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Thread: Having trouble: Half blind dovetail on table leg

  1. #1

    Having trouble: Half blind dovetail on table leg

    Hello folks,
    Im going to build an end table, with a drawer. I havent done dovetails, half blind dovetails or M&T joints by hand. So this will be challenging and Im building small mockups in pine to gain some experience.

    The drawer will be at the front of the table, obviously. The plan calls for a 1" rail connecting the two front legs above the drawer and another below it. The top rail has a dovetail on each end, which fits in a blind socket on the top of each front leg. The lower rail uses M&T to connect both legs. Im finding it slow going to cut the blind sockets on top of the legs. I cut (as much as I can) of the sides with a backsaw. Then I lay the leg down and hog out the waste with a very sharp 1/4" chisel, cutting WITH THE GRAIN. But theres still a fair bit of "hogging" and trimming AGAINST the grain to clean out the socket thoroughly. I went looking at videos and one gentleman suggests making or buying right and left hand skew chisels to reach better into the corners. Hope to do that tomorrow night using a couple $8 Buck Brothers in 1/4". That looks like it will help somewhat.

    I dont mind hard work. But Im wondering:
    1) Does it sound like Im doing this right? (I cant post a pic just now to show you. Hope my description gets the idea across.)
    2) Is it always this tough - cutting ACROSS the grain is work, even with a very sharp chisel - or is this just normal learning curve?
    3) Is there an alternate (hand tool) method - I have a plow plane and a router plane, but I dont see how either of them would really speed the work. Id really like to master this without using a drill to hog out the waste.

    Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

    Thank you.
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  2. #2
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    Have you looked at Derek Cohen's web site, inthewoodshop.com?

    http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...leddrawer.html

    Has a little bit on a tool he fashioned to make blind tails a bit easier.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
    What kind of wood are you making the table from? Removing the waste from a dovetail on a 1" piece shouldn't be that difficult. Perhaps your chisel is not as sharp as it should be.

    To clean the corners, you can use a narrow chisel, maybe a 1/8", or a fishtail, or a set of narrow skews. The reason you can use the narrow standard chisel is that no one will see the inside corners of the dovetail sockets - so if you don't make them perfect it's okay. Just as long as you cut them back enough that the tail can fit into the socket.

    But if you want cleaner, the skews or a fishtail is the way to go. For skews, I bought two cheap 1/4" chisels and ground them to a skew shape. I also have a 3/8* fishtail. But most of the time I just use a regular straight chisel to clean up the inside corners.

    I don't know if it will help, but I have a tutorial on half blind dovetails here.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  4. #4
    Thank you Jim! I missed that on Derek's web page.

    Mike, I stumbled onto your tutorial earlier today and didnt make the connection to SMC. It was from you that I got the idea of making inexpensive left and right skews! I went out tonight and ground a couple buck brother 1/4's that I bought after reading your tutorial. They are sharp and do a I'll re-review of your tutorial and Dereks tomorrow night and try again. (BTW, Im practicing on pine. Plan to make the table in mahaogany.)

    Thank you both!

  5. #5
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    BTW, Im practicing on pine.
    Some of my day was spent chopping out dovetails in Northwest American 'white wood,' AKA pine. It is a poster child for why a person wants sharp chisels.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    Some of my day was spent chopping out dovetails in Northwest American 'white wood,' AKA pine. It is a poster child for why a person wants sharp chisels.

    jtk
    +1. Modern, fast-growth American pine is notorious for extreme contrast between the hard late wood and soft early wood. It is a good test case for whether you are sharpening adequately, as it will crush and or pull out chunks unless your edges are razor sharp (and sometimes even if they are)!

  7. #7
    You don't really need to create a clean corner in such blind dovetail sockets. Nobody is seeing them, so you can instead lop off the corner of the dovetail instead. That would lead to some loss of strength of the joint, but I don't think enough to worry about.

    So, remove as much as you can with the chisels you have and don't worry about some crud remaining in that corner. No need to buy new tools. Rarely do we need new tools....

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by kees heiden View Post
    no need to buy new tools. Rarely do we need new tools....
    blasphemy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    ~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

  9. #9
    Hi Fred. I had the same trouble. I found it helpful to overcut the base line to help the saw get into the corner better. Once the corner is released, the chopping goes a little easier. I prefer keep the leg vertical, and chop into the end grain. Then I put the leg on the bench and chop across the end grain close to the base line. The remainder, yes, needs to be pared flat, but it goes quick.

  10. #10
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    No need to buy new tools. Rarely do we need new tools....
    Hey, be quiet. This is the time of year some of our significant others read posts here to see what tools we may have told others we want.

    Imagine if they all read that. It could have a devastating financial effect on all of our favorite tool suppliers.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #11
    Well, sometimes the truth just has to be told. Even in the holliday season. I think I'm going to spend all my money on shoes this year.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Kees Heiden View Post
    Well, sometimes the truth just has to be told. Even in the holliday season. I think I'm going to spend all my money on shoes this year.
    On this side of the ocean, we don't dress so catchy as you continentals do (or some of the English).

    We can get some clothes at the flea market when we go there for tools!

    (well, when you get into urban and wealthy areas, the guys start to get a little overly concerned about their fashion).

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kees Heiden View Post
    Well, sometimes the truth just has to be told. Even in the holliday season. I think I'm going to spend all my money on shoes this year.
    Hip waders? Deck shoes?

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