Another dovetail tip...

[Richard Magbanua]

I've read at times some of us have difficulty seeing layout marks in dark woods such as walnut. I've been working on carcass dovetails this week and decided to try something different with the layout lines. I'm sure some have already tried this but I thought I'd share it since it worked for me. I have a habit of sawing past the stopping point sometimes because I find it hard to see the lines (and maybe overly concerned with sawing). My solution was to apply masking tape over the area first and then cut my line with a marking gauge. After that I just remove the masking tape on the cut side which leaves a nice visible area for me to see. I even used tape over the end grain when marking the tails with a knife, removing the tape over the waste sections. I figure on light woods I could use painter's tape.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_hpXGFALLM3Y/Sw6Wos-FW5I/AAAAAAAAAMM/x2uzidLE3nI/s1600/Last+Import+-+1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hpXGFALLM3Y/Sw6XF28n0CI/AAAAAAAAAMk/TnxEzjRehoQ/s1600/Last+Import+-+4.jpg

more pics here...
http://richardmagbanua.blogspot.com/

I was hoping someone might find this useful.


Happy Holidays!

[Zach England]

Those are really nice pictures.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Richard

Excellent thinking. I have not read of anyone using this trick.

I don't generally have difficulty seeing the baseline. I am more likely to struggle with lines in dark end grain.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[John Keeton]

Really a neat idea, Richard! I work in walnut a lot, and always have difficulty seeing my lines. This will be put to use.

Also, neat website, and looks like you did a great job on the dovetails. BTW, you really should get a fret saw. They are amazingly aggressive, and cut great. Really helps the cutting waste part of dovetails. I thought I would go through blades like crazy, but I have yet to break my first one.

[John Coloccia]

What fret saw blades are you using? Mine barely cut at all and break all the time. I think I'm using Olson 12.5 TPI skip tooth blades, and some cheapy fret saw frame. Maybe it's the fret saw frame unable to properly tension the blade?

[David Keller NC]

John - Try the Olson 11.5 tpi skip-tooth scroll saw blades. The set on the teeth is a good bit wider than true fret-saw blades, and will cut very aggressively in most domestic hardwoods.

Proper tensioning is important. While you can break blades when tensioning the frame, the most frequent cause is not enough tension, which allows the blade to flex too much, jam in the kerf, and snap.

[derek sikes]

I've been working on scraps to prepare for a bigger project I hope to start after the holidays and I always seem to saw over the line with the fret saw when I'm sawing out the waste. I'll def give that tip a whirl. You should send that in, I bet they'd publish it.

[John Keeton]

What fret saw blades are you using? Mine barely cut at all and break all the time. I think I'm using Olson 12.5 TPI skip tooth blades, and some cheapy fret saw frame. Maybe it's the fret saw frame unable to properly tension the blade?Same one's I use, but I use the Olson frame like the one Cosman has, so that may be the difference. Grip and sawing action could come in to play, as well.

[David Gendron]

That is a great tip! To find some thing like that, you must pass way to much time in the shop;)

[Don Dorn]

Fantastic tip - thank you, I think that will help allot.

[Richard Magbanua]

Thanks for the positive replies. Good suggestion on submitting this to a publication, I just might do that.

Here's a picture of me taking this a bit further for the pins...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2581/4139218270_cbdc8eb6b3.jpg


www.richardmagbanua.blogspot.com

Thank you for looking! :)

Speaking of the fret saws, does anyone kink their blade to make it easier to turn in the kerf? How do you do this?

[Richard Magbanua]

That is a great tip! To find some thing like that, you must pass way to much time in the shop;)

Yea, right. It's just a hour here, an hour there. It's mostly just thinking and day dreaming!

[Don Dorn]

Speaking of the fret saws, does anyone kink their blade to make it easier to turn in the kerf? How do you do this?

Yes - a Cosman Youtube shows him using a pair of wire cutters (yep, wire cutters) to take a grip at each end of the blade and twist it 30 degrees toward the left (looking down at the top of the saw) if you are a right hander. I did it and it works like a charm - no worry about board witdth with even the small fret saw.

[Stan Suther]

I do most of my work in walnut. That's a great idea. I'll be trying that. By the way, I use a white lead pencil for other marking, as in keeping up with the mating pieces of joints I've cut so that the matched pieces go together as planned when gluing up. Cuts down on confusion:rolleyes:.

On sawing out the waste, I use a coping saw. The blade holders have tabs that allow me to put a twist in the blade. Doing that allows me to start one end in the saw kerf, then easily change direction to horizontal at the other end. I've seen Roy Underhill do this with his small bow saw, and it works great.

[David Keller NC]

Thanks for the positive replies. Good suggestion on submitting this to a publication, I just might do that.

Speaking of the fret saws, does anyone kink their blade to make it easier to turn in the kerf? How do you do this?

I've done the Cosman trick (except I used needle-point pliers), and it works quite well, at least with the Olson blades. Not sure about others, though - a hard blade might just snap. Ordinarily, I use a deep-throat fret saw frame that I picked up at an MWTCA event for a couple of bucks. The throat's about 8" deep, so no messing with blade is normally requried.

As to where to send your tip, if you don't have a sub to Woodworking Mag (or want to extend the sub you already have), they'll give you a year for a tip that they publish - you don't have to have the "winning" tip.

I got one of those for sending in the suggestion to use EWP for clamping cauls on finger joints and the occasional dovetail joint with a too-tight fit. The EWP is soft enough to deform, and if you wax it with paste wax, it won't stick to any glue squeeze-out.