Dovetails with Thin Stock

[David Justice]

I am pretty good at cutting dovetails and have built many projects using them, but anytime I try to cut them on stock 1/2" or thinner they come out looking horrible? I can't figure this out? Does anyone else have this problem? I use a 1:8 angle just like on thicker stock. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post, I did this last night, but cut them off and put them in the burn pile.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

[Tom Bender]

If you are hand cutting them it may be that you need to use a lighter mallet and remove thinner chips.

[Charlie Jones]

I was just cutting some for a small box. The stock is 3/8. I removed most of the waste with the table saw. That left just thin pieces to chisel out. They turned out fine.

[glenn bradley]

The thought being that thinner stock would be easier; are you using tools scaled to the task? Maybe the saw set is too aggressive or the chisels too wide, steep?

[Edwin Santos]

Is the issue that you can cut them fine but you don't like the way they turn out aesthetically?

If yes, I would use a steeper angle like 1:6, 1:5 or even 1:4. What's happening is there is very little material thickness hence the dovetail is short and the slope is not as pronounced. Dovetails in a 1:8 slope in thin material can look more like box joints to me.

Incidentally if I am cutting dovetails in thick stock, I would go in the opposite direction for the inverse reasons (use a less pronounced slope). Hope this helps

[Mike Henderson]

I find dovetail in thin stock to be more difficult than in thicker stock. But what is it in yours that you think are "horrible"? Do they not fit well, or just don't look right?

Mike

[Here's a set of dovetails in thin stock, maybe 1/4 inch or less. It's a shop made dovetail marker.]
Dovetail markers 3.jpg

[Derek Cohen]

I am pretty good at cutting dovetails and have built many projects using them, but anytime I try to cut them on stock 1/2" or thinner they come out looking horrible? I can't figure this out? Does anyone else have this problem? I use a 1:8 angle just like on thicker stock. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post, I did this last night, but cut them off and put them in the burn pile.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

Hi David

I typically make drawer sides 1/4" - 3/8" thick. Drawer fronts are 3/4". Generally use a 1:7 ratio. Been doing this for the past 20 years with a dovetail saw. I am not sure what the problem is that you are experiencing.

For thinner boards in a softwood, such as drawer sides, a dovetail saw with a higher tooth count will saw more smoothly (e.g. 18-20 tpi). For hardwoods, especially thicker drawer fronts, I stick to 15 tpi.

A few examples ...

Basic drawer, half blind to front and through dovetails at rear ...



These are compound half blind dovetails (bow front drawers that taper to the sides) ...



I think that you need to post pictures - it does not help to burn them and then ask for help! Can you say more?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[lowell holmes]

Pay attention to Derek. Then, practice, practice, practice.
You might experiment on scrap wood until you get the size and shape of the dovetails right.
You can play with the angle and size of the tails. It actually is a fun trip.

[Terry Beadle]

I use a very fine gent's rip saw to cut the tails and sockets. Makes for easy control and accurate cuts.

I also use a special 17 degree bevel 3/8 ths chisel that was recommended by one of the guru's of power...can't remember
which one it was. It's especially good at cutting through pine with out compressing the end grain. It's a cheap chisel so
I have to constantly ( say every 5 min ) give it a good hone on some white steel compound applied to a dead flat
piece of close grained rock maple.

I also use a non micro-bevel sharpening practice on the 17 degree bevel to give it the most edge support possible.
Don't use the 17 sweet heart for anything else.

Enjoy or not...no warranty implied but a hell of a lot of fun!

Terry

[Simon MacGowen]

I am pretty good at cutting dovetails and have built many projects using them, but anytime I try to cut them on stock 1/2" or thinner they come out looking horrible? I can't figure this out? Does anyone else have this problem? I use a 1:8 angle just like on thicker stock. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post, I did this last night, but cut them off and put them in the burn pile.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

Assuming you are talking about handcutting dovetails, one possible reason is you had a short scribe line to guide your sawing. One fix is either gang saw your pieces, or clamp the workpiece together with a thicker piece and extend the scribe line.

Paul Sellers has video about cutting a template to guide the sawing, but that is almost the same as using a commercial magnetic dovetail guide, which doesn't quite fit my bill of handcutting dovetails.

Simon

[Derek Cohen]

Perhaps it is not the saw but the technique. I have two articles on my website that run through the methods.

Firstly, through dovetails: the key technique is to saw the dovetails and then undercut the baseline, so ....





Once the tails are sawn, deepen the baselines and undercut them to create a chisel wall.





The waste is removed with a fretsaw (more on this shortly), and the remainder is pared with a chisel (more on this shortly as well).

Again ...






Once the lines are deepened, use a chisel to undercut them and create a chisel wall.





The waste is now removed with a fretsaw. I aim to saw along the top of the chisel wall. This should leave about 1-2mm of waste above the line.


As with the saw, the fretsaw must be held as lightly as possible. Never force the cut. Let the saw do the work. A way of determining how you are doing is to watch the blade – it should hardly deflect. You should be rewarded with a fairly straight saw cut.







The pin board with waste removed.



I try and take shavings of about 1mm. The final cut is taken with the chisel against the chisel wall (where it cannot be pushed back over the baseline).

The remainder of the article is here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/ThroughDovetails3.html

The article on half blind dovetails is here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...hBlueTape.html

This is a demonstration how to use blue tape, a method I developed some years ago, to transfer marks ...









Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Justice]

Thanks so much for all of the responses. It's not gaps or anything like that, it's that they look very short and fat. I don't like that. From reading responses, it seems that I may need a different angle. Also, like I said, I don't have a problem cutting dovetails, normally, in 3/4 or 7/8 stock they look great.

Derek, the pictures of your dovetails have one thin board, but the corresponding board is much thicker. This also works for me, it's only when both sides are very thin, 3/8, 1/2, that I have an issue.

Maybe it's just the aesthetics of the DT in a thin board that I don't like? I will try it with a different angle.

[Derek Cohen]

David, if you use thin boards all round, then decrease the ratio - say 1:5.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[andy bessette]

DC--great post.

[William Krull]

Great information. Thanks so much for sharing. I just bought a bunch of 1/4" stock and was having the same issue. This helped tremendously. Thanks ya'all for an excellent, informative thread.