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Lew suggested: This would probably make a great thread. Tips, jigs, processes, etc. on hand cut dovetails. Well, here it is. Let's see some postings. Here are some of my trials and errors. Let's start the meeting. Hi, I'm Keith and I have a hand cut dovetail problem. (all) "Hi, Keith." I have read about the "blue masking tape technique." I tried that last week once and (stupid me) I pulled off the wrong part prior to cutting the pins. I few years ago, I practiced a joint-a-day prior to making some boxes for coasters for Christmas presents. They turned out well, but I got out of practice. I recently did some through dovetails on the tool totes I made and they came out "OK". I also read a "handy hint" about using a mortising machine to chop out the last bit of a half-blind pin, the chiseling the rest. Hmm, not convinced that's not just a gimmick. My first lesson in hand-cut dovetails was at a Tage Frid seminar. If you know much about him, you know he used a large bow saw. And if there were gaps, he had two fixes: 1) saw in a kerf at the gap and put in a shim or 2)take a hammer and pound the end grain to push it into the gap. Neither appealed much to me. Second lesson was a Frank Klausz video. Frank prides himself on speed. That's great, but led me down the wrong path for a while. Skill first, then speed, not vice-versa. "You don't need to mark, just cut. You know which side is outside and which side is inside, just cut the angle. Etc." Popular Woodworking once had an article on making a couple of cutting guides, sort of "training wheels for the dovetailer." I made them but only used once or twice. Next lesson was Paul Sellers who introduced "knife wall" that helped me quite a bit. The one thing I've never tried is (I think Chris Schwarz's) method of putting a rabbet on the back edge of the tail piece. I guess that makes a neater joint (no visible gaps) on the inside and helps align up for scribing the pin cut lines. Somewhere in there I got a P-C dovetail jig. It makes nice uniform dovetails, but I learned you need to plan your joint height (e.g., drawer height) to the spacing on the jig. And it only makes half-blind. Then I got another jig that was supposed to be a great, adaptable jig. I went to a day long class and it still took me over two days of studying and making notes and diagrams that are not in the 50 page manual before I could do my first set. Its main problem is its complexity and you have to make constant changes and adjustments from one cut to the next. It's easy to screw things up. My long-standing statement is, "Every time you have to change something, it gives you a chance to make an error." With it, even though I think I've done everything right and double checked, I do get some gaps once in a while. So now it mostly sits on a shelf of regretted purchases. The last time I used it, I managed to fill in the problem areas with my burn-in skills. So, I occasionally persist but fall in the same camp as Fred, for now. Recently, I decided to try the "Joint-a-day" for a month and see what happens. But the real question, "Pins first or tails first?" I find it easier to mark the pins from the tails than vice-versa and it's easier to make a 90 degree cut to fit than an angled one, so if I'm off a bit on the tail angle, I can just adapt the pin.
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Interesting article on cutting through dovetails. Tails first process. https://www.popularwoodworking.com/editors-blog/how-to-make-through-dovetails/?k=O5aSyEQDrOJ71MtJucCkmub0UnqR%2BIUKrY3UU4gftQ8%3D&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=pww-rfa-nl-190106&cid=DM95690&bid=956688930
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So I am practicing handcut dove tails. I am up to cut 12, still a few minor things im not happy with but my OCD wont be happy till there are no mistakes!! Below is attempt 12 So my issues here were the knife wall for the middle pin was compressed, you could see from the inside. The finish on the proud parts of the joint was rough. I find that when chiselling out the waste my chisel doesn't seem to cut very well on chop cuts. I literally sharpened them before I started the joint as well!! Maybe I am being a bit too aggressive, or could it just be that pine compresses more easily? Hopefully 13 will be my lucky One!!
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Despite having a BIG crick in the neck ( must of slept wrong) decided to try again with these fancy dovetails.. Place is still an organized mess, but things are moving along. Fine tuning the first corner, and also laying out the cuts for corner "B". There IS a knife to mark the lines, sitting there. The sharpie is more for marking the mating corners, like "A-A" so I can keep things in order. Almost cut the wrong end, so the sharpie came out. The idea is to stand one part up onto the other, and then mark the lines with the knife. That saw there then cuts ( or tries) on the "waste" side of the lines. Then a bunch of chopping with the stable of chisels. There is an area on the sides of each joint that are just miter cuts. After chopping out the tails on this one, there miter cut is carried across the short rebate on the end. Takes a bit of cut, fit, cut, and try again. When it looks like I'm getting close. Clamping it up will close things up further, as there is a knife edge at the corner. At least it is still square Need to do the last side, both ends. Then cut a bottom piece to fit in those grooves. Then, maybe a walnut lid, of some sort? This would have been easier in Pine, but I didn't have enough pine scraps of the same size. Might work a little more tonight, after going over to the ER for this neck...
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