Leigh Industries is located near Vancouver, BC. I went to see their new products up close. I took a cursory look at those in the story Leigh Dovetail Jigs: New Design, Affordably Priced and will examine the new jigs more fully in a future Tool Test article in magazine.
A behind-the scenes look was also offered to me by the company, which is well-known for its dovetailing Jigs.
Let’s start at the Leigh Building and give you some company history. Its been 25 years since founder and CEO Ken Grisley, along with his wife Joan, opened the doors of Leigh Industries. For those who are interested, Leighs website has more information.
With 2003 came a new building, designed with space for a tenant , or room to grow. Ken hopes to expand into the additional space sometime in the future.
Enter the Leigh headquarters and youre treated to furniture created by Jeff Greenup, using the Leigh jigs (shown above). The work represents the earliest dovetail jigs, to the patented Isoloc joints, and the FMT that produces mortise-and-tenon joints of all kinds. Some of these projects were completed while the jig was being developed or made available to woodworkers. You will be inspired by the large amount of joinery created using their jigs.
Ken and his sons call the office home. Matt Grisley, the president and general manger, and Steve Grisley are the purchasing and production managers. Matt said that the business was not meant to be run by a family. It just happened that way. After working in various other ventures for a while, Matt decided to join the business. He was careful to note that if antipathy develops, he would move on. Ken was a witness to family disputes between family members while living in England, and he didn’t want any part of it. However, that hasn’t happened. Steve later joined the company and assumed the duties, which were in line with his previous job experience.
Leigh employs 15 people, plus a few seasonal workers. (The slow season in woodwork is summertime when there is too much going on for most people to get into the shop.
You will find the business end at Leigh by going through the back doors. The light manufacturing, assembly, warehousing and shipping is completed in the back portion of the building.
Extruded aluminum for the jig bodies is brought in and cut to length before it receives light milling and is shipped out to receive a special finish. Recently, Leigh Industries brought in a Haas VF4 to do the milling in-house, but the machines primary job is making templates. Parts that were once contracted out are now closely watched to assure the quality thats inherent in Leigh jigs.
Steve shows an FMT unit in production.
The assembly of the jigs starts when the bodies and other parts have returned. Parts are attached to the base at various stations. Fingers are added to a dovetail template. The router bits are then added to the kits. Finally, the jigs are placed into their boxes and ready for shipping.
