I bought a coping saw and tried to use it for dovetails. I’ve seen the vids where the user turns tight corners with the blade to easily remove waste wood. It didn’t work for me, resulting in a broken blade.
I don’t know if it was operator error (first time for this so not unlikely) or if I was using the wrong blade.
Is there a particular blade I need to use for dovetails? Or some technique I should be using?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Replies
I initially had this problem and it just takes some practice. The turn is done while you are cutting; NOT when you are motionless. Again, a practice thing. Another thing that I found helpful, the website Tools For Working Wood sells a slightly finer TPI (they have two to choose from so it’s easy to find). What I like about the slightly finer TPI is that the blade is slightly thinner and tends to fit in the kerf left by many dove tail saws. This makes it handy but not necessary. It says something about this in the product description. Good luck and just practice you will get this. It took me quite a while to feel comfortable with my dovetail say. Practice on scraps of the wood you are using in the dovetails and you will get it in no time.
I would second Joe's comments. Nice coping and fret saws make the job a little bit easier, but I think this is a case where the real gain is going to be in technique and practice. Watch one of many free online videos on this technique, such as Paul Sellers' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shPiKnw_uaY) Get a bunch of scraps and cut a bunch of dovetails. As Joe mentioned, the trick in this instance is turning the corner while cutting. You'll be surprised how soon you'll get it.
Good tools are important, but as is so often true, your most satisfying and enduring gains will come from studying how the experienced woodworkers approach a particular technique, and then practicing, practicing.
I had a chance to dig up the specific coping saw blades I'm using. They are the Pegas Skip Tooth 18 TPI. I've also copied the text below as well.
https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/MS-CPEG.XX/Pegas+Coping+Saw+Blades
"A coping saw is used for cutting curves in wood. But the saw is only as good as its blades. These blades by Pégas are manufactured in Switzerland of high quality carbon steel. Many consider them the finest coping saw blades currently made.
We first heard about these blades from a blog entry by Christopher Schwarz of the Lost Art Press. He prefers these blades to our other blades because the Pégas blades have less set. Less set is an advantage in cutting dovetail waste, but we think that depending on application all the blades we stock work well.
We are stocking two Pégas 6 1/2" blades, both of which will fit into any standard coping saw with pinned blades. The 10tpi blade is fairly coarse and great for thicker stock. The 18tpi skip tooth blade is thinner and narrower, great for thinner material and cutting the waste when dovetailing. Sold in packs of one dozen."
I use a Knew Concepts saw with Olsen skip tooth blades (44600) along with a Japanese Dozuki saw for cutting the dovetails. The skip tooth blades fit into the Dozuki saw kerf and are easily "steerable". The combination works great for clearing out the dovetail's waste.
The skip tooth blade specs are: width-.038", thickness-.016", TPI-12.5
Are those fret saw blades, or pinned coping saw blades?
The blades don’t have pins for attachment. The package is labeled “Scroll Saw Blades”.
I use Pegas 18 tpi skip tooth coping saw blades (0.02" x 0.094").
In a fret saw I use Pegas SK7 (skip tooth) fret saw blades (15 tpi .050 in. wide, .015 in thick).
I go up a bit to cur them, use my old Rockwell 26" scroll saw, $85 at auction. A coping saw on steroids. Has its own oil tank.
I think it would be helpful to know what saw your using?
You're not asking this but just to round things out, I will mention this. I also own a fret saw. If the wood I'm using is thicker than 1/2" I will use a coping saw. I have tried using my fret saw on 3/4" thick dovetails to remove the waste and broken many blades. I have finally given up on the fret saw for thicker dovetails. Thus, at or above 1/2" tick stock I use a coping saw. Below 1/2" stock is when I will consider a fret saw.
I've used my fret saw setup, as referenced in my above post, for dovetailing 3/4" stock for many years and have never broken a blade.
Keep the saw moving.