Originally Posted by
Mike Allen1010
I appreciate your perspective Maurice- removing layout marks seems pretty standard. However, I personally like to leave the baseline marking gauge line because it confirms the DT’s were hand cut. Jig or machine doesn’t require baseline layout. In the same way, I like finding layout marks on non show sides of antiques- connection to craftsman of previous era.
Cheers, Mike
I leave the baseline mark on hand cut dovetails, also, just to show they were hand cut. Another thing you can do is to make the tails different sizes. By that, I mean maybe a large one in the center and smaller ones coming out from that, or a mix of large and small. Things that would be difficult to do with a jig. But having a mix of tail sizes without any pattern just looks sloppy (to me).
Finally, the space between the tails is always an indicator. Any tails cut with a router have to have a space as wide as the shaft of the router bit, and that's usually 1/2 inch. If you want to really show off, you can make that space as thin as the saw plate.
Mike
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