No doubt about it, a table saw in the shop is a real work horse. If most of us had to grab a hand saw and rip a twelve foot board the old fashioned way, we'd probably give up woodworking. But ripping and crosscutting are only a couple of the things a table saw are good for. Cutting rabbets on a table saw is a breeze.
Although it's not hard, and it's very achievable, cutting accurate through dados or grooves on a table saw can be an aggravating and time consuming task because of the setup time for a stack dado set. Cutting sliding dovetails is virtually impossible, and cutting stop sliding dovetails simply can not be done. But, there is a way... it's fast, easy, affordable, and accurate.
Precise engineering and quality parts allow the Accurate Guide from Accurate Woodworking Tools, LLC. (Pickett, Wisconsin) to perform either task quickly, easily, and very accurately.
So, how accurate is it? Well, the Accurate Guide manual says that the dado/dovetail will be the exact same size, and that you may want to keep some paper and thin card stock around to shim the jig. This will allow enough space to fit a glue line. I'm thinking this is a bunch of hoowy... right up to the point that I had to slip a card stock shim in the jig to get my sample to fit with enough space to create a glue line. Impressive!
The trickiest thing about using this jig is establishing the offset for a fence. It's the distance between the edge of the bit to the edge of the fence with the jig attached to your router. While this may seem to be a trivial, one time event, depending on the size of the dado one wants, the jig will need you to chuck either a ¼" or ½" down spiral bit. This isn't a big deal, but it does require two slightly different setups. The easiest way to "fix" this is to use the jig to cut a couple of setup bars from scrap plywood or MDF.
This thing is built and engineered very well, using high quality materials. Moderate care should allow this jig to last a lifetime, and possibly even be passed on to the next generation if you're lucky enough to have someone following in your footsteps.
With his jig, making dados and sliding dovetails is a snap. And, with a street price of under $50.00, it's a bargain. Finally, don't just take my word for this. Woodshop Demos, New Woodworker, and Woodezine have all done reviews on this jig, and they're all rather glowing.
Now, for the teaser. A quick scan will tell the reader that there is no link back to the maker or a place where one can buy it. Sadly, this jig was on the market for only a few months before someone with deep pockets bought the rights to it. Instantly, a high quality, easy to use, affordable jig was gone, and it hasn't shown back up yet. If, and when, it does, I'll be quick to link it for the rest of the world. In the meantime, I'll just gloat because I have one and you probably don't.