Hand cut dovetails versus a router jig, 10 years later

I started hand cutting dovetails in my uncle's shop outside Nashville and swore I'd never touch a jig, but after a 40 drawer kitchen last fall I caved and bought one. The jig saved me about 6 hours but honestly the fit feels soulless, has anyone else switched back and forth and regretted one side more?

1 comments

1 Comment

uma_johnson13d ago

You say the fit feels "soulless" but I'll take a clean, repeatable joint over my own shaky hands any Tuesday. That kitchen job sounds like the jig earned its keep, and honestly, nobody's going to inspect those dovetails with a magnifying glass ten years from now. I've hand cut stuff that had gaps I had to hide with sawdust and glue, and that felt way more like cheating than letting a template do the work. The jig isn't the problem, it's the pride that gets in the way of just getting the damn drawer built.