Finally made good dovetails

[Eric Schubert]

Dovetails... I love the look of dovetails. But, the few times I tried making dovetails, they weren't that great.

I recently saw a class available at the local Woodcraft store and decided to jump on it, hoping I would come out of it really understanding how to make great dovetails. And, well... it seems it worked! I learned so many little tips that will help me tremendously with future projects. How to saw properly. Using dividers to lay them out evenly. Best practices for marking your lines. Tips on using a chisel. And, most of all, how to overlook minor flaws that really don't affect the final product. (Probably the biggest issue I have is seeing and trying to fix all of the little flaws.)

Everything really helped. It was definitely worth the cost of the class to see, in-person, how to make a proper set of dovetails. I feel much more prepared to make more dovetails.

Now... it's about time I start planning out that tool chest.

They're not perfect. I over-sawed in a few spots. And I accidentally split the wood while tapping everything together a little too hard. But I'm really happy with how these turned out.

[ken hatch]

Eric,

Not bad, add a little glue and sawdust and by the time you clean up the surfaces the small "opps" will disappear. Good job, it helps to have someone show you the way.

ken

[Daniel Rode]

Nice work Eric! My early attempts did not look as good

[Mike Brady]

Those look very nice! Good proportions, square sawing, no gaps. Watch the over-sawing and make those half-pins a bit wider. Many people never get as good as you are already.

[Eric Schubert]

Thanks, everyone! We received guidance as we made these, obviously. But I'm really happy with how they turned out, especially considering my previous attempts.

Mike, is there a method or ratio for setting pin widths?

In this case, we simply made a half-pin around 3/16" wide on the edges, then used dividers to set evenly-distributed positions for the rest. (Set to ~1" wide, and set one leg on the 3/16" line, then walk across. Adjust until it walks right to the edge of the board, with the number of tails/pins we want.) This works, obviously. But if there are some guidelines for sizes, I'm all ears/eyes.

[ken hatch]

Thanks, everyone! We received guidance as we made these, obviously. But I'm really happy with how they turned out, especially considering my previous attempts.

Mike, is there a method or ratio for setting pin widths?

In this case, we simply made a half-pin around 3/16" wide on the edges, then used dividers to set evenly-distributed positions for the rest. (Set to ~1" wide, and set one leg on the 3/16" line, then walk across. Adjust until it walks right to the edge of the board, with the number of tails/pins we want.) This works, obviously. But if there are some guidelines for sizes, I'm all ears/eyes.

Eric,

Dividers work about as well as any method and are quicker than most. About the only rule to follow is; make 'em where they look good to you.

ken

[Prashun Patel]

I'd be proud if they were mine.

[Eric Schubert]

Thanks, Ken. I've heard skinny pins are more desirable, simply because they show off good craftsmanship (they're harder to make). I just want to start with good-looking average-sized dovetails and get good at them. I'll worry about skinny pins and irregular patterns later.

[Mike Henderson]

Just for interest, Eric, where are you located? I'm wondering which Woodcraft you took the class at.

Mike

[Eric Schubert]

Mike, I took the class at the store in Loveland, CO.

[Bill White]

Whoaa! Errors on the first attempts are NOT permissible. We will NOT accept anything less than perfect for the DTs.
You have gotta know that I'm just jerkin' your chain. I wish mine had been that well done.
Keep on keepin' on.
Bill

[Jim Koepke]

Eric,

Even after making dovetails for over a decade, I would be happy with the dovetails you made.

Sizing is of course up to the individual.

For my own work I like to make the half pins on the end a bit fatter. My pins and tails tend to be the same size.

My layout is derived from the size of chisel being used. The dividers are set to be about as wide as my paring chisel plus a little less than two saw kerf widths. This size is used to mark the base of the tails. That ends up being the narrow part of the waste in the pins.

For my most commonly used sizes of wood I have a couple of story sticks marked out. This makes it so they do not have to be redesigned for every time dovetails are going to be cut.

Dovetail Story Stick.jpg

jtk

[Eric Schubert]

I've yet to see story sticks for dovetails. I think they're a neat idea, and could really cut down on time and effort during layout. Thanks for sharing, Jim!

[David Eisenhauer]

Very good work. I have seen dovetails on some old furniture and chests that were way rougher than yours. As someone said, mix up a little glue and sawdust to fill the one oversaw and some of the barely visible rough saw edges of the tails and it is good to go. If that is the worst you ever do, you are sailing along.

[Reinis Kanders]

I think that having small half pins is actually good because that makes the corner glue joint closer to the edge.