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Dovetail-jig Stabilizer Fence

Have you ever struggled to keep boards properly aligned in your dovetail jig?

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Have you ever struggled to keep boards properly aligned in your dovetail jig? Most jigs rely on a small cam to position the board, but don't provide enough support along the length of the board to prevent racking. Without proper alignment, the dovetails vary slightly in length, resulting in a poor fit.

Our dovetail jig fence provides support on both horizontal and vertical planes. And, the fence bars adjust so you can fine-tune them to match your jig setup. We built this fence for a Porter-Cable model 5008 dovetail Templet, but you can adapt the fence to fig your particular jig.

To make the fence, cut the body pieces (A, B, C, D, and E) to size. Using your tablesaw, rip a 1/8" groove 1/4" deep in the top plate (A) where shown on the Exploded View drawing below. Reset the blade depth to 1/2", then cut the rabbet in the front plate (B) where shown.

Fasten the top and front plates (A and B) to the clamping and support blocks (C and D) with glue and screws as shown. Then position the dovetail jig in the groove and mount it with screws.

Drill 1/4" counterbored holes where shown in the front plate (B) and fence plate (E), and insert 1/4X2" carriage bolts in the holes. Clamp the fence plate (E) in position, making sure the top of the plate is flush with the face of the jig. Then, attach the fence plate with screws as shown.

Cut the fence bars (F and G) to size and cut a 1/8 X 1/8" rabbet on one edge. Using a 5/16" bit, drill holes as shown in the Slot Detail drawing to create the 5/16" slots. Install the fence bars with washers and wing nuts as shown.

To adjust the fence, set the jig for a particular type of dovetail joint, then clamp a scrap board vertically in the jig. Insert a board horizontally in the jig and align its squarely cut end firmly against the vertical scrap. Then, position the top fence bar against the edge of the horizontal board and tighten the wing nuts down.

To make vertical adjustments, clamp a board horizontally in the jig, and index the squared end of a vertical board against it. Then, slide the front fence bar against the edge of the vertical piece and tighten the wing nuts.