Which dovetail method should a newbie learn first?

[Dale Morris]

Hi everybody, I'm the new kid on the block both to this forum and woodworking. I have wanted a wood shop for years and now at 60 I finally have one. I've been working on my shop for a year and now it's about ready to build something which means I want to learn everything I can about wood working. I have been reading and studing jointery and am confused by so many ways to make dovetails. I've read about cutting them on band saws, table saws, router, with templates, by hand ......
Which should I learn first. I have most of the power tools, so I don't want to start cutting them by hand any suggestions from anybody?


Dale


"Never Trust A Smiling Dog"

[Tom Henry]

Learn how to cut them by hand first...you might sell all your power tools once you start using hand tools...very slippery slope.:rolleyes:

[Robert Parrish]

Do you have a dovetail jig for your router? I use the Incra jig and the AKEDA jig for all my dovetails. There are a lot of videos available on the web to show you how. Start with half-blind they are the easiest. BTW I'm 68 and just finished setting up a new shop after 12 years away from woodworking!

[Dale Morris]

Do you have a dovetail jig for your router? I use the Incra jig and the AKEDA jig for all my dovetails. There are a lot of videos available on the web to show you how. Start with half-blind they are the easiest. BTW I'm 68 and just finished setting up a new shop after 12 years away from woodworking!
I do not have a dovetail jig yet although I'm going to buy one. I am totally into deals so I am always watching CL & Ebay but I'm not sure which one to buy. I've seen the Keller, and PC's Omni Jig, but that's all. Any info from all you guys will be appreciated

[Mike Henderson]

As others have said, the cheapest way to make dovetails is by hand.

If you're dead set on buying a jig, make sure it's adjustable spacing. If you buy a fixed spacing jig, you have to fit things to the jig. For example, Rockler has a fixed spacing dovetail jig on sale every now and again - and I'll bet that most of those either wind up on a shelf, never used, or get re-sold.

Mike

[Dale Morris]

Mike do you recommend any good books or videos to learn them by hand, and what hand tool do I need? I have a good selection of power tools but not many speciality hand tools.

Dale

[Tom Henry]

Mike do you recommend any good books or videos to learn them by hand, and what hand tool do I need? I have a good selection of power tools but not many speciality hand tools.

Dale

FWW website has a few videos on how to cut them by hand.

[Joe Chritz]

Granted I can cut them by hand but I wouldn't call it rapid or even very good.

I really like the router method using a good jig. I use a Leigh and like it a lot. Usually I use 1/2 blind for drawers (bonus of one set up and one router) and use through dovetails for furniture and nicer drawers.

Once you get the set up monster tackled it really doesn't take to long to knock out a few dovetails.

All that and if possible I would still like to be better at doing them by hand.

Joe

[Dave Verstraete]

I have a Leigh Jig but use it infrequently. It has an awesome instruction book that is very intuitive to come back to when I need to do dovetails. If I did it all over again, I would buy this jig again. No Regrets.

It does help to have two routers while using a jig, since it is easy to check the fit and leave the depth setting on each router during the process.

[Chuck Tringo]

A good way to learn by hand is with the Lee Valley/Veritas clamp on dovetail guides...they are easy to use, can create any variable spacing you can think of, havee 3 different angles for different looks/types of wood, and use relatively inexpensive flush saws which cut easily and dont have to be sharpened, just replace the blade. A lot cheaper than any jig to get one and a saw and they take a lot of trial and error out for you.

[mike holden]

Dale,
the simplest and cheapest way to make dovetails via power tools is the stots jig.
It is actually a jig to make a jig. Costs less than a 30 bucks for the jig and less than a hundred with the bits (buy the whole kit is my recomendation).
Makes nice joints, simple, inexpensive.
www - dot - stots - dot - com
a quick google on stots dovetail jig will get you reviews as well.

[Keith Cruickshank]

Dale: As others have said, learning to cut dovetails by hand is a very good way to start. To some woodworkers it's almost a right of passage. And contrary to the impression of the uninitiated, this is a skill that you can learn. Here is a video featuring master artisan, Craig Vandall Stevens, who demonstrates a very approachable way of learning to cut dovetails. I think you'll find this most useful: http://woodtreks.com/how-to-hand-cut-precision-dovetails-%E2%80%94-part-one-the-pins/75/ (This is a two part series and there is an additional video with special tips. I'd recommend watching all three):)

[Bob Genovesi]

I have a Leigh Jig but use it infrequently. It has an awesome instruction book that is very intuitive to come back to when I need to do dovetails. If I did it all over again, I would buy this jig again. No Regrets.

