Sliding dovetail

[Richard Hutchings]

I'm making a vise for my guitar building hobby. Since I don't build cabinets and I still want to learn the joinery I decided to make some dovetails on this vice. Dovetailing the 2 boards together I can do but I'd also like to cut sliding dovetails for the gussets. I don't have a dovetail plane so I'm not sure it's even possible.438331438332

[David Eisenhauer]

Very, very doable Richard. If you peruse You Tube, you will find some instructive videos that will demonstrate techniques for a sliding dovetail with hand tools. A couple that come to mind are from "Wood by Wright" and Frank Strazza? Stazza?, an instructor at the Texas Heritage WW school. Possibly the "Rennasiance Tool Guy" has a video as well. Essentially, the tail of the sliding dovetail tail is laid out at the desired angle (eg 1:6, 1:8, etc) on the end of a board and then sawn out with a backsaw. The created tail is then used to mark out the socket and it too is sawn out at the edges and cleaned out with a chisel (can be final cleaned with a router plane).

[Tony Wilkins]

There is a Woodwright’s shop (season 31 “The Case for Books”) That shows one way to do them.

[Richard Hutchings]

Thanks, I'll give it a try. I was going to try to do it on the chop as well as the base but decided it was only necessary on the bottom piece. I'll just use a dado for the chop.

[bill epstein]

I made a music stand long ago based upon the one, "Holding The Notes" by Lance Patterson in the Taunton Press book "Traditional Furniture Projects". https://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Furniture-Projects-Best-Woodworking/dp/0942391934

It has a step-by-step pictorial for cutting the sliding dovetails in the base with hand tools that made it possible for me, a first-timer back then, to accomplish the build. Highly recommended.

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[Richard Hutchings]

Wow, that's a beautiful first project.

I'm now considering a tapered sliding dovetail after watching a video.