Planing dovetails flush

[Patrick Chase]

Hey Guys, What type of plane would be best for flushing dovetails after they've been joined. Not so much the whole board but just around the dovetails. What do you guys use?

I use a low-angle block plane (12 deg bed, 25 deg bevel) until I get very close to flush, then I switch to a finely-set bench plane (usually a #4 or #3 depending on the size of the work).

I sometimes use a skew block because then I can get a skew cut while still "bridging" the sole across multiple dovetails.

[Patrick Chase]

If one side is a fraction high, I want it to be the drawer side since the drawer front is fitted to the opening. And since we are mostly planing face grain, I will use a smoother.

In case it isn't obvious, the "smoother" Derek is using here is a Veritas Small Bevel-Up Smoother (SBUS), which is a #3-sized bevel-up plane with a 12 deg bed (same cutting geometry as a low-angle block plane, though with a 1/8" wider blade and ~2.5" longer sole). I have an SBUS and love it, but for some reason I use a block plane followed by a bevel-down bench plane instead for this application. I'm sure the SBUS would work great though, and think that drawers/boxes are a perfect application for that size of plane.

Derek, what bevel angle are you using in that SBUS? Is it optimized for working the end-grain of the pins (~25 deg bevel) or for tearout control on the sides (higher angle)? Or do you switch blades as you get close to flush?

[Patrick Chase]

Is this one ok? http://www.ebay.com/itm/rare-Gage-To...0AAOSwd0BVu65-

Its just pocket change...

Hah!

It's not clear to me what's going on with that. If it's really what the seller claims then they might be better off going through the Fine Tool Journal Auction or something like that.

[steven c newman]

Nothing real fancy in the shop....either a Millers Falls No.56B Low Angle block plane for the smaller stuff, and up to the Stanley No.4,Type 13 for wider stuff.

I plane at an angle to the end grain, and towards the face grain. I also will plane a slight bevel right at the corner of the joint. I do that, then the final pass or two.

Just the way the shop works.

[David Eisenhauer]

I have been tediously lining up and clamping a sacrificial board across the sides of the drawer front when flush planning the sides to prevent tear out on the drawer front as I plane across the very end of the side where it is joined to the drawer front. I find it difficult to work from the drawer front going back towards the middle of the side. Sometimes, like Sean says, I end up using a chisel to slice the vertical end grain, but that does not always work for me in hard hardwood as well as planning. Some days the block plane works better, some days the #3 works better. Would like to see some consistency on one of the methods and be able to pretty much stick with what works most every time rather than having to experiment every time. Part of the problem is a desire to not screw anything up at that stage, kind of "playing to not lose" rather than "playing to win". The only thing I will say in my favor is that I tend to nail the depth of cuts on both my through and blind dovetails so I don't have enormous amounts of end grain to pare down for a flush side.

[Derek Cohen]

Derek, what bevel angle are you using in that SBUS? Is it optimized for working the end-grain of the pins (~25 deg bevel) or for tearout control on the sides (higher angle)? Or do you switch blades as you get close to flush?

Hi Patrick

That would have been a 62 degree cutting angle - used for smoothing, not specifically for end grain.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Paul Fisicaro]

Maybe I mis-titled this thread. I was thinking more if maybe smoothing out the joint of the actual dovetails not really the end grain as if they tails were protruding. I always see David Barron in his videos plane his dovetails after he joins them. He uses some wood plane that he's made of course...

[Matt Knights]

I just use a chisel to pare down then a plain old number 4 to finish off

Matt