Split the line or leave the line?

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Depending on the purpose the line may be left if it is dovetail cutting or split if it is rip cutting or.

jtk

I had not thought of that, I was only thinking dovetails where it really matters which you do. If it is not something that really matters, it is a question of which I think I need practice doing. Sadly, I am not perfect at any of them. I do like Derek's method of using tape, For some reason, that feels easier than cutting to the line.

[Derek Cohen]

To be serious for a moment, the blue tape ...

1. enables a light, single knife stroke. This will slice the paper tape and leave a clear mark.

2. the advantage of a single stroke when transfering the tails to the pins is to reduce any error in marking that are a result of multiple strokes (needed to deepen the mark).

3. a knifed line is thin and then one cuts against the line. The blue tape simply presents the one side of the knifed line.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[lowell holmes]

I've tried Derek's blue tape method. It works quite well.

I don't chop many mortises and it had slipped my mind.

Now I remember why there is a roll of blue tape in my shop.
Old age is hell, but it sure beats the alternative.

[steven c newman]

Tape? Tape? We don't need no stinking tape...
layout 1.jpg
Pencils are cheaper..
sawn lines.jpg
Pins first.....
tail lay out.jpg
use them to layout the tails...
bandsaw work.jpg
Leave the lines, chop the waste out...
chiseled.jpg
Works for me...YMMV

[James Pallas]

You don't have to use the stinky kind. You can get it with lavender scent and polka dots now.
Jim

[steven c newman]

LOL....pencils are still cheaper....and I'm c...FRUGAL....

[Derek Cohen]

Tape? Tape? We don't need no stinking tape...

Steven, you obviously have better eyesight that I do. That is the reason I developed this method. Especially for the dark hardwoods I use. Getting a knife line was hard enough. Getting a knife line that was visible was harder still. Getting a knife line that remained visible was an exercise in frustration.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Brady]

I have found the masking tape method (in the prerequisite blue color) to work well. Cutting to the tape edge does give a somewhat 3-D reference for sawing. I'm not sure I would teach the method to a beginner, however, because it distracts from learning the sawing technique that is essential to whatever method you are using. After making a dozen corners using regular layout lines, the tape method can be introduced to refine the cutting to a point where the joint will fit as sawed.

I have never used a magnetic sawing guide and the idea of one does not appeal to me. What is of value to me is a guide I made to saw the baseline of the half-pins on the tail board. To me this cut needs to be perfectly on line and square because anything but perfection compromises the entire joint; especial on drawer boxes that have just a few dovetails comprising the joint. The tension that makes a successful joint starts at those half-pin baseline cuts. The sawing guide I made is a simple 90 degree wood block used with a no-set pull saw that lets me cut exactly on that scribed baseline. The saw is the Kugihichi from Lee Valley.

[Derek Cohen]

What is of value to me is a guide I made to saw the baseline of the half-pins on the tail board. To me this cut needs to be perfectly on line and square because anything but perfection compromises the entire joint; especial on drawer boxes that have just a few dovetails comprising the joint. The tension that makes a successful joint starts at those half-pin baseline cuts. The sawing guide I made is a simple 90 degree wood block used with a no-set pull saw that lets me cut exactly on that scribed baseline.

Mike, a jig is unnecessary for the line. All you need is a deeply scored line. The saw teeth will be guided by this. The line may be made either by a regular knife, or by a Glen Drake "kerf starter".

Regards from Perth

Derek

[lowell holmes]

Derek, what time is it in Australia now?

A Galveston County Texan wants to know. It is 10:14 AM here. I think we are 15 hours later here.

[Derek Cohen]

Lowell, it is 11:15 p.m. It would be 1:15 a.m. in Sydney.

Busy writing bloody psych reports!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

I think we are 15 hours later here.

Not only the hours, we are also a day later.

This was strange when my son who shares my birthday was in Korea. I would call him a day before my birthday to wish him happy birthday and he would call me the day after his birthday to wish me happy birthday. His youngest daughter was born on my wife's birthday.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Jim, Washington State seems a world away from Houston Texas. We visited Alaska and Washington State , the 8 hour all night flight home seemed
longer than when we flew to Switzerland one time.
A few years ago, we booked a cruise on the Rhine.

I remember Denali and Alaska more fondly.

Also, a 1960's flight from Houston to Chicago on a Braniff propeller plane was loud and long.

[David Eisenhauer]

I worked out of Jakarta for 6-8 months one year and the no-layover trip from Austin to Jakarta was something to behold. I did this many years ago and not sure at my current age if I would want to do this anymore. They do play some games with the clock on that trip and do not let me get started on US based bosses that do not realize there exists a thing called time zones when they call you for project updates.

[lowell holmes]

David,
Would you rather be in Jakarta, or on Lake Travis?
You non Texans probably don't know about Lake Travis. It is a delightful lake in Austin Texas.
I live in Galveston County, near NASA. I used to take a canoe to Lake Travis to paddle.