Veritas hand cut dovetail saw guide system?

I dunno...I have done four drawers (my very first hand cuts ever) and I am about to go down and finish the fifth drawer in a dresser. I made major progress (and made a key learning) when I cut a small block and faced it all around with stick on sand paper to do a similar function to this $57 guide gadget. I was cutting 6:1 tails so I sloped one end of the block to the same degree. The sandpaper keeps the block in place and I just hold the saw against the appropriate face to guide the cut.

Now here was my learning. I am doing the method of cutting pins first, so I used the block to cut the pin sides, then chop out the waste and finish up. I then mark the tails (position the cut board properly and score with a knife). I then set the block on the mark line on the tail board and cut, then chopped. I discovered I had a tremendous amount of fitting to do and the reason for the extra fit time was this. In spite of using the block on the pins, I still did not cut "EXACTLY". Thus, when I transferred the inexact line to the tail board and followed up with the gage block, I actually cut off the real scored line. I learned to use the gage block to START the cut (it helps set the angle) but then I had to guide the saw to the scored line and not to the slope of the gage block. Fit up was less difficult once I made this observation.

Not sure if you understand this wordy explanation; I hope you do. And I am also not sure my problems with cut accuracy with a home made block would be the same with this $57 metal guide, but I would recommend experimenting before shelling out the $$

FWIW.
 
Personally I don't think its worth the money, but I do admit I am a total tool minimalist. By that I mean I don't spend a lot of money on tooling. In my opinion, this is just a gimmick.

Hand cut dovetails do take time to learn, and I have a long way to go myself. But as crappy and as cheap as my dovetail saw is, it honestly wants to go where I put it. It tracks straight and true.

As a side note, I too do as Ken Close does, but I start with the pin board first. Either way the point is, you cut your first set of dovetail pins or tails as it does not matter, then trace your second set from that. In this way the first set really does not matter. If they are off, they are off, the tracing of the second set matches the first. Mathematically this means you only have to be accurate on the last 50% of the project.

I think far to many people get wrapped up in the "oh my goodness, I am making dovetails, I better get this right" mentality and get all nerved up. Just take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the cutting hand cut dovetails. That is the way it is supposed to be.
 
I'm not sure what I think about it Dennis. Once started, I would have a hard time making my pull-saw NOT go in a straight line. The cut starts right from the first motion so if I start off the line, I just back up, correct and re-start. Correcting once underway is near impossible for me. That being said, I am not sure what the jig would actually do for me. YMMV.
 
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