Vent: My old boss insisted on hand cutting all drawer dovetails, but my new shop uses a jig.

For eight years I worked under a guy in Chicago who said machine-cut joints showed a lack of skill. Now at my current job, we use a Leigh jig and finish a kitchen's worth of drawers in a day. Is the time saved worth losing that hand-cut detail, or is it just smart business?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona5023mo ago

That Leigh jig is a serious time saver. My old foreman in Boston had the same rule about hand tools, but we were doing custom furniture, not production kitchens. Does your current shop ever mix methods? Like, hand cutting for a visible showpiece drawer front but using the jig for the sides and backs no one sees?

the_henry2mo ago

Nah, I think you're overthinking it honestly, jigs are jigs and hands are hands.

the_seth3mo ago

Man, I feel that. @fiona502 has a point about mixing methods, but my hand-cut dovetails look like a toddler did them, so the jig saves everyone from my shame.