Leigh R9 Dovetail Jig

With this setup, you can rout through-dovetail and box joints with a handheld router, as shown at right, or template-down with a table-mounted router; both work great. The R9 comes with two adjustable side stops for registering the workpiece’s edge, and three pin plates that mount to the top of the backer board for positioning the machined aluminum template. You can slide it down after routing one set of pins or tails to effectively double the jig’s width capacity without losing registration. The jig makes three sizes of through dovetails (3/8", 7/16", and 1/2" pin widths) in boards up to 13⁄16" thick, as well as three sizes of box joints (3/16", 3/8", and 3/4" finger widths) in boards up to 7/8" thick. As usual, Leigh provides an exceptional owner’s manual, clearly written with illustrated steps. After setting up the jig, I routed a through-dovetail joint—a two-bit setup cut on each side of the jig—that was just a little tight. A slight turn of the guide bushing in your router’s subbase (its slightly elliptical shape lets you adjust the router’s position between the guide fingers, as long as you hold the router the same each time) produced a perfect-fitting joint the second time. Next, I routed box joints. My first attempt was a tad loose, but again, an adjustment of the guide bushing tightened up the next joint perfectly. —Tested by Pat Lowry, WOOD Magazine