Hand cut dovetails: A shopping list for newbies

[Andy Nichols]

My have to have item:

Rob Cosman saw blade marking knife....can mark in the width of the saw kerf with it and it starts the saw kerf!

His standard marking knife is thin enough but does not leave a kerf....

Regards,
Andy

[Pete Taran]

Steve, 100% in agreement. Meh indeed. Who wants to constantly blow saw dust off their cutting line and worry about breaking the fragile teeth. NOT worth the overhead.

[Derek Cohen]

I really want to begin to incorporate some dovetail joinery into my woodworking bag of tricks. For the longest time I thought the best way for me to do this was to throw down $$$ for a Leigh jig. But after doing a lot of reading here and elsewhere, I'm no longer convinced that going the jig route is any easier, just different. Learning to do it by hand seems more appealing now.

What I need though is a definitive list of tools I need to get started. Saws, chisels, marking gauges - please be specific. Even include workbench setup in this. As it stands now, my workbench is more of a plywood-topped assembly table. What kind of surface and vice do I need? Thanks so much. I'm excited to start my trip down the hand tool rabbit hole.

Hi Josh

Dovetailing may be done with the most basic of tools (such as a hacksaw) but, since it is for fun and pleasure as much as for production ...

1. Decent backsaw: Best inexpensive new saw is a Veritas 14 tpi dovetail saw. (If you are lucky, find an Independence Tools dovetail saw, forerunner of the LN - it cuts the dovetails for you )

2. A marking gauge is needed for the baselines: Veritas wheel gauge is the cheapest of the good gauges. Tite-Mark is the more expensive version. Both do the job.

3. A thin bladed knife is needed to transfer tails to pins (if you saw the tail board first). A pencil is needed if you saw the pins first. A decent knife will last a long time: Blue Spruce, Kadet, Chris Vesper, or a Stanley disposable trim knife.

4. You can mark the slopes with a sliding bevel or a dedicated dovetail gauge. Many of us just make our own. Woodjoy make a useful one with 1:8 and 1:6 angles.

5. You can hold the boards in most vises, some better than others. In general, a face vise is not ideal - low and may not hold the entire board. Many of us have built a Moxon dovetail vise, which raises the work to a comfortable height to saw.

6. Chisels: this depends on how narrow you make the dovetails. I go from 1/8", but most will say that 1/4" is their smallest. Certainly, this is a better place to start. So .. 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" will likely get you there.

7. Block or bench plane to clean up the corners at the end.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Graham Haydon]

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Dovetail/

Any of the options listed by others will work, plenty of decent videos on YT if you need them. Over time you find that you don't really have to mark out as much on some pieces. Aside from a baseline you can often guess them.

[andy bessette]

+1 on the Japanese saw.

Also a Japanese double edge marking knife. After knifing, you can highlight the knife cut by lightly dragging a very sharp pencil point in the knife cut.

384008_xl.jpg

[steven c newman]

Simple enough to do, actually..
DSCF0002.JPG
Stand one board up in the vise, lay out either pins or tails..
saw.JPG
I keep the board raised up, to not get in the way of squares, knives...fingers. After the layout is done, I'll drop the board down. I usually sit on a shop stool, anyway, so this puts the cuts just about right for me
The ONLY reason I used THIS saw? It was SHARP. It will cut to a line, as long as I am sawing things correctly. Crooked lines tend to be operator error....
cut lines.JPG
Once the lines are sawn, flop the board onto the benchtop. One can add a scrap board under the good board..as long as you can clamp the board in place. hate when it just bounces around.
Chisels?
DSCF0010.JPG
my "Usual Suspects" I use whatever size fits. I have a wide chisel on hand to fine tune things.
chop 1.JPG
When I chop out the waste, I leave a bit out on the end, so when I flip the board over..
chop 2.JPG
And chop from the other side, that little ledge gives a bit of support.
Use either the pins, or the tails to lay out the other half. Cut on the waste sides of the lines, leaving the lines.

I tend to do pins first, way easier to then mark out the tails..
Tails cut.JPG
Then chop out the waste like before. going half way in fromeach face of the board.....
Then a dry fit..
front view.JPG
Pare, if needed, to improve the fit. Then on to the next corner....

I use that saw, a decent combo square, a good try square and a utility knife. The square and knife to make the base lines. The combo square to mark layout lines, along with a bevel gauge. The bevel gauge is set to the angle of the dovetail.
A few chisels. A clamp to hold the board in place while I chop. I have a marking gauge I can use as well..

Note: I did not say anything about what brand name I use.....I merely use what works in my shop. YMMV

[William Fretwell]

Steve, care to explain what's not real?

[steven c newman]

Like this question?

Refer to Peter Taran's answer....

[steven c newman]

Better looks at what I cobble dovetails with?
DSCF0003.JPG
I just got the No.4 back from the sharpening service...
DSCF0001.JPG
Squares, gauges, knife, pencil.
Not shown? My mallet and the chisels I use. Nothing complicated...

[Josh Saul]

So is it worth it to spend the extra money on the LN saw over the Veritas? The LN saw is gorgeous. I'd rather spend the extra cash now than be constantly thinking about an upgrade.

[David Eisenhauer]

This one is probably going to have to be on you because only you know what you can spend. The Veritas consistently gets "best bang for the buck" reviews and is considered a good cutter. The LN, more expensive, is a good cutter, also gets good reviews and has some similar "best bang for the bucks" ratings WHEN compared to the even more expensive saws put out there by specialty saw makers. Both will do the job but it is hard to quantify if even/how much better the LN will be than the Veritas for the additional money. I would assume that the LN would resell for a decent percentage of the purchase price if you decided to pass it along after a tryout.

[andy bessette]

What has prevented me from buying the Veritas dovetail saw is simply its ugliness. WTF were they thinking?

[Josh Saul]

What has prevented me from buying the Veritas dovetail saw is simply its ugliness. WTF were they thinking?

I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking it.

[Jeffrey Martel]

Production cost. It's cheaper and easier to do it with a molded spine than a metal spine. That turns into savings for the customer. They had a price point to meet and likely couldn't do that with a metal back. Keep in mind that the molded spine also has the attachment point for the handle. They don't have to mortise in a spine to a handle in this version. It will work just as well as the LN or any other sharpened and tuned saw, but it doesn't look as nice. Up to you to decide if the looks are worth the extra cost.

Cheap + New = Veritas Saw
Nice looking + New = Lie Nielsen, Bad Axe, Glenn Drake, etc.
Nice looking + Cheap = Old saw and plan on refurbing/sharpening
Nice Looking + Cheap + New = Build your own saw kit. Obviously more work than any of the above. I used a kit from Blackburn for my tenon saw that I built.

What has prevented me from buying the Veritas dovetail saw is simply its ugliness. WTF were they thinking?

[Jim Koepke]

What has prevented me from buying the Veritas dovetail saw is simply its ugliness. WTF were they thinking?

Most likely something like how to make a world class saw the working class can afford.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A friend brought over his Veritas dovetail saw recently. Though the composition spine and lack of saw nuts doesn't appeal to me, it is a very good saw. It does look very nice when compared to some of my old beat up saws.

There is a lot to be said for having a tool that puts a smile on your face every time it is in your hand instead of having one that makes you think about the tool you wish you had bought.

jtk