Dovetails

[Jim Koepke]

Jim, Do you think I could be getting the rounding because I start the saw off, dead level? What I mean is I hold the spine straight up and down till I get my square line started and then tilt the saw once that square line has been established.

That does explain why the top of the tail isn't sharp. One part of using the saw that took me a long time to learn is using the horns. The heel of your hand can press down on the lower horn to make the saw just kiss the wood as it is starting to cut.

The most frustrating part to me about this all is the chisel work. I think I cut a good tail/s, get all excited that its going to turn out good, saw pins, spend all that time chiseling and then crappy fit.

This was another part of the dovetail joint that took me time to learn. Which ever you do first, be it pins or tails, make sure they are as good as you can get them before marking the mate. Then no more paring on the first piece, only on the mate. Make sure the base line is clean before marking the second piece.

If your pins come up loose, you are likely sawing too close to the line. For me, the sides of sawing the tails is likely to be more off than the verticals when sawing the pins. That is why my tails are cut first. They can be squared up and then cutting the pins is easy. Do the hard part first.

jtk