allen levine
Member
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- new york city burbs
Well, my dovetail jig doesnt have wings, but a part of it flew today.
It flew as I decided Id had enough and it defeated me, for the second straight day.
Im not that stupid, nor am I a slow learner. But my fuse can get short after 2 days doing the same task that some do in 10 minutes.
I have to put most of the blame on myself, but my dovetail jig is just too time consuming to cut 4 sets of dovetails for one thing.
AFter yesterday and the day before, I patiently reset the entire jig up, making new blocking boards and such.
Slowly. No mistakes. But I see where I went wrong the day before and it really isnt totally my fault. This jig rests on the top of the board you are dovetailing, so when you are attaching backer boards, and moving it each time to cut another dovetail, somewhere along that movement, the tiniest movement of the jig will throw things off. Even trying to keep it totally consistent today, I had a few miscuts, but I corrected them.
A couple of tails chipped at edges, again my fault.(but repairable)
I glued up white oak yesterday, while moving lights and attaching the extension tables to the 22/44.
My intention is to make one tiny little hall/front door table to throw my keys in, my own design, but use dovetail joinery for the unit and use only solid wood, leaving all the dovetail joints exposed as part of the design.(even the drawer)Its about as simple as a table can get. Even simplier.
And after I finished the first pin piece, I realized my jig would not allow me to cut the tails on each end as close as I planned, my fault ofcourse, but an oversight that pushed me to throwing the jig today, and while taking apart the simplistic box, I hit it too hard and split the side.
Tomorrow is another day, Perhaps, and Im only saying perhaps, maybe I chalk some of it up to this jig might not be the easiest way to cut a 14 inch joint. Maybe I should invest and get one that cuts both tails and pins together and once set up, moves along quickly.
I dont know. Im stuck and Im frustrated. Im going to cut the tail boards thinner, and start over again, but today I had to call it a day because my anger replaced my patience. IM sorry to vent here, my lack of woodworking skill sometimes gets to me, but Im refusing to believe there isnt an easier way to make dovetails with router, especially faster.
(the first pic is the pattern I chose for the tail board)
I was smart enough when doing glueups to make an additional tail board in case I ran into a problem and wouldnt have to glue up again.(I mark the top and outside with blue tape so I turn them correct in the jig, not for the pictures)
It flew as I decided Id had enough and it defeated me, for the second straight day.
Im not that stupid, nor am I a slow learner. But my fuse can get short after 2 days doing the same task that some do in 10 minutes.
I have to put most of the blame on myself, but my dovetail jig is just too time consuming to cut 4 sets of dovetails for one thing.
AFter yesterday and the day before, I patiently reset the entire jig up, making new blocking boards and such.
Slowly. No mistakes. But I see where I went wrong the day before and it really isnt totally my fault. This jig rests on the top of the board you are dovetailing, so when you are attaching backer boards, and moving it each time to cut another dovetail, somewhere along that movement, the tiniest movement of the jig will throw things off. Even trying to keep it totally consistent today, I had a few miscuts, but I corrected them.
A couple of tails chipped at edges, again my fault.(but repairable)
I glued up white oak yesterday, while moving lights and attaching the extension tables to the 22/44.
My intention is to make one tiny little hall/front door table to throw my keys in, my own design, but use dovetail joinery for the unit and use only solid wood, leaving all the dovetail joints exposed as part of the design.(even the drawer)Its about as simple as a table can get. Even simplier.
And after I finished the first pin piece, I realized my jig would not allow me to cut the tails on each end as close as I planned, my fault ofcourse, but an oversight that pushed me to throwing the jig today, and while taking apart the simplistic box, I hit it too hard and split the side.
Tomorrow is another day, Perhaps, and Im only saying perhaps, maybe I chalk some of it up to this jig might not be the easiest way to cut a 14 inch joint. Maybe I should invest and get one that cuts both tails and pins together and once set up, moves along quickly.
I dont know. Im stuck and Im frustrated. Im going to cut the tail boards thinner, and start over again, but today I had to call it a day because my anger replaced my patience. IM sorry to vent here, my lack of woodworking skill sometimes gets to me, but Im refusing to believe there isnt an easier way to make dovetails with router, especially faster.
(the first pic is the pattern I chose for the tail board)
I was smart enough when doing glueups to make an additional tail board in case I ran into a problem and wouldnt have to glue up again.(I mark the top and outside with blue tape so I turn them correct in the jig, not for the pictures)
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