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I built my first guitar using a kit from John that had the neck joint already routed. I am on guitar #2 now, and will have to tackle that task myself. I expect to build a guitar per year for...the next 20 years? I'm debating what setup to go with for routing the neck and body. The LMI/O'Brien setup seems to tackle all aspects of the task: finding the centerline, routing the mortise, the tenon, and setting the neck angle. I could probably build one for $100 (including buying the routing pattern insert from LMI. Or I could buy the whole setup for $250.

For the low volume I expect to build, I hate "over-tooling" by stocking up on expensive tools I'll rarely use. I also have a fairly small shop and try to avoid storing lots of things that get used 1X per year. But I also know that this step of the process is critical to get right. Should I just pony up the funds to get the LMI setup and enjoy my guitar building? Or should I look at other options? The Elevate jig looks nice, but it doesn't handle the angle-setting step as well (you have to remove and reset the tool when switching from neck to body, so the angle is not "automatic").

What should I be thinking about when making this decision? Thanks so much!
Brennan-

Look back in the forum. I've just built a neck routing jig for dovetail guitars. It was cheap and easy. You will need to either male, or buy templates for the mortise and tenon. I got mine for $50.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9794&p=57612#p57612

Here ya go. Let me know if you have any questions. I made 2 separate jigs, one for the tenon and the other for the mortise. Some jigs are all-in-one. My shop is small; mine store easily.

Here's the Mortise jig.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9795&hilit=Dovetail+mortise

I cobbled up something that uses the StewMac fixture design https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas ... tructions/ , and I made my own templates. Luckily, the setup can be pretty crude and still yield a usable result. Now that I've used it a couple of times so I know what matters, I could rebuild it with more care and get something that's easier to set up and use.

I cut the templates with my CNC router. Even with CNC, making them was quite a job. After they were done, the StewMac template price that looked so exorbitant when I started looked a lot more reasonable.

LMI's setup is certainly more elaborate and possibly more foolproof, but I'm not sure it's enough better to make me want to buy it. The StewMac setup works well enough for me. Realize though that I an a frugal sort (a.k.a. "cheap b******") so you may want to discount my reluctance to spend money.

I used several evoltions of shopmade dovetail jigs for years. Always wanting to up my game, I did spring for the LMI jig a few years ago. It was so over engineered that I actually gave it away. I'm back just using and occasionally improving my shop made set-up.