I'm cutting some dovetails - jewellery box - and I need them to be
_very_ good. They're about 1/2" deep and wide and I want the narrow
edge of the pins to be just the thickness of a saw kerf.
Any advice on cutting really fine and quite small dovetails, and giving
a good result ?
I normally saw the tails out first, mark the pins form the tails with a
knife, then saw the pins. Here I just don't have the space to do that
though, even with a fine awl. Should I switch to pins-first and
cross-marking, or should I lay both out separately and cut them
separately ?
Timber is English ash, so it's pretty well behaved and easy to work.
Thanks
On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 12:49:09 +0100, Andy Dingley
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm cutting some dovetails - jewellery box - and I need them to be
>_very_ good. They're about 1/2" deep and wide and I want the narrow
>edge of the pins to be just the thickness of a saw kerf.
>
>Any advice on cutting really fine and quite small dovetails, and giving
>a good result ?
>
>I normally saw the tails out first, mark the pins form the tails with a
>knife, then saw the pins. Here I just don't have the space to do that
>though, even with a fine awl. Should I switch to pins-first and
>cross-marking, or should I lay both out separately and cut them
>separately ?
>
>Timber is English ash, so it's pretty well behaved and easy to work.
>
>Thanks
I did a set once with tails ending at precisely one kerf-width, and
eventually used carbon paper (pressing hard) to transfer them to the
pin piece. I'd suggest a couple of tests before going on to your good
pieces.
You will probably find that you can afford some inaccuracy anyway, as
these thin pins will be pretty flexible (mine were in oak, so yours
should be even more so).
only one p in my real address / un seul p dans ma véritable adresse
Andy Dingley wrote:
> I'm cutting some dovetails - jewellery box - and I need them to be
> _very_ good. They're about 1/2" deep and wide and I want the narrow
> edge of the pins to be just the thickness of a saw kerf.
>
> Any advice on cutting really fine and quite small dovetails, and giving
> a good result ?
>
> I normally saw the tails out first, mark the pins form the tails with a
> knife, then saw the pins. Here I just don't have the space to do that
> though, even with a fine awl. Should I switch to pins-first and
> cross-marking, or should I lay both out separately and cut them
> separately ?
>
> Timber is English ash, so it's pretty well behaved and easy to work.
>
> Thanks
Could you possibly mark with a X-Acto knife and #11 blade?
"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm cutting some dovetails - jewellery box - and I need them to be
> _very_ good. They're about 1/2" deep and wide and I want the narrow
> edge of the pins to be just the thickness of a saw kerf.
>
> Any advice on cutting really fine and quite small dovetails, and giving
> a good result ?
>
> I normally saw the tails out first, mark the pins form the tails with a
> knife, then saw the pins. Here I just don't have the space to do that
> though, even with a fine awl. Should I switch to pins-first and
> cross-marking, or should I lay both out separately and cut them
> separately ?
>
> Timber is English ash, so it's pretty well behaved and easy to work.
>
> Thanks
I cut pins first with an L-N dovetail saw. I actually mark the tails with a
pencil using the pins as the gauge. The pins are small enough that I use an
1/8" chisel to cut the waste out. I'll post a picture of a small box with
sliding top I made for my club's annual banquet raffle on ABPW.
John
Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote:
> Should I switch to pins-first and
>cross-marking,
Whyever not? Pins-first works just fine.
Ken Muldrew
[email protected]
(remove all letters after y in the alphabet)
Andy,
If you've got it, FWW # 150 (Aug 2001) has an article by Strother Purdy on
exactly this subject. The dovetails he cuts require a 1/8" chisel to clean
up.
Joe C.
"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm cutting some dovetails - jewellery box - and I need them to be
> _very_ good. They're about 1/2" deep and wide and I want the narrow
> edge of the pins to be just the thickness of a saw kerf.
>
> Any advice on cutting really fine and quite small dovetails, and giving
> a good result ?
>
> I normally saw the tails out first, mark the pins form the tails with a
> knife, then saw the pins. Here I just don't have the space to do that
> though, even with a fine awl. Should I switch to pins-first and
> cross-marking, or should I lay both out separately and cut them
> separately ?
