Kerf Starter

[Michael Hammers]

I was curious if anyone uses a kerf starter when cutting dovetails. I have noticed a slight "jump" with my western saw when first starting and I am curious if it would help to start an initial kerf.
I noticed Glen-Drake offers one but it looks as if it would be simple enough to make?

[Ruston Hughes]

I sometimes use a chisel on the corner of the board to have a small notch for the saw to register in when starting the cut.

[Dave Williams]

I just place the saw where i want it and use my thumb to keep it in place, pull the saw back once or twice and start cutting.

[Andrew Williams]

Havent had that problem with dovetails, although it is tougher for me to start a kerf on 2" or wider tenons. I tend to just go slow and light at the beginning.

[Alex Yeilding]

Cosman suggests a technique I have found helpful:

Start with the saw a little in the waste, pressing against your guiding finger and thumb, then start a light "sawing" motion, with the saw barely gliding over the wood. While continuing this sawing motion and pressing against your guide finger and thumb, let your guide fingers "sneak up on" the place you want to cut, then stop. As the saw starts to bite, you can let the full weight of the saw down and let the sawing begin.

I like the "sneaking up to the line" part of this technique, but the real value for me was to learn to lift the saw (he says to lift 75% of the weight of the saw) so that it is barely cuting the first couple of strokes.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Michael, the guy who first showed me how to hand cut dovetails used to make a V shaped line to register the saw. I am sure you must know this already, but just in case. When you mark the tails or pins with a marking knife make the line on the end grain a little deeper than you would on the face side, now take a sharp chisel and expand the line on the waste side by cutting off a slither at an angle. This will give you a V shaped groove in which you can "bed: you saw before you start the cut, this prevents any wandering during the initial startup. The angle at which the teeth of your saw are ground also has an impact on how easy or hard it is to start. Rule of thumb is that saws that cut more agressively are hard to start.

[Michael Hammers]

Zahid, thanks for the tip. I first "taught" myself dovetail making with Ian Kirby's book, so actually seeing someone vs. reading is a vast chasm of understanding. I seem to have more difficluty with this walnut I am working now. In the past I have had good results with poplar, maple, cherry...but this walnut seems different. Could be my saw is getting dull too.....:mad:

[Tony Zaffuto]

With my recent purchase of a Titemark gauge, I received a brochure from Glen-Drake describing the scraper/scribe for saw starting. I was intriqued (not quite enough to purchase yet). What is attractive is that it appears to remove a step in some of the already described methods--simply drawing the scraper/scribe along the tail or pin to mark and then saw.

Any opinions on this? Am I understanding the use of this tool correctly? Anyone know of similar methods used by our predecessors?

[James Mittlefehldt]

At the risk of sounding cynical, I do not mean to, but that Glen Drake kerf starter looks like something designed to seperate you from your cash.

If you need a wedge made to start your saw kerf, just use your marking knife, and make the area a bit bigger with it. I rarely bother, I simply align the saw with my thumb as guide, holding it straight, (I slant the work), and then saw straight down.

I am curious though what saw are you using?

[Michael Hammers]

James, I am using a dovetail saw that Vlad Spehar made for me a couple years ago. It cuts straight and feels great... I wish I could explain better what it feels like when I start the cut....almost like a hiccup, but it grabs and goes well after it does this, doesnt matter if it is on a pull or push stroke.

[Andrew Williams]

don't underestimate the importance of hand setting your saw. I rescued a gent's saw that I thought was surely going to never feel smooth just by setting it again.

[John Powers]

That Kerf Starter does nothing you can't do with a knife.