timber and lock it in place. You may remember to change the height of the
so it was only a matter of screwing the
notice in the photos of the jig that I have cutters when swapping to different thick-
H10 template in place on the bottom of
two stops, one located on each end of ness timbers.
the jig body and it was ready to test.
the jig. The second stop can be pur- Then I swapped templates and
The templates have the same locating
chased as an optional extra — it saves placed the H20 on the jig and complet-
holes that are common to all the Gifkins
lots of set up time. ed trial cuts on both thicknesses of tim-
templates, so it is easy to change from
After cutting the dovetails on the ber. The process was exactly the same,
Photo.2: Cutting dovetails with the H10 template. Photo.3: Some sample dovetails cut with the H10 template.
56 Australian Woodworker May/June ‘02
Photo.5: The accessory spacers used to create the
variable spacing between pins with the new templates.
Photo.4: Some sample dovetails cut with the H20 tem-
plate. Note the extra spacing between pins.
the only difference being the width of body next to the stop (Photo.6). The pur- vary all the spaces if you want to. I will
the spaces between the dovetails pose of these spacers is to allow you to not go through the whole process of
(Photo.4). The space between the pins is cut uneven spaced dovetails where you using the spacers, suffice to say they
20mm for the H20 template and 12mm can have either wider spaced pins in the work very well and give you lots of
for the H10 template, while the pins middle of the joint, or a wider space options.
remain at 6mm for both the H10 and between the pins, depending on how The upgrade kits are available from
H20 templates. you set up your timber on the jig. Roger and Jenny Gifkins, 619 Belmore
The templates give the look of hand- This option is excellent for when you River Road, Via Kempsey NSW 2440,
cut dovetails with the narrower pins and want to make a box and saw it in half on Ph: 02 65 674313, Fax: 02 65 674681,
larger gaps between them. Both will the saw bench, as you can set the jig up e-mail gifkins@midcoast.com.au, and
have their use in my workshop, particu- so that you will have a half pin on either web site, www.gifkins.com.au. The
larly in drawer construction. I am quite side of the top and bottom half of the "Handcut" upgrade is $164 for one tem-
happy to use 10mm thick drawer sides box. I should mention that the spacer set plate and one pair of cutters or $239 for
and add a drawer slip to provide the can be used with any of the Gifkins Jig both templates and one pair of cutters.
extra bearing surface. I can also see templates. I only tested them with the The variable space upgrade is $29
enormous potential in making smaller H10 template and they worked extreme- including instructions. These prices
jewel boxes, as the smaller dovetails will ly well (Photo.7). include GST.
look much more classy and professional. As with all the Gifkins Dovetail Jigs I have no hesitation in recommend-
The second upgrade released for use and upgrades, Roger supplies a set of ing these upgrades to the Gifkins Dove-
in conjunction with the Gifkins dovetail easy-to-follow clear and concise instruc- tail Jig, as I know they are precision
jig is a set of spacers which allow vari- tions. I followed them and had no prob- made and backed up with a great set of
able spaced dovetails to be cut. The four lems cutting a joint with a wider pin in instructions and warranty (although I
spacers are made from phenolic resin the middle. point out that the small dovetail cutter is
and measure 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm You do not have to have the wider not covered for breakage, because of its
and 8mm in thickness (Photo.5). They pin or pin space in the middle. You can size). w
have been shaped to go over the jig
Photo.6: Cutting uneven spaces. Photo.7: A sample of dovetails cut using uneven
spacing — ideal for many uses including cutting boxes
into top and bottom halves.
Australian Woodworker May/June ‘02 57
Related docs
