First Hand cut dovetails

[Rob Boursaw]

This was my first dovetails that fit together.... hahaha I am getting better every practice piece I do.
I have to slow down near the shoulders... I keep going to close with my chisel.

398992

[James Pallas]

Looks just fine. Glued up planed up a bit, good to go.
Jim

[Jim Koepke]

Congratulations Rob.

Those look better than most of my early dovetails.

jtk

[Rob Boursaw]

Thanks guys.
I need to get a decent low angle block plane. That might make life a little easier for the proud edges..haha

[Frederick Skelly]

Nice job Rob! Keep practicing until it becomes "automatic".
Fred

[Robert Engel]

Hey Rob, good job.

For soft wood, I keep a couple chisels (1/4 & 1/2) ground at about 20°. (Keep the stone right handy on the bench).

I find a bench plane better than a block because I feel its more stable in the hands. Just a regular #4 will do the job.

[Tom M King]

I've seen some that are over 200 years old, worse than those, but are still holding.

[mike v flaim]

They look great. Have you ever seen dovetails in old pieces of furniture? They didn't have a love affair with them like we do today.

[David Myers]

Nice looking dovetails.

[Rob Boursaw]

I have only been practicing with pine. Just picked up some poplar to try on. I have some black oak also. That may not bruise as easy as the pine I am hoping.
Yes I have seen them in some old furniture I have. And you are right Tom and Mike. I never thought about that untill just now.
Thanks guys.

[Andrew Seemann]

The wood in your picture looks like spruce or ponderosa pine, neither of which are particularly friendly for dovetailing, spruce less so than the PP. Popular will probably be easier, with less crushing from the chisel. If you can get a hold of some white pine, that is real nice to practice on and works well for drawer frames. Soft maple, walnut, and cherry are good also. Oaks can be OK if they aren't too hard.

Those are nicer and more even than my first dovetails. Dovetails are like welding, there is no substitute for practice and staying in practice.

[Rob Boursaw]

Thanks for the info Andrew.
These are the first ones that fit good. I have a whole pile of scrap practice pieces by the bench, That I gave up on and started over....haha
I will remember the White Pine for drawer frames. Thanks