I just glued up my first project with hand cut dovetails it is a birdeye maple humidor using 1/2 inch thick stock with 1/8 inch pins. My question is are there any tricks out there to keep dovetail joints tight without causing very small splits along the tails. I did use clamps along the width of the tail board during assembly but I did get hairline splits on three of the four joints. After assembly I was able to force some glue into the split and added pressure more pressure along the width of the tail board to close up the splits. I don’t think that the splits will be noticeable and the project is for myself, but I am interested in any tips out there that may help me in the future. How tight should hand cut dovetails go together?
I used Tage Frige book as my guide to learn dovetail so I cut the pins first then the tails. The joints are very tight and look nice with the exception of the three hairline splits, which I think should be fairly unnoticeable after I reglued them. I did three practice joints prior to this project using cherry which by the 3rd trial the joints turned out great. Obviously the maple doesn’t give as much give as the cherry during assembly.
Thanks for any advice
Aaron
Replies
If you get splits, then you are making the joint too tight. It will be a clean joint even without having to pound or clamp it together.
Tom
youre wood might be swelling up due to moisture in the end grains? Or uneven moisture of the two woods?
You've simply cut your joints too rich. Since Tage's methods appear to have gotten you almost to homeplate, I'd suggest reviewing his technique(s) for easing the joint. It will invariable involve paring a little material from the middle (staying away from the edges) of each pin.
Thanks for the advice. I figured that they were too tight. I'll keep practicing and try paring out a little more.
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