IMG_1808.jpgGood day all:
I had the pleasure of trying out Ron Bontz's new kerfing tool. I compared it to the one I made from a surgical chisel that I ground down. Full disclosure: This was in part a trial for Ron, but my opinions are my own and based on my own results.
When the tool arrived it was not at all what I expected. I thought it would be a chisel style. I wasn't sure about the brass backed "toothless gent's saw" style of tool, but I was intrigued. On first impression, it is very well made. The brass back is thick, the handle is large, and the plate is 0.20" on mine. It is, as expected, a very well- made tool.
IMG_1744.jpg
I was at first a little timid about hitting this thing too hard, fearing it would bend the plate. My fears subsided and I soon found myself whacking away at it with a cocobolo mallet. I was amazed at how easily it went into end grain. Cross grain, as expected, took a bit more effort. No worries, as most dovetails will be done in end grain. (General statement there-of course there are many cases where they would be in cross grain, but typical half-blind dovetails would be end grain.)
First off, if you have never used one of these, the idea is that when making blind dovetails, this is used to finish out the kerf where the saw cannot reach. You saw first, then use this to finish out the kerf. That said- a question- do you need to saw first? This thing does such a good job, could you just hammer it in to make the whole cut instead of just finishing the kerf? Open to thoughts on that.
I decided to compare it to my home-made kerfing tool. I was surprised that this made a much thinner kerf. Here are some shots:
My home made chisel
IMG_1806.jpg
Bontz kerfing tool
IMG_1804.jpg
Mine versus Bontz- showing kerf.
IMG_1807.jpg
Mine vs Bontz vs saw kerf from LN 14ppi thin plate saw. ***edit- that image landed at the top of the page and I can't move it, so look up there.
Having trouble with image upload. Hopefully that last pic shows up.
Conclusion- I certainly like it better than mine. It goes in to end grain like butter. It is very well made. As I said above, I am wondering why bother sawing- why not just hammer out the kerf with this? It may take some practice. I will try that on the next project and see what happens.
By the way- this was a test on scrap wood. I wasn't really aiming at a line- I was just hammering it in to see how it worked.