First Dovetails in an Ultra-Compact Shop

[Andrew Teich]

Just wanted to share that things are possible with limited space and resources.

My shop space for today was the entry hallway, my workbench, an MDF Target special bookshelf.
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The dovetails are a bit ugly, my HF cheapo chisels didn't cut worth anything and using the coping saw made them possible but not pretty. You can see how the chisel broke the wood instead of cut it. I had more luck using a utility knife with a sharp blade.

The finished result, a mostly square box and a good practice/proof on concept for the next attempt.

Edit: Sorry the bookshelf pic is on it's side.

[Jim Koepke]

Not bad for the limitations imposed upon the creation.

Even a good sharp chisel will do that in soft woods like pine. After many years my soft touch at paring soft wood is starting to get better, but still, I get the occasional breakage instead of the clean looking cut. At least that part of the joint gets hidden.

jtk

[Derek Gilmer]

Looking great for the first attempt. At least yours line up. My first ones got cut backwards :)

A few suggestions since I am learning dovetails now and have been there. Some things that might help the process along.
1. Lee Valley's yellow handled chisels are great! Very sharp out of the box and you can get one for around $15.
2. Get some poplar from a local lumber yard. It was easier to make good dovetails for me in poplar than pine by a long shot.
3. A saw besides a coping saw will make cutting much easier. A "gents" saw from ranges from $18 to $22.
4. Lots of practice. I swept up almost a 5 gallon bucket of chippings and off cuts

[Andrew Teich]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I think I'm in the market for some better chisels or a sharpening system. We have a stone in the kitchen that I might try on the HF ones since they appear to be garbage I won't feel bad if I ruin them.

These were cut out of aspen from Menards. It seems that there aren't any actual lumber yards around, just HDs, Lowes and Menards but I'll keep looking. I used a Craftsman $10 Dovetail saw for the straight cuts and then the coping saw to cut the bottoms out.

I watched this video several times but his joints are so perfect and mine have huge gaps. Getting those cuts accurate is the key, but I put the saw right on the line and cut as straight as I could. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ8fSSKn0Ls
Hopefully attempt number two will involve sharper chisels and smaller gaps.

[john brenton]

Don't let your space limitations get in the way...yeah, I know that sounds like some kind of platitude...but some of the guys who make the beautiful little ornate guitars I used to import had NOTHING for space. I visited them before buying, and most of them had a tiny little shop, a bench with no vises and jut a few tools. If they need to hew, or hollow out the bodies with the adze, they do it outside.

[Russell Sansom]

I built harpsichords in a shop that was roughly 8' X 10'. Had to take a board outside to turn it around. Or as I used to say, I had to go outside to change my mind.
I can offer you two insights.
1) You can't cut much of anything with a HF chisel that is unsharpened. You have a bit of a learning / expense curve on sharpening. There's the sandpaper on glass route to get you started, but the expense mounts quickly. You could possibly survive with as little as a 1000 and a 6000 shapton, norton, etc. Even the LV and LN chisels need a few minutes of honing before use.
The HF chisels can be made as sharp as any other chisel...more or less...but the problem is getting them sharp ( they are probably a very difficult alloy ) or keeping them sharp. Your best bet is probably an older high-carbon. They're easier to sharpen than high-concept alloys and will probably stay sharp through one job like this.
2) file / stone off some of the set on your dovetail saw. Equal strokes on each side and you can inspect the results. You should see obvious flats. This will help your saw keep on a straight line.

Also, find a foot of that same wood and practice a bit. Draw some dovetails and figure out what you have to do with your body to saw exactly to the line. Draw very fine lines ( sharp, sharp pencil ) and leave all the lines but nothing else. Oh, yeah! Mark the waste and the keeper parts. You only have to cut on the wrong side of a tail once to ruin your day.
Your obvious persistence and drive to do this will carry you a long way. If you can get on the right track early you can save a lot of time and materials.

[Rick Erickson]

OK, I'll stop complaining about my space now! Nice job.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Draw very fine lines ( sharp, sharp pencil ) and leave all the lines but nothing else.
Ahhh, I always wondered about that, thanks!

I think that your dovetails look good for a first try.

[Matt Sauber]

That is great! Don't let space or materials stop you from getting started. Too often, folks get caught up in what tools to get, what bench to build, what sharpening system to use, etc. and they forget to do some WORK! I think you are doing things the right way - just get started and have fun!

[Andrew Teich]

After being stuck in a hotel thanks to the Blizzard of 2011, I finally made it home and had a chance to stop at Rockler today. I picked up a marking gauge that was on sale. Hopefully this will help me be tighter on the bottom of the cuts.

I looked at the Japanese waterstone kit and was wondering if this was worth getting with my 20% off coupon. It comes with an 800/4000 combo stone and a 6000. The name on the stone in the picture is King. I still have to check out the library to see if they have a video on sharpening technique.

I also saw they had the Footprint chisels on sale, 50% off the normal price. Any thoughts on these, or better to figure out how to sharpen, use the HF chisels as long as possible and then worry about some new chisels?

Thanks for all the feedback and advice.

[Mark Baldwin III]

And what a blizzard it was!! Holy cow! Anyway, those DT's look better than mine (still learning too). Aspen is a pain in the neck, as far as I'm concerned.
I have a set of Footprint chisels. They appear to be well made, but I'm not sure what the blade material is. They don't seem to say on their website. All I know is that they don't like low angles very much. I'm still trying to find the sweet spot for sharpening. The backs will need to be flattened before you really go to town on the edge. For the finer work that I wan to learn how to do, I will be slowly replacing them with LN chisels during the year. Emphasis on slowly, I'm a poor boy!
I would also say that if you plan on doing a lot more DT's, maybe a Japanese chisel would help.
(as I wrote this, a plow truck came through...yeah...the blizzard on Wednesday was THAT bad!)