"John" wrote:

I just read the post on the Akida Jig, and my first impression was
that it looks really cool, and easy to use, and is way out of my
budget (especailly when you add shipping).

But, I have to ask myself is there really a need for a $460 dovetail
jig these days? There's been a lot of posts lately about how glue
joints are stronger than the wood, so the advantages of dovetail
joints to me seems dated now. As far as I'm aware, box joints are
stronger, faster and cheaper than dovetails (I built a box-joint jig
for around $40. It even has a clamp for sacrifical wood to prevent
tearout, which the dovetail jigs still don't seem to have...).

So, are dovetails going to be a tell-tale sign of the age of
furniture
the same way Knapp joints are now, or is there some reason that they
will continue to be used?


When you figure out a way to use a box joint to replace a half blind
dovetail for attaching a drawer front to a drawer side for example,
come on back and we'll talk some more.

BTW, built my box jigs for maybe $5 and that's pushing it.

Box joints have a lot of applications on a boat and can be very
attractive; however, when you need a dovetail..................

Lew