Lee...
Handcut dovetails take ALOT of practice to get down pat and they dont' come easy....There are 4 degrees of dovetail making. IMHO!
1: YIKES!!! needs more work, alot more practice. Not satisfied at all with the outcome
>>>>>>>> consider the tools used: are they the right tools for the task?
>>>>>Layout tools: There is a huge variety of dovetail layout guides out there. I started with Lee Valley
guides and still use em when cutting traditional DT's. Learning to do the math/layout by hand
without the use of guides is well worth the time and effort if you are so inclined. I still have to go
back and 'refresh" my memory when doing the math, but once you got it down, no biggie.
>>>>>Use a marking gauge and/or a marking knife for your layout lines. This gives you the ability to
register your chisel accurately and consistently! Often the scoring lines will show up in the
end product but this is generally accepted and not a deal breaker. Not a fan of pencil lines!!!!
>>>>>Saws: hell, you can use just about any saw including tablesaws and bandsaws. But those are
another story for another day. Typically you'll find a dedicated dovetail saw, backsaw, pullsaw,
coping saw as the saw of choice. I like pullsaws myself, but thats just me. The idea isn't to cut
the line, just cut 'inside' of the lines. Throw in a coping saw to hog out the majority of the waste material.
From there, your chisel does the rest.
>>>>>Chisels: here's where the rubber meets the road. You have to have good
SHARP chisels, PERIOD!
You don't need a 200.00 chisel, but ya need a good sharp one. Gotta have beveled sides to get into the
corners cleanly. Dedicated dovetail chisels are fantastic, but not something most guys have in their toolbox, and
represent a bit of an investment for something you may only use rarely.
consider the condition and tune-up of the tools being used:
>>>>>Layout tools are accurate, your math has got to be correct, guides adequately secured etc..etc...
>>>>>saws and chisels properly tuned and correct for the task at hand. Saws need to be sharp and true to track
properly and to keep tear out to a minimum. Chisels need to be ultra sharp since you'll be working with
essentially paring of end-grain as part of the process.
consider the method/techniques being used..
>>>>>There are a ton of methods/techniques out there. Some say this is right other say that is right,,who knows, who cares.
It comes down to what works for you. Keep it simple. Consider projects within or just outside of your ability/skill set!
>>>>>Everything from layouts to sawing to chisel work require a degree of expertise to achieve "that'll do" results.
That level of expertise comes with practice and patience! You just can't think your way to decent work, there is without
a doubt, a great deal of sweat equity involved.
>>>>>reread Sticks post above...alot of very good points made. Then go to YouTube and spend a couple hours watching how
its done. Pay close attention and wait for that light bulb moment, then go give it a shot.
>>>>>Once you got all your ducks in a row, look at which aspect(s) of cutting dovetails you are not completely satisfied with,
then go PRACTICE. Intially I was not happy with my saw work. So I spent hours with a board vised up and just took 1 inch
wide marks and practiced cutting as many kerfs within that 1 inch as I could. After a while, I got pretty good at it, muscle
memory takes over and its just second nature now. Excelling at one aspect tends to make the others that much more
manageable. I'm willing to bet that most folks need to spend some extra time on the chisel aspect of dovetailing.
>>>>>A nice "snug" fit is what your after. Sloppy fits are no good. and if you reach for a bigger mallet, your just asking for problems.
Trust me on that one!!!
consider the wood being used..
>>>>>Yep, it does make a difference. Softwoods vs. hardwoods. The time you spend with a piece of popular ain't gonna be the same as
the time you spend with a piece of Purpleheart!!
2: That'll do.....outcome is ok, but you're not really happy with it
>>>>>>>>At this point you pretty much got the idea down, and its just matter of identifying the problem and then working to correct it.
practice, practice, practice.....
3: NICE..
>>>>>>>>Here you got not problem handing over the project. Joint is clean, tight, well laid out and just looks good. A close examination
reveals the areas that need just a little more tweaking. Otherwise, your average Joe would never know the difference.
4: OH YEAH!! Time to move onto Japanese joinery!
Honestly, the shame of it is most folks have no idea of what goes into hand cut dovetails. A cosmetic detail overlooked by the majority of folks. You can
always tell another wood working by watching what he/she does when they open a drawer!! I'll do handcut DT's when the project is for someone special or
has special meaning AND there isn't 50 joints to do!!!!, otherwise, I admit, I just use a Porter Cable DT jig.
Hope this helps a bit..
B.
