Project - "Dovetailing the Drawers"

Why do I dovetail drawers for shop cabinets? I have several reasons: 1) the shop drawers get heavy use and need the mechanical advantage that dovetails have; 2) they look better; and 3) it is good practice.    I am going to use the KatieJig for making dovetails on these two drawers.
	The KatieJig comes with two bits — a straight bit for cutting the pins and a dovetail bit for the dovetails. They have pattern bearings to guide against the jig.    They are 1/4" and 3/8" shafts and must use collar adapters to be used in the 1/2" collet.    Sommerfeld Tools now sells the KatieJig and has persuaded CMT to make the right bits with 1/2" shanks. These will be good bits to have.
The Katie Jig uses two backer boards that have to be replaced when you start a new setup. The thickness has to be very exact. I use the thickness sander to slowly bring some scrap MDF down to the right thickness.
	The KatieJig Manual tells the exact thickness the backer boards should be. I don't have a micrometer, so I put the original board in the center and the two MDF pieces alongside and feel the difference. I keep passing them through the sander until they feel exactly the same. It works for me.
I now space out the fingers of the jig. I want one half of a tail on each end of the board, so I simply space the end forks by eye.
	With the end forks spaced for the width of the board, I now adjust the two center forks so that they are pretty much equally spaced. The forks do not have to be perfectly symmetrical. Even if one or both are off, the tails and pins will match up because of the way they are cut — more on this in a bit.
With the fork spacing done, I can set the edge guides. I start by centering a piece of wood scrap that is the same width as the drawer sides. Again, I can do this by eye.    When I set the stops, I add about 1/16th" extra space to allow for any slight wood variations.
	I now add the handles for using the jig with the router table.
This is one way to set the bit height. Place a piece of the stock on top of the jig forks and raise the bit until it is just "peaking" over the top.    I am showing this method mainly to show you that the bearing (arrow) must contact the forks of the jig and have at least 1/8" overlap — this dovetail bit gives a good amount of overlap — that is good.
	I am making a sample cut.
About 5 minutes later,   I have re-adjusted my forks to give slightly more room for the 1/2 tails. Note that with the 1st try, at the right, the outside tails would be very tiny and subject to chipping off.    The 2nd setup allows wider, stronger tails. That is what is nice about a variable spaced jig — it allows you to set up what will look best and be strongest.    Now to change bits and make the pins.