ideal dove tail cutting height

[Steven McLeavin]

is there an ideal height to keep the workpiece when hand cutting dovetails? I'm 5'10". thank!

[Matt Edwards]

In my limited experience, I would say it would be up to the individual.

I made a work support that clamps into my end vice and elevates the piece up to about 54". I've been practicing a lot, and stooping over and sitting down just wasn't working for me. I'm 6' 2", and my back would be killing me after about 20 mins. As a side benefit, I can saw much more accurate since I made the booster vice.

HTH
Matt

I'm comming to terms with a new PC, if I reach an agreement with the photo software, I'll post a pic.

[John Keeton]

Steven, I am just a beginner at this, but seems that in order to control the saw, the workpiece would need to be approximately elbow high - such that the arm pivots at the shoulder and remains level through the cut. Just my thought - others with more experience may have a better idea.

[Mac Houtz]

I am also little more than a beginner, but I will give you my own experience for what its worth...
I built a large workbench myself some years ago, and I had the height just about right. Then I added casters to it and forgot to trim the legs prior to doing so. The result is that my bench is about four inches higher than the recommended height for a workbench, whatever that may be. Since I am 5'9", This proves frustrating for certain things, but not for dovetails. Last fall I made a cherry cradle for my daughter, and it involved handcutting about 36-40 pins and tails. Then entire time I was chopping I (my lower vertebrae mostly) was thanking my lucky stars that I was not having to bend or lean over a bench to do that work. My neck hurt bad enough.

I think it all comes down to how you are comfortable working.

[Michael Sobik]

I generally stand holding the saw with my forearm parallel to the ground and my wrist at a comforable angle. Most DT saws have handle angles that postion the blade parallel to the ground when holding the saw this way. Then I adjust the workpiece in the vice so it touches the saw at this height. This usually works pretty well for me. For half blinds, I usually move the piece up a little bit since they require sawing at an angle.

[David Keller NC]

Not sure this is the advice you want to hear, but it's actually two different heights - about 3-4" less than your elbow height for sawing (the extra 3-4" allows for the saw plate height with a bit to spare), and a bench that's about 28" off of the floor for chopping.

Generally, this means two benches - one somewhat small and at a comfortable height for sawing, working on M&Ts, etc..., and a planing bench at about 26-28" for a 5'-10" person.

When chopping, you should sit on the piece. Not only does that keep it from moving, but greatly improves how your lower back and neck will feel after working on the roughly 100 dovetails it takes to put a case together.

[Steven McLeavin]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to make a weird little work bench that will be 2 different heights, the smaller one for sitting down at. My shop is 20 minutes away so I'm making the bench somewhat portable or at least as small and narrow as possible to not get in the way at home. I figure I can just sit in front of my tv and cut dovetails all night..work out my woodworking muscles. I'm leaning towards 39" for the higher bench and 28" for the "chopping station". I'll post pics of this monstrosity this weekend hopefully.

David are you kidding about sitting on the piece?

[David Keller NC]

"David are you kidding about sitting on the piece?"

No, not at all. Depending on your age, I think you'll find that after chopping out the waste on several sets of dovetails your neck's going to hurt. In fact, what I typically do is move the piece to my sawbench (this is a workshop-made appliance based on Chris Schwarz' blog design). It takes a lot off of your back and neck to be sitting on the piece. You can find the sawbench design at

http://blog.lostartpress.com/2008/02/10/This+Years+Model+The+2008+Sawbench.aspx

and

http://blog.lostartpress.com/CategoryView,category,Downloads.aspx

Well worth making, IMO.

[Steven McLeavin]

i can't get my head around this David... you sit on the piece with it sticking out to on your left, right, or in front of you??

[David Keller NC]

Well, it depends. If I've a lot of drawers to do, I'll saw all of the tails, then take the work to the sawbench and sit on it with the pieces in front of me. If I'm just doing a quick and dirty couple of box sides, I'll just sit on my low planing bench with the piece sticking out to the right. I'll do the same if I've got a large case side that won't fit on the sawbench.

I should note that if you're someone that uses the Ian Kirby method of paring to the baseline, this posture might not work for you, as you may need the piece held vertical in the vise to get a good sense of horizontal with the chisel.