Hand cut Dovetails.

[Tim Wagner]

I want to get some practice in on this. What I need to know is exactly which tools I will need to get the job done. What I have now is just a 3 pc set of 1/2" 3/4" and 1" chisels from the Borg.

I have found that Woodcraft has a much larger selection of fine woodworking chisels, but with so many selections I am unsure which ones (types, shapes) to get. I know I will need a coping saw. That much I do know.

I guess practice makes perfect, but are there any tips, tricks, to getting the tails and pins perfectly perpendicular to each other, when doing it by hand??

Thanks. Tim. http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowsmile.gif

[Andrew Williams]

I do not use a coping saw. I use a Pax rip dovetail saw and a set of Japanese chisels (6mm to 24mm), with a wooden mallet, and a marking gauge. Get the Frank Klausz video on dovetailing a drawer. He does it all by eye, but you can lay them out with a bevel gauge and try square too.

If you want to enjoy this process, my recommendation is to avoid the big box and hardware places. Get some nice hand tools (usually have to mail order them or go to a woodworker's specialty store). Those saws and chisels they sell at the big box places just don't do the trick, and I would be willing to wager that nobody working in the store even knows what a marking gauge is, much less carry them.

A dovetail saw is a small backsaw filed rip with lots of teeth per inch, like 16-20. It should not bind in the kerf. If it does bind, it needs to be "set" again (not a difficult task but requires a saw setting tool).

I have only a year's experience making them, but make all my dovetails by hand, and they don't look too bad at this point. If you go slowly, your dovetails will work out just fine. A little practice, and you will be making them easily.

http://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=61592&d=1175481093

[Jim Becker]

"Sharp" is the best advise for chisels. Nice ones are, well...nice...but you can get started with what you have. On the saw side, you can cut them with a reasonably priced Japanese pull saw (rip format preferred), but ultimately, you'll want a decent saw, no matter what the format. You don't want something that will bend...it needs a stiff back. I started out with a poor saw and stopped trying for a few years because of it. When I bought my Adria dovetail saw, it was like a cloud went away from over the bench...

[Mike Henderson]

If you want to go a bit less expensive to start, you can use a Japanese back saw (a dozuki). I started with a dozuki for dovetails and found it easy to use. Not that the western back saws are difficult to use, but they're a lot more expensive (usually about $100 and can be much more). You can buy a dozuki for about $30. Also, they have replaceable blades so you don't have to learn how to sharpen (or send the saw out for resharpening).

Almost any brand of chisel will work. When chopping out the waste, don't cut to the line the first pass. Cut off the line and then pare to the line. You can have two chisels for that - one sharpened at 30* to 35* for the chopping and one sharpened at 20* to 25* for the paring.

If you are going to make half blind dovetails, a small skew chisel (about 1/4 inch) is helpful to clean out the corners but not needed for through dovetails.

Beyond that, it's just practice, practice, practice. It's a manual skill that only improves with actually doing the work.

Mike

[Tim Wagner]

There are just so many Cool things to learn about woodworking. It will keep me busy for years, YEARS I SAY! LOL
What Inspired me was the last Issue of FWW Magazine. with the artical on HCDT's

thanks.

[Ken Werner]

Tim, I too never use a coping saw. Tage Frid's book has some excellent info, and Frank Klauz's video is wonderful, as noted above. If you know someone who can demo for you, that would also help alot. Good luck.
Ken

[jonathan snyder]

Tim,

You might also check out the Rob Cosman videos. I have both of Rob's as well as Tage's. I think the photography is better in Robs. Rob does tails first, Tage says that is "mickey mouse"!! Unless you have someone to teach you, I would recommend a couple of videos.

Jonathan

[Don Boys]

Tim,

I strongly recommend Rob Cosman's videos on hand-cut dovetails also. You will also need a good marking gage. The Tite-Mark (www.glen-drake.com/) is an excellent choice. To make the initial tail and pin cuts you need to saw that track straight line and have a thin kerf. That's not entirely your responsibiltiy. The saw set must be even on both sides, and this will not be the case on some cheap saws. Better saws such as a Lie-Nielson will have this even set already, a cheaper saw may require some work on your part. Rob explains how to do this in his video. By doing "tails first" you only need to focus on cutting straight across the board for the tails (the angle need not be followed exactly), and making vertical cuts for the pins.

If you use a fret saw to cut out most of the waste you may not need a very narrow chisel when using very small pins. Rob will recommend the fret saw he sells because it is the only one that has the ability to tighten the blade sufficiently. www.robcosman.com/

The final thing is practice. Get some poplar boards, do the dovetails, glue together, and then cut off the joint. Number it,and include a date. Repeat. Within a rather short time you will see significant improvement. Examine each joint to see where you need to focus your next effort. Finally, have fun.

Good Luck
Don Boys

[Phil Clark]

In preparing to do a workshop on hand cut dovetails I googled "hand cut dovetails" to see what others did. There are numerous free articles and videos for those who want to venture into this pleasing task. An essential guideline: "perfect practice makes perfect dovetails".

[Dave Anderson NH]

Here's a poplar blanket chest I'm working on for my sister-in-law (a honeydoo ordered project). The important thing, particularly on large pieces like this is to clamp both pieces when transfering the tail markings to do the pins (or vice versa for you heathens :D ).

[Andy Howard]

The important thing, particularly on large pieces like this is to clamp both pieces when transfering the tail markings to do the pins (or vice versa for you heathens :D ).

HaHa!!!:) I'm with you on this one Dave. I learned with pins first, but decided to try tails first one day and I got much better results! Been doing them that way ever since.

Andy

[Tim Wagner]

Well i went ahead and ordered Frank Klausz video on dovetailing a drawer.

I am also thinking of emailing Rob Cosman and see if I can get a decent deal of his three DVD set and the tools.

Sharpening, Stones, I figured just comes with the territory, and need to be able to learn that aswell. At work I sharpen the chiseles with a grinding wheel, but then that's for my air hammer and i am cutting steel. Figure I'll need to be more precise in my angles for these chiseles.

I guess before I get ahead of myself. I will need to get the workbench built and maybe get me a assembly table built aswell. I don't want to get too many cakes in the oven. ;):rolleyes: