Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 31

Thread: New dovetail saw recommendations

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    central tx
    Posts
    589

    New dovetail saw recommendations

    Let me just state I have a Veritas dovetail saw. It works fine. I just want a new one and don't want to be on a 1 year waiting list. I like supporting small tool makers and getting a new tool. Win-Win.

    Let's say budget ~$250. Looking at the Bad Axe version with 3-4 month wait.

    Any other saw makers out there I should look at?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Ingleside, IL
    Posts
    1,417
    I got the Bad Axe hybrid 12" saw and love it. I too have a Veritas, which is a fine saw, but the Bad Axe is so much more pleasurable to use. Balance, starting the cut, construction of the saw - all far superior IMHO. It's expensive, but worth it. I'm looking at the 16" tenon saw next.
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,312
    Blog Entries
    1
    Any other saw makers out there I should look at?
    My suggestion was going to be Ron Bontz Saw Works but he seems to also be backlogged up to a year.

    My solution to keeping the cost down was to purchase a kit. It is now a fine dovetail saw > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?249983 <

    You may want to keep an eye on ebay or post a WTB ad in the SMC Classifieds.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  4. #4
    I have the Veritas and the Lie Nielsen. I like the Lie Nielsen. It's heavier and just moves through the wood with more authority for me. Have not tried the others, but IMHO, the LN is a right bit better than the V at about $100 less than your budget max. I'm not suggesting it compares to the saws above; only stating my opinion vs the Veritas (I have both the 14 and 20 tpis)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    central tx
    Posts
    589
    Yes I should have ordered a Bontz a few years back. I might try to get small tenon saw from him sometime in the future.

    I have the Wenzloff small carcase and Large Tenon saws and I like them a lot.

    Other option is http://www.vintagesaws.com/catalog/ NE Plus Ultra from Pete T.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Big Bend/Panhandle, FL
    Posts
    122
    Florip Tool Works in Michigan may meet all of your criteria and then some.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    Vancouver Canada
    Posts
    716
    Rob Cosman?
    Young enough to remember doing it;
    Old enough to wish I could do it again.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Sierra Nevada Mtns (5K feet)
    Posts
    267
    I have the two Veritas dovetail saws and the Grammercy tools 9" dovetail saws. I use all of them, but I definitely like the Grammercy Tools saw the best. It just feels good and cuts true. However I must say that the Veritas saws provide a much smoother finish cut.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    Lafayette, CA
    Posts
    830
    Quote Originally Posted by Tim Best View Post
    Florip Tool Works in Michigan may meet all of your criteria and then some.
    Except the wait list. Not a year, but a quarter (at least).

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,450
    Quote Originally Posted by Thomas Crawford View Post
    Let me just state I have a Veritas dovetail saw. It works fine. I just want a new one and don't want to be on a 1 year waiting list. I like supporting small tool makers and getting a new tool. Win-Win.

    Let's say budget ~$250. Looking at the Bad Axe version with 3-4 month wait.

    Any other saw makers out there I should look at?
    Thomas, ideally you want to try the saws out to decide if they are comfortable in the hand and cut the way you like.

    The teeth of the Veritas are distinctive for having a 14 degree rake. This makes the saw cut less aggressively, but smoothly. Most other dovetail saws are filed more aggressively, with rake around the 5-6 degree range, and I recall my LN came with zero degree rake. This makes the LN very fast cutting but more tricky to start. The Veritas is a terrific saw to begin with, and may be better suited to thinner boards. I prefer using the LN. partly because it is better for very hard woods, and I have had enough years to learn to use a light touch when starting a cut. I like the LN. Compared with saws below, it has a thicker handle, and will suit a larger hand.

    These comments are simply to illustrate that there will be differences among saws out if the box. In reality, if you sharpen you own saws, after a couple of years, what you are left with is a handle and saw plate. The teeth may or may not be the same rake, but what remains is the way the saw feels in the hand. Having said this, one should not be afraid to modify a handle - for example, on many I have found the bump on the grip to be too high, and take it down.

    Some if the very best handles were made by Wenzloff. One of my go-to saws is an IT, which is the fore runner if LN. It has a slimmer handle compared with the LN. It requires a lighter touch. Today these original maker if these saws has started making saws again - Pete Taran. Consider him the father of the modern dovetail saw. The other saw I would look at is the Gramercy. Another go-to for me. It is a more advanced design with a higher aspect angle and also a thin handle that demands a light touch. These are saws for more advanced dovetailers.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    bloomington il
    Posts
    184
    Quote Originally Posted by Tim Best View Post
    Florip Tool Works in Michigan may meet all of your criteria and then some.
    +1 on Florip Tool works

  12. #12
    I like the Lie Nielsen dovetail saw.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Michiana
    Posts
    3,040
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    I like the Lie Nielsen dovetail saw.

    Mike
    I like mine too.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
    Posts
    12,109
    Hmmmm..I size my saws to the work being done....
    Dovetailed Plane Box, pins first.JPG
    So, IF the wood is 3/16" thick...YMMV

    ( need to take the No. 68 out to be sharpened...)
    Saw Til Project, Disston No.4.JPG
    What I use for 3/4" stock.....Disston No.4, 9ppi, 14" long, filed rip.
    Heart of Ohio, saw cleaned up.JPG
    And, the 68 that needs sharpened....

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    South Coastal Massachusetts
    Posts
    6,824
    Connor Raub makes decent saws.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •