Lie Neilson dovetail marking tool??

[Bill Stoffels]

is this worth buying , I will be hand cutting my own from now on and would like to know if the $35.00 is worth it or not.
Thanks for the input
Bill

[Gary Herrmann]

Bill, try posting this in the neander forum - you'll get more responses. Or maybe a mod can move it.

I was taught to draw the line out on a piece of paper, use it to set my sliding bevel and go from there.

$35 isn't much, but I'd spend the money on a marking knife or a gauge before something like this.

[Todd Bin]

Is it worth it? Well, It is certainly well made and beautiful to behold. Nice bronze and cocobolo. It is very accurate and easy to use and it does make marking the dovetails easy. It will save you some time and it works as advertised.

Whether it is worth $35 is like asking someone who appreciates art if a painting is worth $35,000. If it is worth it to you then yes it is worth it.

Hope that helps.

Todd

[David Keller NC]

As much as I like Lie-Nielsen tools (and I have thousands of dollars worth of them), I'm going to suggest that you give this one a pass. Ideally, you want to mark your dovetails out with a knife, and one of these with a wooden edge will get chewed up eventually. Several small companies make excellent all-metal ones designed to work with a knife. Among them Woodjoy and Glenn-Drake.

But perhaps the best value (and the ones I use in my shop constantly) are the Lee-Valley dovetail "saddle" markers. They're inexpensive, and I find it best to have one angle per tool - that way, there is no possibility of messing up and striking one side of the dovetail at 1:6, and the other side at 1:8.

[lowell holmes]

You can make one with wood. I did after seeing a Rob Cosman video. This was before LN introduced one.

[Sue Wise]

Other than a block plane and tenon saw, this is the only other LN tool I have. However, I bought it for less several years ago. I think it is great. If you cut your tails first, you will never need to have a knife around it. (Use the knife to mark the pins.) You can use a pencil or pen to mark the tails.

I would also agree with others, that if money is tight, you can make your own, buy something less expensive or use a cheap bevel gauge.

[Derek Cohen]

Sue said it before I did - mark the tails with a pencil, and transfer the cuts with a knife. You will not damage a wooden marker.

I have the LN dovetail marker (a gift from TLN). It is based on the one used by Rob Cosman. It is a good marker. Its limitation for some is that it marks 1:6 and 1:7.

Also look at the WoodJoy. This one is more compact and just as well made. It marks 1:6 and 1:8.

Below are the LN, WoodJoy and a couple I made for myself.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Marking%20and%20Measuring/Dovetailmarkers.jpg

Another you can make yourself is this dovetail saddle. This is my choice as the easiest to use. There is a tutorial on my website to guide you.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Dovetailmarkersinbrass_html_4e9eae46.jpg

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Dovetailmarkersinbrass_html_48e46b7d.jpg

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Dovetailmarkersinbrass.html

Regards from Perth

Derek