My new (used) Omnijig...

[burgie]

Good morning...

I had been wanting an "old style" 24" Porter-Cable Omnijig to compliment my 16" version I brought brand new years ago. I scoured Craigs & ebay to no avail until one day I decided to search in my home town New England region.

Up in southeastern Maine was my gem; a 24" Omnijig. I contacted the seller, explained that I was originally from the Boston area and my brother could swing up and get it...and the rest is history.

I bought the complete package for $390:

24" Omnijig base assembly
1/4" half-blind dovetail template
1/2" half-blind dovetail template
1/2" Pins hand dovetail template
1/2" Tails hand dovetail template
Adjustable through dovetail template
Sliding dovetail template
Box joint template

My brother shipped it through his company so it didn't cost me a thing for shipping. I received it mid-last week and yesterday spend the afternoon on disassembly, cleaning & polishing, waxing, reassembly and a new poplar base.

While $390 may seem like a lot, as a point of reference about a month or so ago I bought the 1/2" Pins hand dovetail template & 1/2" Tails hand dovetail template for my 16" Omnijig and they were about $87 each (and with limited availability which is why I acted to get them before they became obsolete).

Here are a few pics of both systems sitting side-by-side...

 

[Duker]

Nice score!, they are a beast.

I have had my 24" Ominijig around 20+ years. I leave it set up for 1/2" half blind dovetails with a dedicated router set up just for that purpose. I can knock out a front and back dovetailed drawer with that jig in under 2 minutes and that includes a skimming pass to avoid tear out.

It's my preferred method to construct drawers if I can make the dimensions in 7/8" increments as I know I will have even half pins top and bottom.

 

[TheGrooveking]

I have the 16" Omnijig along with a few optional pin/tail plates I bought in the late 80's.

TheGrooveking

 

[turbowoodworker]

Nice find. I've been looking for one myself for years but just can't seem to find the right deal. I will just keep working with my loose inaccurate POS 39 dollar deal and making bad joints. When I'm not in a hurry and only doing a drawer or two for a furniture piece, I still like to hand cut.

 

[burgie]

These vintage versions of the Omnijig are my favorite. The newer ones resemble the Leigh system and while I am sure they are nice systems, I prefer these cast aluminum monsters. I don't use these every day but when I need them they perform admirably!!!

Now to figure out a way to hang all the templates for easy access yet in a whay that looks cool