Review - Veritas Saddle Square - www.onlinetoolreviews.com

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> "Woodcrafter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hi folks,
> >
> > Just a quick mini-review today of a reasonably simple product - the

> > Veritas
> > Saddle Square.
> > http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/veritassaddlesquare.htm
> >
>
> Thanks,
> Simple review of a simple product. I don't know how you can do
without one
> in the shop. One of the handiest tools I have.


I was going to order up the dovetail marker equivalent of these. Has
anyone tried those out? I picked up a dovetail saw at Woodcraft back
in Jan. and I looked at them then, but never bought them. One of those
things that you wonder later why the hell you never bought them while
you were there. Hmmmm...

Paul

> I was going to order up the dovetail marker equivalent of these. Has
> anyone tried those out? I picked up a dovetail saw at Woodcraft back

I have one. It's handy for doing rough layouts; I don't use it for marking
every single side of every piece. To be fair though, I use their magnetized
dovetail guide that I bought all the time. Once you learn how to use it, it
really works well. If someday I can saw cleanly enough without the guide
I'll use the marker regularly.

Cheers!
Duke

Paul in MN wrote:

> I was going to order up the dovetail marker equivalent of these. Has
> anyone tried those out? I picked up a dovetail saw at Woodcraft back
> in Jan. and I looked at them then, but never bought them. One of those
> things that you wonder later why the hell you never bought them while
> you were there. Hmmmm...
>
> Paul

The problem with the opaque DT marking gauges is that you
can't see through them. You layout the centerline of your
pins (or tails if you're a tails first person) but then the
marking gauge covers up the one you're going to mark for
the angle. You don't have the "context" of the line you're
about to mark.

To get around that I made some at different angles out of
plastic, with a centerline scribed in the plastic.

http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/DovetailDrawer17.html

The second model added the saddle so two faces could be
marked at a time. Lines are scribed into the top and
bottom to avoid parallax (sp?). They're done with a
Tite-Mark marking gauge BEFORE cutting the angled
sides

http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/DovetailDrawer17A.html

Re: marking knife cutting into the metal or plastic - a single
bevel knife, with the flat face against the guide minimizes
the problem.

The recomendation to get the Frank Klausz video - Making
and Handcut Dovetail Drawer is an excellent one. If you get
it you might find these "instructions" -based mainly on
the video - handy to have on the bench when you go to practice
what Frank shows you. He covers a lot of ground - with a
lot of very specific steps and procedures. With these "notes"
you can try it, add your own notes and have it as a reference
for future use. Dovetail cutting looks so simple and straight-
foreward but there are lots of ways to screw them up if
you're not methodical.

MARK THE WASTE SIDE!
http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/OOPS/OOPS1.html

charlie b

Paul in MN wrote:

> I was going to order up the dovetail marker equivalent of these. Has
> anyone tried those out?

I love my saddle squares, but see some issues with the DT markers.

1.) I prefer to mark out dovetails with a knife. The aluminum of the DT
marker may catch the knife edge and since it's soft, be cut by the
knife. I haven't used the DT markers, so this could be a non-issue. I
usually use the saddle squares with sharp pencils, so this hasn't been
an issue.

2.) I frequently vary the angle of dovetails for appearance. My bevel
guage is frequently set by eye.

BTW, I really like the Veritas bevel guages. I have a 4" and a 10",
both have a nice locking lever that stays flush with the body and
doesn't interfere with flipping it when using both sides.

Barry

I have the dovetail version and I don't like it. Here's why:

It's made from aluminum and is therefore considerably softer than my veritas
marking knife (which I do like very much). The making knife cuts into the
metal way too easily.

Great for use with a pencil, not so great with a marking knife.

-Steve






"Woodcrafter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi folks,
>
> Just a quick mini-review today of a reasonably simple product - the
Veritas
> Saddle Square.
> http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/veritassaddlesquare.htm
>
> Hope it helps! :-)
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dean Bielanowski
> Editor,
> Online Tool Reviews
> http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com
> WIN! $200 of woodworking tools of your choice!
> Enter online today.
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Latest 6 Reviews:
> - EZ Smart Guide System
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> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

> I was going to order up the dovetail marker equivalent of these. Has
> anyone tried those out? I picked up a dovetail saw at Woodcraft back
> in Jan. and I looked at them then, but never bought them. One of those
> things that you wonder later why the hell you never bought them while
> you were there. Hmmmm...
>
> Paul

I already posted my comment but since you specifically asked I'll reiterate.
I don't like the aluminum because my veritas marking knife bites into it.

I *do* however really like the veritas bevel guage (the one with the
cam-lock that is inset and therefore not in the way) for marking dovetails.
It really is a better mouse trap.

-Steve

"Woodcrafter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi folks,
>
> Just a quick mini-review today of a reasonably simple product - the
> Veritas
> Saddle Square.
> http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/veritassaddlesquare.htm
>

Thanks,
Simple review of a simple product. I don't know how you can do without one
in the shop. One of the handiest tools I have.

On 4 Mar 2005 07:28:22 -0800, the inscrutable "Paul in MN"
<[email protected]> spake:

>I was going to order up the dovetail marker equivalent of these. Has
>anyone tried those out? I picked up a dovetail saw at Woodcraft back
>in Jan. and I looked at them then, but never bought them. One of those
>things that you wonder later why the hell you never bought them while
>you were there. Hmmmm...

Spend your money on Klausz' "Dovetail a Drawer" video or DVD and
you'll never need either of those markers.


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