>
> Timber is English ash, so it's pretty well behaved and easy to work.
>
> Thanks
>
Here's how I get around the "can't reach in there" problem: (assuming
through DT's)
1. Mark, cut, chop tails
2. Transfter, not a line, but the point on the external corner of the tail
piece to the external corner of the pin piece.
3. Mark square line on face extending out from marked point
4. Mark bevel line out from same point across end grain
5. *With a pencil*, mark the base line
6. Cut sides of pins by hand.
7. "power-assisted" pin waste removal:
7a. Clamp an 'L' - shaped piece of wood and clamp it to your pin piece,
flush with the end grain. This will give a bigger surface on which the
router can ride.
7b. Chuck up straight bit and set depth just a hair more than tailstock
thickness.
7c. Route the majority of the pin waste away. Approach the kerf, but don't
try to get everything.
7d. Finish with a chisel
I use the "power-assist" pin method bacause it gives me very accurate clean
bottoms to that cut (I have trouble with clean chopping cuts) *and* it does
not require that I design the joint to accomodate the tool. (e.g., big pins
in a standard DT jig setup).
Cheers,
Steve
"alexy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >I'm cutting some dovetails - jewellery box - and I need them to be
> >_very_ good. They're about 1/2" deep and wide and I want the narrow
> >edge of the pins to be just the thickness of a saw kerf.
> >
> >Any advice on cutting really fine and quite small dovetails, and giving
> >a good result ?
> >
> >I normally saw the tails out first, mark the pins form the tails with a
> >knife, then saw the pins. Here I just don't have the space to do that
> >though, even with a fine awl. Should I switch to pins-first and
> >cross-marking, or should I lay both out separately and cut them
> >separately ?
> >
> >Timber is English ash, so it's pretty well behaved and easy to work.
> >
> >Thanks
>
> 1) How about grinding, then honing, a one-sided bevel on the end of a
> utility knife blade (one each direction) and using that as a marking
> knife? Surely it is thinner than your saw's kerf.
>
> 2) If you cut your tails very exactly, particularly as to slope, use
> an awl to mark as much of the wide side of the pin as you can from the
> tails, and use your dovetail gauge, bevel, etc. and knife to mark the
> rest. (This wouldn't work for me, since I am not super-precise in
> cutting tails, counting on transferring whatever I do cut to the pins.
> I wouldn't want to count on my tails exactly matching the slope on my
> bevel gauge.)
> --
> Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked
infrequently.
"arw01" <[email protected]> writes:
> How about on the bandsaw like David Marks did with his tool box?
I just built the jig that Duginski describes in his bandsaw book. I
haven't tested it yet. But I am interested in using it in a 12" by 12"
by 12" box with 1/4" thickness.
Has anyone any experience in something like this?
--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.
Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm cutting some dovetails - jewellery box - and I need them to be
>_very_ good. They're about 1/2" deep and wide and I want the narrow
>edge of the pins to be just the thickness of a saw kerf.
>
>Any advice on cutting really fine and quite small dovetails, and giving
>a good result ?
>
>I normally saw the tails out first, mark the pins form the tails with a
>knife, then saw the pins. Here I just don't have the space to do that
>though, even with a fine awl. Should I switch to pins-first and
>cross-marking, or should I lay both out separately and cut them
>separately ?
>
>Timber is English ash, so it's pretty well behaved and easy to work.
>
>Thanks
1) How about grinding, then honing, a one-sided bevel on the end of a
utility knife blade (one each direction) and using that as a marking
knife? Surely it is thinner than your saw's kerf.
2) If you cut your tails very exactly, particularly as to slope, use
an awl to mark as much of the wide side of the pin as you can from the
tails, and use your dovetail gauge, bevel, etc. and knife to mark the
rest. (This wouldn't work for me, since I am not super-precise in
cutting tails, counting on transferring whatever I do cut to the pins.
I wouldn't want to count on my tails exactly matching the slope on my
bevel gauge.)
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.