first hand cut dovetails

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Here are a few pics of my first attempt at hand cutting dovetails. I used scrap pieces of pine. I think I'll use something a little harder next time, the pine was really soft. Any suggestions or pointers would be appreciated. I need more practice!
 

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Well, you're one set of dovetails ahead of me...I've never tried hand-cut dovetails, so I'm not likely to have any decent advice. Looks like you're off to a good start. :thumb:
 
Hi John,

Your dovetails are better than my first attempt :thumb: It looks like you cut too close to the line with your saw, so you did not have any room to sneak up on a final fit. Try leaving more material so you can get a tighter fit with your chisels.

-Gari
 
John,

Looks good. As you continue to hone this skill you will find that some woods compress more than others. Soft wood can allow tails/pins to still go together even if just slightly fat and come away looking like a star whereas hard woods tend to not have as much flexibility.

Keep up the good work.

Lee Laird
 
Looks good to me for a first try. I see the fit was a bit tight by the cracked board. Not giving you grief here, I have done the very same thing many, many times.

My only advice is when you go to chop out your waste, you let the chisel start about 1/32 away from the line. That is because as you pound the chisel in, it has a tendency to slide back about that much. I see you got two chisel marks past the line. By starting the chisel just 1/32 inward of your line, and angling a bit towards the front of the board, you get a nice crisp line.

Personally I love making dovetails. I do all mine by hand and have no plans to change any time soon.
 
Well, you're one set of dovetails ahead of me...I've never tried hand-cut dovetails, so I'm not likely to have any decent advice. Looks like you're off to a good start. :thumb:

Vaughn...you did not hear it from me, but this is the secret to dovetails. "They are easy", now just don't tell the non-woodworkers this so they are still impressed.
 
Thanks for the advise so far.

Travis, I noticed that when I would put the chisel on the line to cut it would work back into the line.

Alan, here's my method, please feel free to make any suggestions.

I started with the tails I think.
I decided on a 1/2" space between the tails.
I divided this in half and marked 1/4" lines in from each edge of the board on the end grain.
I then came to the center of the board and marked a center line.
I moved 1/4" either side of center and made a mark across the end grain.
I then took my bevel gage set at about 6 deg. and marked the tail locations.
I then removed the waste using a coping saw and chisels. I used this board as a template to mark for the pins. I remove the waste the same way.



When you are paring the waste do you remove about halfway and then turn the board over and remove the other half to avoid blowing out the edge.
 
John, if I'm chopping the waste out, I'll go about an 1/8" on one side and flip the board over. Set your chisel about a 1/16" from your line for chopping and pare it back. Make sure your chisel is sharp, sharp, sharp so you're cutting the fibers and not crushing them!
 
I think you've already hit on the two items that come to mind. I tried pine on my first attempts and it is tough to work with as it IS so soft. Practice is of course the other item for me and others. Do leave yourself a bit more waste so you can sneak up on your fit. Oh, and REALLY sharp chisels are always a plus. Touch up often and have fun.
 
Thanks guys for all the help and suggestions.

Alan I think I'll try cutting the pins first a couple of times and see if I have any better success. I have been having trouble holding the tail board to mark the pins. Let my make sure I'm correct. When I cut the pins first I can stack the boards to mark the tail location and then use my gauge to mark across the end grain?

Thanks again
 
John,

That's right. This is the method that Frank Klausz uses and it works well if you can cut angles as accurately as straight cuts. When cutting dovetails you have two types of cuts. One with the saw tilted and one not tilted. When you cut the tails first you've already got the cuts out of the way with the saw tilted (angled). If you are skilled at this cut then you should have no trouble cutting the pins first and then being able to handle the remaining tails. If your level of comfort is not high when needing to cut tails to a specific line then tails first might be the best answer (other than practice). Either way it's good to try both ways to see what works best for you.

When the pins are cut first, the pin board easily stands on end while on the future tails board so the lines can be marked. Usually have a lot more room to mark between the pins vs. between the tails, too.

Practice, practice, practice.
 
Alan,

Maybe I misread John's question. I took what he said about stacking the boards as to mean placing the end of the cut pin board on the face of what will be the tails. Not to mean cutting multiple pin boards at the same time, like one might if doing the tails first.
 
and then there was Tage Frid

Here are a few pics of my first attempt at hand cutting dovetails. I used scrap pieces of pine. I think I'll use something a little harder next time, the pine was really soft. Any suggestions or pointers would be appreciated. I need more practice!

Somehow I never see people mention Tage Frid when talking about woodworking techniques. He was and is my favorite to go to. Still have all of his books and refer to them for instructions and hints. His style is very direct, sensible and practical. Sadly, he passed away some years ago, but if you can get his books, they serve as a great lesson in woodworking.

The current paperback title is:

Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking: A step-by-step guidebook to essential woodworking techniques

Aside from that, practicing in something harder than pine would be helpful. Some scrap cherry is always good. Pine tends to compress under pressure, plus the grain can catch a saw or chisel and lead it astray. The fine grain of cherry works smoothly and allows you to pare to a finer line than pine... at least until you feel comfortable working a wood such as pine.

Gary
 
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