Being relatively new to ww (< 1 yr) and cutting dovetails by hand has produced some wonderfully horrible looking work. Last evening I was cutting the pins for a box, in cherry, and was wandering frightfully from my lines when I thought about this entire process (and considered a Leigh jig). I use a Dozuki and love everything about it. My problem was not keeping it parallel to the stock so, …. I took a piece of (square) scrap, set it atop my work and used it as a guide to help support the saw. Well, lo and behold what a difference – I could actually cut on the lines.
I know that I am not the first one to discover this ‘trick’ but is does produce great results and now I do not have to but a Leigh jig!!
Replies
You should check out the Lee Valley dovetail saw guide. It loooks like a gimmick, but the darn things works like a champ!
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=41718&cat=1,42884
Regards,
Ron
Thanks. I have seen these guides advertised in the LV catalogue. I think that I can dado a piece of wood for a 1:6 angle, set it onto the stock, hold it down with my free hand and produce a pretty good cut. I am going to try to make a jig tomorrow & test it out. Do you think that if I tell my wife that my jig saved $65.00 that she will let me spend that on another tool?
dlb
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I suspect you'll only get away with it once, so make it a good one!
Make the 1:6 for softwoods such as pine and a 1:8 for hardwood. It's actually easier to cut a decent dovetail in hardwood because the edges are less inclined to break off and/or fuzz. You don't have to use LV's saw if you have a saw with a deep enough back to clear the guide and still make a deep enough cut. I usually use a Japanese saw with a 12" unbraced blade but any standard backsaw should provide enough depth of cut.Ron
Gotta ditto the recommendation for the LV Dovetail jig; I have really gained confidence using this thing. The saw they send (for an extra $15) is not very nice; I use my normal japanese saw, though it has a little more set than perfect and has been scratched up some in the ~300 times it's been used. Without the saw the jig is $50. That.... 17c per DT and dropping fast...dt
I too have had some really good results with the LV dovetail jig. The saw that comes with it is junk, but any backless saw will work. I use the Japanese plywood saw available from LV with very good results. It's not completely foolproof, but it's a good start.
However now I'm begining to wonder if the jig is holding me back. I've used it on various projects now. Sawing to the line should be a very basic skill.
I recently had the pleasure of watching Rob Cosman (Lie-Nielsen rep) cut some dovetails at a woodworking show. He makes it look so easy. It really opened my eyes to the dovetail as an artistic, and structural joint.
Buster;I like your comment on "the jig holding me back" That is a truism in many crafts.In fact just this week I am faced with that, I am putting a chest case together that has 5° angle to the front and back. Using the dovetail jig that means that the pins will slope down 5° from the grain angle, somewhat weakening them. I am considering cutting a bunch of 5° shims and re-angling the jig to make it cut grain-oriented pins, but I can sense a screwup coming. Dunno if I'll use the shimmed jig or just live with the 5° angle to the pins, that I will be cutting tomorrow. While "sawing to the line should be a very basic skill" I find I can start on a line and *sometimes* drop a perpendicular, but man getting a precisely angled cut is not in my genes, at least yet. That's where the jig helps.Anyway, I like the LV jig. When I started I screwed up several boxes using a porter-cable (style) jig and the router, and hated every minute with a screaming router throwing chips at face level. In contrast, I just finished a pair of cherry tool cases that counting the drawers had over 200 dovetails, that I cut in maybe 5 days while listening to Mozart. And only had to shim one or two (the jig can slip if clamped at the end of a board, be careful).
I find I can start on a line and *sometimes* drop a perpendicular, but man getting a precisely angled cut is not in my genes, at least yet. That's where the jig helps.
I'm with you here. But hey, practice makes perfect. I learned using a fret saw to remove the waste. So on my last project I used the jig to define the edges, then I practiced without a jig in the waste portion. Made it a little easier to use fret saw.
From Mr. Cosmans demo, I really go a feel to how important the saw is in the whole operation. He doesn't recomend the 'gents saw' with the round handle, a pistol grip is better as it gives you a better reference. He also doesn't recomend the japanese saws ("Western Saw-Western Hardwood, Japanese saw-japanese hardwood" - I can not say that I agree personally). He also points out that the thinner Japanese blad may not give a perfectly straight cut as it has a thinner blade. Of course he's trying to sell the Lie-Nielsen dovetail saw. But Pax makes and Adria make version too.
Anyway if you can not tell I really enjoyed his demo.
Man that sounds sweet. Can't wait for my new LN saw to show up ... any day now.
-robert
dlb,
Congratulations.....for showing the determination to learn how...and discovering a method that really helps. Your well on your way to understanding why so many of us love the LN dovetail saw...
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