Buying Guide
The Best Joinery Jigs: Six Ways to Make a Joint Fit
Loose tenons, pocket holes, dowels and traditional tenons all solve the same problem differently. Six jigs, what each is actually strong enough for, and which one to buy first.
Joinery Jigs
Review
3D Pantograph Router Jig Review
A pantograph jig for copying and scaling carvings with a router. What it does well, what it cannot do, and what to buy.
7.0
Review
AWR Dovetail Master: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
A dovetail jig no longer in production. What separates a good dovetail jig from a frustrating one, and what to buy now.
Review
GMC BJ110 Biscuit Joiner: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
GMC's budget biscuit joiner, gone since the brand left the market in 2008. What to check on a used one, and the current equivalent.
Review
SignCrafter Sign Making Kit Review
A template-and-router kit for cutting lettering. Where it beats freehand carving, and the current kit to buy.
7.0
Review
SpiroCrafter Router Template Kit Review
A decorative inlay and design template kit for routers. What it does, where it frustrates, and what to buy.
7.0
Review
Woodhaven Biscuit Master Jig: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
A router-based biscuit jig no longer sold. Whether a router can replace a biscuit joiner, and what to buy now.
Review
Beadlock Loose Tenon System Review
Overlapping drilled holes make a mortise; a scalloped tenon fills it. Domino joinery for the price of a drill bit.
8.2
Review
Delta 34-184 Tenoning Jig Review
A cast iron carriage that holds a board vertical over the table saw blade. Heavy, fiddly to set, and hard to beat once set.
8.3
Review
Kreg K2000 Pro Pack: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
The K2000 Pro Pack is long out of production. Here is what it was, whether it is still worth using, and the current Kreg jig that replaces it.
Review
Kreg K3 Master System: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
The K3 Master System was replaced by the K4, then the K5, then the 720PRO. Here is what changed, and whether an old K3 is still worth running.
Review
Leigh D1600 Dovetail Jig: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
The D1600 was Leigh's 16-inch variable-spacing jig. It is long retired, and the D4R Pro is where that design line ended up.
Review
Miller Dowel System Review
A stepped dowel driven through a stepped hole. It is a visible joint that needs no clamps and no jig beyond the drill bit.
7.9
Review
Sherwood TBM-160 Chisel Mortiser — and the Amazon Alternative
Sherwood is Timbecon's machinery brand, sold direct. A benchtop hollow chisel mortiser is the machine class, and the WEN is the Amazon one.
7.8
Review
Veritas Dovetail Saw — and the Japanese Alternative
Veritas sells its dovetail saw through Lee Valley. A dozuki cuts a thinner kerf on the pull stroke and costs a third as much.
8.8
Review
Veritas Shelf Drilling Jig — and the Amazon Alternative
Both jigs drill a row of shelf-pin holes at a fixed offset. The Veritas is Lee Valley direct; the Kreg is the one you can order today.
8.5
Review
Dowelmax Classic 3/8 Joining System Review
An all-metal doweling jig built to furniture-grade tolerances, at a price that only makes sense if you actually need that precision.
7.9
Review
Festool Domino DF 500 Review
The Domino cuts loose-tenon joints faster and more accurately than biscuits, doweling jigs or a router table setup — the review is really about whether that speed is worth the price.
8.8
Review
Kreg Pocket-Hole Jig R3 Review
The clamp-on Kreg. No base, no built-in clamp, half the price of a K5 — and for repairs and site work that is the right trade.
8.1