john brenton
02-18-2011, 10:45 AM
I was originally going to take photos of a simple neander build table...basically because all I do here is opine all day, I figured it be nice to actually share something...but then I decided to turn the legs on the lathe and I'll be routing a profile with a router (come on CL...I know you've got a good one for me), so I decided that this project wouldn't be the one.
But, I did finally use a dovetail plane that's been sitting in a box for a year or so. I don't see any makers marks, but it is a well made plane. It came up in a saved search for "Goldenberg" irons when I was collecting as many of those as I could. It was $20 so I said what the heck. The iron and the knicker are both Goldenberg and take a super fine and durable edge.
That being said, for some reason I never used it and stuffed it away.
There is a learning curve to this thing though. I will have to do some fettling in the future, or at least a bit of headscratching to figure out why the joints didn't come out crisper, but they are all good enough for me. The dovetails themselves came out good, but there is a gap on some of the shoulders. I touched up the exterior side with a chisel, but this is going to be painted or stained a dark color, so a little filler and you wouldn't even notice.
I will still add mitered corner braces, so the DTs aren't the only structure.
Anywho, without further adieu...
Here's the plane. Profile shot and sole. I did have to pare out some of the inner cheek because the iron was protruding passed the knicker. Luckily that wasn't hard to do and I didn't do any damage to the plane..
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/dovetailplane.jpg
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/sole.jpg
I guess I could have been more precise with it and made a plan work for me...but as usual I just dug in to see what happens. I started the pin first to get a rough idea or the mortise size. You can tell in the picture that the shoulder angle is already slightly skewed. I can live with it being skewed inward...skewed outward not so much.
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/profile.jpg
After doing both sides I got the width of the narrow end of the pin and chiseled the mortise, checking the depth with a handy little depth gauge that came with a $10 set from HF.
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/depth.jpg
I used the bevel gauge to get the angle right from the plane and transferred it to the mortise. Poplar is really easy to chisel out waste. The sides just slice right down with a little hand pressure. That 2" Stanley Fat Max chisel in the background ROCKS. It doesn't look pretty, but that thing holds an awesome edge and is tough. I got it about 2 years ago, and for $20 something bucks its a great buy IMO. Get the one made in England though. The made in Mexico ones are junk.
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/mortise.jpg
Then a little fitting. Just a little too snug and the thing cracks. That ugliness on the pic above is from gluing up the crack. I swear I barely used any pressure. It felt like the snugness you want in a DT...but it was just too great for the poplar. So, shaving a bit more off the pin and voila...
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/joint.jpg
Ugly little sucker, but I'm happy with it. I did 8 of them and all but one are totally acceptable...the one that isn't...well, I'm just glad nobody will ever see it. Notice the square exterior shoulder...I didn't bother with the interior. A little fettling with the plane, and a little more focus and I'm sure I could pull off a precision sliding dovetail. I'll be chamfering the outer leg there, so if the apron looks to far in...it is. But it'll look right when it's chamfered.
Side note: I don't know if it's common practice or a master's trick, but I noticed that adjusting the knicker depth also gave a taper lengthwise. The deeper the knicker, the greater the taper. I'm sure if I ever tried to harness that I'd make an awful mess of it...it was just an observation.
But, I did finally use a dovetail plane that's been sitting in a box for a year or so. I don't see any makers marks, but it is a well made plane. It came up in a saved search for "Goldenberg" irons when I was collecting as many of those as I could. It was $20 so I said what the heck. The iron and the knicker are both Goldenberg and take a super fine and durable edge.
That being said, for some reason I never used it and stuffed it away.
There is a learning curve to this thing though. I will have to do some fettling in the future, or at least a bit of headscratching to figure out why the joints didn't come out crisper, but they are all good enough for me. The dovetails themselves came out good, but there is a gap on some of the shoulders. I touched up the exterior side with a chisel, but this is going to be painted or stained a dark color, so a little filler and you wouldn't even notice.
I will still add mitered corner braces, so the DTs aren't the only structure.
Anywho, without further adieu...
Here's the plane. Profile shot and sole. I did have to pare out some of the inner cheek because the iron was protruding passed the knicker. Luckily that wasn't hard to do and I didn't do any damage to the plane..
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/dovetailplane.jpg
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/sole.jpg
I guess I could have been more precise with it and made a plan work for me...but as usual I just dug in to see what happens. I started the pin first to get a rough idea or the mortise size. You can tell in the picture that the shoulder angle is already slightly skewed. I can live with it being skewed inward...skewed outward not so much.
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/profile.jpg
After doing both sides I got the width of the narrow end of the pin and chiseled the mortise, checking the depth with a handy little depth gauge that came with a $10 set from HF.
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/depth.jpg
I used the bevel gauge to get the angle right from the plane and transferred it to the mortise. Poplar is really easy to chisel out waste. The sides just slice right down with a little hand pressure. That 2" Stanley Fat Max chisel in the background ROCKS. It doesn't look pretty, but that thing holds an awesome edge and is tough. I got it about 2 years ago, and for $20 something bucks its a great buy IMO. Get the one made in England though. The made in Mexico ones are junk.
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/mortise.jpg
Then a little fitting. Just a little too snug and the thing cracks. That ugliness on the pic above is from gluing up the crack. I swear I barely used any pressure. It felt like the snugness you want in a DT...but it was just too great for the poplar. So, shaving a bit more off the pin and voila...
http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n496/jbrentoniv/joint.jpg
Ugly little sucker, but I'm happy with it. I did 8 of them and all but one are totally acceptable...the one that isn't...well, I'm just glad nobody will ever see it. Notice the square exterior shoulder...I didn't bother with the interior. A little fettling with the plane, and a little more focus and I'm sure I could pull off a precision sliding dovetail. I'll be chamfering the outer leg there, so if the apron looks to far in...it is. But it'll look right when it's chamfered.
Side note: I don't know if it's common practice or a master's trick, but I noticed that adjusting the knicker depth also gave a taper lengthwise. The deeper the knicker, the greater the taper. I'm sure if I ever tried to harness that I'd make an awful mess of it...it was just an observation.