My dovetails are improving

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I cut the tails first, mark the pins with a knife and then cut inside the knife line. When I cut my first drawers, it took me hours to cut a single drawer. The more tails / pins in a single cut, the harder it is.

I am working on a case in African Mahogany with 10 tails / 11 pins. I am always a bit concerned when I cut this many. I had a little time to cut the last set of pins on my case, so this is what I had after sawing, no fitting.

IMG_20190809_133703.jpg

I took a few minutes to do a wee bit of tweeking, and then I had this:

IMG_20190809_134533.jpg

I then pulled it from my Moxon vise, pared to the base-line, and with a bit of persuasion, I got this:

IMG_20190809_140308.jpg

It seems that persistence pays off. I spent a lot of time working on my cuts and I have done many dovetails by hand. Very happy with that joint. And now I need to create the drawers.

Of course, idiot that I am, when I cut my first board, I but the tails in the wrong board, but for this application, I think it won't matter. First time I made that mistake. I prefer to have the pins on the horizontal so that the shape will hold things together. I did not have a lot of extra mahogany sitting around to just grab another board....

[Jim Koepke]

Looking good Andrew.

I prefer to have the pins on the horizontal so that the shape will hold things together.

Same here, it is common on shelves and cabinets for people moving them to use the top horizontal piece to carry a piece. If the tails were on the top and bottom pieces the cabinet could pull apart when moved.

jtk

[Edwin Santos]

I prefer to have the pins on the horizontal so that the shape will hold things together.

Looking good Andrew.



Same here, it is common on shelves and cabinets for people moving them to use the top horizontal piece to carry a piece. If the tails were on the sides the cabinet could pull apart when moved.

jtk

If the pins are on the horizontal, then wouldn't the tails then be on the sides?
And since the pins are wedge shaped, if the case were lifted by the top, how would it pull apart?

[Jim Koepke]

If the pins are on the horizontal, then wouldn't the tails then be on the sides?
And since the pins are wedge shaped, if the case were lifted by the top, how would it pull apart?

Oops, got that wrong, it will be changed.

jtk

[Andrew Pitonyak]

If the pins are on the horizontal, then wouldn't the tails then be on the sides?
And since the pins are wedge shaped, if the case were lifted by the top, how would it pull apart?

Exactly correct, he just said it wrong.

It is why I always place the tails on the sides. I was very sad when I saw I had done it wrong. This is a that I will use to store a few things such as pocket knives. The cabinet is roughly 15" tall and 20" wide. The depth is 16", so deeper than you would expect, but that is also why I did not want to simply redo it. Also, most of the weight will be attached to the sides, assuming I tried to life this while full of knives and such. This is the first time I have made this error.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Looking good Andrew.

Thanks Jim. I have spent a lot of time trying to improve these and I was really happy how that joint went together. They just keep getting better and better. Well, mostly they do, sometimes I have a bad day and I just walk away.

[Mike Henderson]

Your dovetails came out well. I would suggest a couple of changes:

1. In my opinion, your dovetails are too regular - they look like machine cut dovetails. I'd put some variation in them. For example, put a big tail on each end and one in the middle. Then put smaller tails between those larger tails. There are many other variations limited only by your creativity.

2. Reduce the space between the tails (you can make larger tails so you don't have to cut so many). Many people make the space between tails less than 1/2 inch to show that the tails were not cut with a router. Dovetails are very strong so smaller pins still provide plenty of strength.

You're doing very well on your hand cut dovetails. Congratulations.

Mike

[ken hatch]

Andrew,

Looks good, congrats.

ken

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I will "change them up" next time I do a large piece.

[Mike Brady]

Nice work Andrew. It takes practice and analysis; both of which you are doing. I stay in practice by doing 4"wide corners out of poplar board. Finish 'em, saw them off, make another set. Don't forget half-blinds, too. People will yell, but the masking tape method that Derek claims does work. If you saw right up to that litlle tape wall your dt's will be tight.