I loved woodworking in High School & after 35 years decided to have my own shop & get back into woodworking ( one of those mid-life things).I bought this & a Porter 890 router. Both awesome tools.The instructions are easy to use. Most everything you need to know is on the machine.
My first open dovetail joint actually fit very well. The mini dovetail template is a gotta have ,so go ahead & spend a little extra to get this & not the 4212 jig. Small jewelry boxes with open dovetail joints are very classy. With is set up you can turn out great joints in no time!

It takes a little getting used to ,but after a few mistakes I had much success. It was just a matter of reading the directions.

I have a Jointech cabinet makers system to do dovetails, box joints, etc. etc. Learning to use that system was a real headache. It does a fine job and the joints look great, but because of the difficult process of making a through dovetail I thought I would get a jig to help me out. I would use the jig for the through dovetails and the Jointech for everything else.

My first attempt with the 4216 met with great results. A few minor adjustments and it was turning out joints which looked nearly as good and were just as tight as a system I had spent well over a thousand dollars on.

What is the trade off? Well, the 4216 is limited on the types of joints and sizes you can make. You can do 1/2 and 1/4 inch box and dovetails, both through and blind types. You can also do rabbeted blind joints. With a little imagination you can do variably spaced dovetails ... and they look pretty good. Last but not least, you can make sliding dovetail joints.

The joints ARE fairly basic ... they don't have the "handcrafted" look of the expensive system. You can see the rounded sockets on the inside of the blind dovetails. The sizes of the joints are pretty limited ... only 1/2 and 1/4 inch. But if you want a quick dovetail/box joint with a less expensive piece you are buiding with almost zero hassles, this is the jig to get.

For less than $200 you can begin to make these joints. The setup is easy. There are even depth guages on the jig to help you set the depth of your router bit. Instruction are clear and detailed. The jig is very well built and will last a lifetime. I find myself using it more and more ... even for the blind joints. I've developed a few tricks to improve the looks of the joints ... by rabbeting the inside of the side piece a tiny bit to hide the round end of the socket. Really, for the price you cannot get a better made, better working or easier to use system.