How much bandsaw left tilt for dovetails?

[Carl Oresick]

Hi all,
I am looking at bandsaws for purchase and wonder how much left table tilt is needed to create dovetails as some have mentioned a technique using this bandsaw feature. Would a 5 deg. left tilt be sufficient?

Thanks,
Carl

[Michael Schwartz]

You can also make an auxiliary table out of plywood with a stop, I think David Marks demonstrated the bandsaw method using a jig he made on one of his TV episodes.

[Roy Harding]

I've never used a band saw for dovetails - I think I'll give it a whirl.

Usual rule of thumb for dovetails (at least as I learned it in cabinet making school) - 6 degrees for hardwoods, 8 degrees for softwoods.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

5-degrees should be fine. What I'd do is make a fixture on the TS making strips of angle (at the angle you want for the DT) and use them as the feet for a band say jig. to hold ( flip) your work when you do the different DT tails.

[Carl Oresick]

Thanks for your inputs!

[Bruce Wrenn]

Mark Dugenskie uses 10 degrees of tilt for doing bandsawn dovetails. You can check it out on his video on the bandsaw. He shows both tilting the table, and a 10 degree wedge for doing the "tails."