My feelings Exactly!!

[Jim Kountz]

+1 for the Leigh jig, once you learn it you just cant go wrong with it.

[lou sansone]

it depends on what you are going to build. a pile of kitchen cabnets - use a dovetail jig. but for most fine furniture, you will really improve all of your ww skills by cutting them by hand.

lou

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Depends on your approach to woodworking. If you want to have hand cut dovetails, and relish the thought of being able to do them yourself, get the tools for that. Its cheap, sort of, and easy enough.

I started out to build furniture, not learn a new skill, so my wife bought me a Leigh jig. Awsome jig. Now that I have used it for 8 years, I think that using a jig helps you get more familier with dovetails, and that understanding makes them a lot less intimidating. I can hand cut them, and on small boxes, or really special projects, I will, but on a kitchen cabinet for example, do you really want to hand cut all those, knowing that the cabinets will be gone in 15 years? Jigs also give you a lot of capacity, quick.

I love the Leigh, like Dave said, great manual, which is VERY important as you will be refering to it a bunch as you get started. That new Porter Cable jig looks pretty good as well, but I've not even seen it in person. One piece of advice on jigs, get one that is bigger then you think you will ever use. Its easy to not use all the jig, a lot harder to try to cut 24" of dovetails for that blanket chest, on an 18" jig. I also like my Leighs sliding dovetail feature.

One last thing, don't buy cheap and if you get used, make sure that you get all of the parts.

[David Keller NC]

Dale - The reason there are so many jigs and so many methods to cut dovetails is that the dovetail is a joint common to most furniture construction, and each of the methods work and will produce flawless dovetails if executed correctly.

Among power-tool only woodworkers, I'd say that the router and dovetail jig is by far and away the most-used. However, the least expensive way to cut dovetails with power tools (if you count the cost of the jig) is with a bandsaw and a couple of wooden jigs. Fine Woodworking had an article detailing this method a couple of years back. If you're a website member, so a search for it. If you're not a website member, become one. At $14.95/year, it's the least expensive instruction for a beginning woodworker in existence.

One thing I think you'll quickly realize, however, is that unless you're really into producing the Shaker umpty-billion drawer storage cases, you won't cut all that many dovetails at one time, so while a jig and a couple of routers is the most efficient method, it's debatable whether it's really needed.

One thing that learning to cut these by hand will do for you is give you infinitely variable spacing (available with some jigs) and pins that are one saw kerf wide at the top (not available with any commercial jig, though you can come close with the bandsaw method). In general, the router and jig method will get you bigger, coarser dovetails. The Woodrat (which is basically a router positioning tool with special, thin-shank bits) will get you smaller, finer dovetails. The table saw and band saw methods will get you still smaller and finer dovetails. The hand tool method will get you the finest, smallest, and most elegant dovetails, at the cost of a learning curve and a good dovetail saw and a set of chisels.

This is a matter of preference. I don't cut any dovetails with power tools any longer (I used to use the Incra positioning system), but I know some woodworkers that will not touch a handtool if they don't have to - they consider them inaccurate and inefficient.

[Hank Knight]

Dale,

I have two Leigh dovetail jigs, a 24" and a 12" one. I used them uintil I finally bit the bullet and learned to cut dovetails by hand. I haven't used a jigs in 6 or 7 years. I keep them or that future project that will require many dovetails, although I don't know what it might be. Unless you plan on big dovetail projects, my recomendation is to learn to cut dovetails by hand. It's fun and you get a sense of accomplishment when you get to where you can produce a respectable set of dovetails.

You'll need a good saw and a sharp chisel; the saw makes all the difference. For years I tried to cut dovetails with a poor saw and got miserable results. I was enormously frustrated and thought hand cut dovetails were a myth. Then a friend let me try his good dovetail saw (it was a Lie-Nielsen, but there are many good ones on the market these days). The experience was an epiphany. The saw cut quickly and followed the lines. Sudden'y hand-cut dovetails seemed to be within reach. The rest is history.

