If it's not necessary to use a saw with both hands and a feet-apart stance, I stand normally straight for pulling, only thing moving is my arm at the shoulder. In the first case, I stand way back. In the second case, I stand the length of my forearm away, more or less. I'd expect your method to seriously strain my back.
Using this method, I typically cut dovetails with two or three strokes each side (say 3/4" thick, 1" high).
Pam
Last edited by Pam Niedermayer; 01-24-2011 at 9:11 PM.
Pam, what kind of blade was it and how was the tooth profile?
It was so much grab on the zona saw that it pulled the plate right out of the spine when I tried use it on the push, but that was a different type of blade - they punched the teeth with something that made them look like little hook bandsaw teeth.
That is about how many I take in something soft, well or even cherry or walnut which can be sawn pretty easily with a little more persuasion on a good rip dozuki.
I shouldn't make it sound like I'm hunched over, i'm just standing almost right against the vise with my head down. One quick light stroke to get the dozuki on track and three or four strokes to get to depth. I don't know what others do, but I cut tails first and stand back to set the angle of the saw against a mark I might have or a reference guide, and then if I'm using a guide to set it, I take it away and then just cut all three tail lines going in that direction at once if I'm cutting three tails. Then turn the angle of the saw and go back the other way and cut the sides of each tail - that's the fastest way I've found to do it, and the dozuki works well enough for that I don't know if I'll ever get away from it, no matter how many dovetail saw kits I put together. I never mark tails on through dovetails, I hate spending time on layout when it's not necessary. Same method on the pins - all of the same angle first, but obviously they are marked off the tails.
I will always mark everything as little as I can get away with. It's tedious and boring.
No, i know what you're talking about with that one. i got one when I very first started woodworking, irwin branded saw with the offset blade and you could flip the handle to use it either way. What an awful saw! When I have something like that and i'm going to throw it away, my FIL takes it.
I meant the saw that you said pushed and pulled fine, as opposed to the one that pushed and pulled and wasn't worth having for anything.