Bill Satko
Member
- Messages
- 3,356
- Location
- Methow Valley
As mentioned in my post on this week's "Friday The 21st" thread I have been practicing mitered dovetail joints for some future projects. Mitered dovetails allow you groove the sides without it showing in the dovetail. They are also handy if you want to chamfer an edge all around the top.
My quick and dirty paring block which has undergo some modification worked fine. The next step in the paring block is to make it in a hardwood and actually make two. One for 3/4 stock and another for 1/2 stock.
I have been making my practice pieces in pine and although pine is easy to fit together because it is so soft, it also dents so easily. Chopping debris seems to always find its way under the pieces and damaging the dovetails no matter how often I brush everything away.
Here is my last attempt. I need to make the tail miters wider to account for any groove. I have wood for one last practice piece and will work on that. This latest attempt turned out fine with the miters looking good except for a small opening on the inside corner on one of them.
The two sides of the dovetail before trying to join them together. They banged together easily without any adjustment.
And here is the joint after banging it together.
And the glamor shots after cleaning up all the pencil marks and knife lines (especially the ones created when my brain was not functioning). You can only do so much cleanup with these type of dovetails. The depth of pins and the tails must be the same. Some like to make it so the pins are proud and then trim them flush with a hand plane. The miters would be off if you did this. I lightly took a shaving off each side equally so as to not open up the miter. I then sanded it to remove the stubborn pencil marks.
My quick and dirty paring block which has undergo some modification worked fine. The next step in the paring block is to make it in a hardwood and actually make two. One for 3/4 stock and another for 1/2 stock.
I have been making my practice pieces in pine and although pine is easy to fit together because it is so soft, it also dents so easily. Chopping debris seems to always find its way under the pieces and damaging the dovetails no matter how often I brush everything away.
Here is my last attempt. I need to make the tail miters wider to account for any groove. I have wood for one last practice piece and will work on that. This latest attempt turned out fine with the miters looking good except for a small opening on the inside corner on one of them.
The two sides of the dovetail before trying to join them together. They banged together easily without any adjustment.
And here is the joint after banging it together.
And the glamor shots after cleaning up all the pencil marks and knife lines (especially the ones created when my brain was not functioning). You can only do so much cleanup with these type of dovetails. The depth of pins and the tails must be the same. Some like to make it so the pins are proud and then trim them flush with a hand plane. The miters would be off if you did this. I lightly took a shaving off each side equally so as to not open up the miter. I then sanded it to remove the stubborn pencil marks.
Attachments
Last edited:
