Replies

1. 
   RMillard | Jan 31, 2004 06:52pm | #1

   You will find that dovetails with the narrow pins are actually easier to cut than wider ones. To scribe from the dovetails, I use a thin carving knife, using it much like a meat cleaver, that is using the whole blade and not just the tip. This leaves a very faint line, which I deepen using the point of the knife after I get tail piece out of the way.

   Rob Millard

2. 
   joinerswork | Jan 31, 2004 11:40pm | #2

   J,

   You will find that it's easier to scribe around those slender pins to determine the placement of the tails than the other way around.  Two schools of thought here, I know, and if you're used to one way the other will seem strange and awkward at first.  There's lots of room between the pins to reach in and scribe with a knife blade.

   Cheers,

   Ray

3. 
   ChasStanford | Feb 01, 2004 12:39am | #3

   You need to be comfortable with a pin-first approach since this is the only realistic way of marking out casework dovetails on wide workpieces.  It also eliminates the problem you mentioned when working a very narrow pin dovetail joint by cutting the tails first. 

   That said, I used to be a devout tails-first guy but things were easier once I dedicated myself to pins first.

1. 
   JBaum | Feb 01, 2004 10:07pm | #6

   OK - but what happens if the pins & tails don't quite fit? Do I trim the pins to fit the tails or the tails to fit the pins. It seems that every tutorial I've read on cutting dovetails advocates trimming the second set of cuts (pins or tails) to the first. However since the tails have so little space  (too small for a chisel) between them, would I break with convention and fine tune the pins to fit the tails?

1. 
   ChasStanford | Feb 01, 2004 11:31pm | #7

   If you've marked the tails from the cut pins then the waste has already removed from the pin piece giving you plenty of room to maneuver in adjusting the pins (obviously very carefully).  So, you would adjust the pins and leave the tails alone. 

   The larger issue is this - cutting a joint with whispy pins implies some expertise - if you're doing this kind of joinery the vast majority of your joints should fit straight from the saw, or need precious little work to be perfect.  If you are at the stage in your journey to craftsmanship that your dovetail joints require fairly extensive 'remodeling' you might consider cutting pins that are not narrower than a strong 1/8th until your skills improve.

   Moral of the story - you gotta crawl before you can walk.

4. 
   Alan | Feb 01, 2004 03:39am | #4

   JB,

   I too usually saw the tails first and then use them to mark out the pins.

   I make the saw cuts on the tail board, but I do not yet chisel or saw out the waste. 

   I put the pin board in the front vise so it sticks up 3/4" or so (whatever the thickness of some scrap I have around).  I then put the sawn tail board on the top of some scrap, properly register it on the end of the pin board and clamp it in place.

   To mark the pin board I put the saw into the kerf and pull the saw enough to leave marks.  Sometimes I use an old saw (that fits into the kerf) and just lightly tap it in place.  That leaves some little "connect the dots" on the pin board.  I suppose you could also use a knife that was thin enough.

   The only caveat is to be sure to cut on the waste side of the pins.

   Hey, perhaps not elegant--perhaps even less than craftsman like--but it works.

   Alan

5. 
   user-60388 | Feb 01, 2004 06:07pm | #5

   I use a machinists pencil to mark my tails. (I do pins first.)

   If you are not sure, I machinists pencil is a pencil whose head is kind of like a drill press chuck, except it works with a spring, rather than threads.

   it holds a lead that is about 1/32" or so thick in diameter. Because the lead is pretty thick, it allows you to pull the lead out about 2 inches without it breaking.

   Once this pencil-lead is super-sharp, I can reach that lead into any corner, and mark my tails accurately.

   A fine marking knife is nice, also, but i find it hard to see those lines.

   
   

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   Edited 2/1/2004 12:12:38 PM ET by briangray