My $.02.

Hank

[Matt Bickford]

Think of it this way: if you learn to cut them by hand you won't be back asking how to cut a mortise and tenon. You also won't need any new tools.

I bought a Leigh jig for $400 before I knew how to cut them. I was successful on my first attempts and was extraordinarly happy with my results. I made a couple chests with these dovetails on them and a lot of other hand work. People always commented on the dovetails, however. I didn't like people acknowleding the dovetails because I knew there was simply no skill involved in doing them. I learned how to cut them by hand and sold my Leigh jig for $360 3 years after buying it. If you buy a jig I recommend the above.

[Michael Gibbons]

I have two different sized Keller jigs which will work for larger projects. Then there is the hand tools route which is more gratifying and CAN be just as expensive as a jig depending on what caliber of tools that you buy. Then you also could do them on a bandsaw like Mark Duginski does in his Mastering your Bandsaw DVD. You have to build the jig though and it could be cheap if yoy use scraps that are already in your shop.

[Dale Morris]

I have two different sized Keller jigs which will work for larger projects. Then there is the hand tools route which is more gratifying and CAN be just as expensive as a jig depending on what caliber of tools that you buy. Then you also could do them on a bandsaw like Mark Duginski does in his Mastering your Bandsaw DVD. You have to build the jig though and it could be cheap if yoy use scraps that are already in your shop.
Thanks Mike, i have that video, also the one where he shows making one on the tableway I have made both jigs, but have only made one dovetail on the table saw, but it wasn't perfect, I'm sure I can get it to work. I'm also going to try the bandsaw method.

[Dale Morris]

Thanks Matt, I have a lot of power tools, but not many hand tools. What kind of saw and chisels etc do I need to cut good dovetails?

[Dale Morris]

Thank you I'll check tat out!

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Before hand cutting dovetails learn how to sharpen chisels first.

Greg

[Dale Morris]

There is just so much to learn isn't there? I am amazed at the skill and knowledge it take to become a real wood worker. I was an electrician before I became disabled and I thought there was a lot to that.

[Dale Morris]

Keith, thanks for the tip. Those vid were EXCELENT!!!!! I got involved and wathyched about 10 before I finally drug myself away. Truly we live in an age where the knowledge of the world is at our fingeertips. Great job with the video's.


Dale

[Matt Bickford]

You need a sliding bevel, a saw, a bench chisel (A couple if you want), a marking guage or square/marking knife, a pencil or marking knife, and a method to clamp your work. You can buy everything for a total of $50-$1000, just like anything else. Just remember, unlike a dovetail jig, every single one of these things will be used for at least 5 other tasks around your shop. Every one of them will be considered indispensable for numerous other tasks. You'll need to learn how to sharpen too, but chisels/sharpening is a necessity even if you opt for a dovetail jig.

Good luck! I owned a Leigh for a while and it is an awesome piece of equipment. It absolutely has its place in a production shop. No question that it has its place in many shops. I recommend that if you're a hobbiest, however, you learn by hand because the number of skills and amount of confidence you build is very valuable.

[Rick Erickson]

Dale,
I highly recommend Rob Cosman's Dovetail video(s). When you get done with these ALL your questions will be answered and you will be well on your way to respectable dovetails. I was in the same place you are in right now and within a month I was cutting high quality dovetails by hand. It is VERY gratifying. I also spent a considerable amount of money on a jig (the new Porter Cable one) and am sick that I spent the money on it. You can crank out quality dovetails with a jig but as a previous poster stated there is NO satisfaction at all. I will say that hand work can be almost as expensive as machine work. Quality hand tools aren't cheap but the game is a whole lot more enjoyable. Beware though, once you get into hand work there is no turning back. It is a bug you can't get rid of - but IMO that is a good thing. It is always better at the end of the day to sweep up shavings than to vacuum up sawdust (and a whole lot healthier).

[Myk Rian]

If you want to use a router, and don't want to spend a lot, Harbor Freight has a jig for $40. It makes half-blind dovetails. Uses a 1/2" 14° 1/4"shank bit.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34102