I can do dovetails, and I’ve even made a couple of them that I’m proud of. Unfortunately, on any particular project, there’s no more than two of the good ones. Mostly I avoid dovetails. Which is bad on my part, because they’re good, solid useful joints for wood. After watching the STL podcast with Vic Tesolin, I’m now convinced that I need to make them more often, using a saw guide.
Does anyone have a specific recommendation for a guide, or are they all the same more or less?
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I have the Jonathan Katz one, very nice product.
Just add some 400grit sandpaper on the holdy thing so it doesn't slide around so much.
+1 on Katz Moses. I don't use mine anymore, but when I was in steep part of dovetail learning curve I used it with a dozuki saw. You can get great results with this (now I get not-as-great results with western dovetail used "freehand". But those will get better).
Good luck! If you haven't seen it yet, Katz Moses has a dovetail video. I found it helpful, along with the one by Matt Estlea (who also has a "tool duel" video comparing different dovetail saw guides). The Becksvoort articles here on FWW are great too (and very aspirational).
I use a japanese saw and make my own guide blocks where I hold the saw plate against the block with a finger instead of a magnet. It takes a bit of getting used to but is very stable. It's on my blog at:
https://www.tailspintools.com/how-to-make-dovetail-saw-guide-blocks/
I don't know, but I'd like to see a tool review by FWW, including comparison of the tip using a dowel through a a little piece of straight wood.
Veritas makes dovetail guides that work well. Building a Moxon vise was a game changer for me.
Also check out Mike Farrington's YouTube video on using a router and Moxon vise.
I use the David Barron Magnetic Dovetail guide. It works well but it's not "automatic", you have to use a good sawing technique to get great results. I use a Gyokucho Rip Dozuki Saw - Model 372 to do the cutting.
Hey all,
Thanks for the recommendations and the feedback on the guides.
I'm thinking of this as a permanent addition to the tool collection. I view the saw guide as belonging to the same category as a shooting board for your hand plane.
I just completed a project where I was cutting dovetails on a 1" wide board. In order to keep the David Barron Dovetail Guide stable on a such a narrow piece of wood I decided to make a down and dirty notched jig to give the guide a wider piece of real estate to sit on. The photo shows the tail layout and the jig in my Moxon vise.
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