moffit Posted September 20, 2010 Report Share Posted September 20, 2010 I am attempting to empty my wood bin by learning to make sliding dove tails. I started this with the oh for keepsakes project. The problem I keep hitting the wall with is getting the darn things to fit snug but not too snug. My router table is a boch and really has no fine adjustment I have a good ( freud ) dove tail bit and have watched both the keepsake and the side table videos till I'm cross eyed. Any "easy" answers to this dilemma. I'm running out of wood Thanks Moffit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Paolini Posted September 20, 2010 Report Share Posted September 20, 2010 I am attempting to empty my wood bin by learning to make sliding dove tails. I started this with the oh for keepsakes project. The problem I keep hitting the wall with is getting the darn things to fit snug but not too snug. My router table is a boch and really has no fine adjustment I have a good ( freud ) dove tail bit and have watched both the keepsake and the side table videos till I'm cross eyed. Any "easy" answers to this dilemma. I'm running out of wood Thanks Moffit I'm not sure about the project - But try putting a piece of tape on the leading or trailing edge of the work piece. As it hits the fence, it will cause the D-Tail to be cut at an angle, and therefore introduce a little taper. Hope this helps! -Gregory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted September 21, 2010 Report Share Posted September 21, 2010 Gregory's taper suggestion works well. What I've changed to instead is taking a plane to the "ears" of the dovetails. If you take a couple light passes to both ears, you'll greatly reduce binding. Since you don't want that ear missing when you assemble the item, only plane between the ends of the board (a little bit like you'd do to spring a panel joint). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jafet10 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 American woodworker just had this on their website. http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs/techniques/archive/2007/11/29/Sliding-Tapered-Dovetails.aspx Hope this helps: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torch02 Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 How long are the sliding dovetails you are trying to make? At Glen Huey's Sliding Dovetail class at WIA, he basically said that if you are trying to make them longer than a couple of inches, you are going to fail to get them all the way in - so you shouldn't make them that long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 How long are the sliding dovetails you are trying to make? At Glen Huey's Sliding Dovetail class at WIA, he basically said that if you are trying to make them longer than a couple of inches, you are going to fail to get them all the way in - so you shouldn't make them that long. That seems kinda crazy since they are often times used to help keep a wide panel flat. Charles Neil uses them for basic drawer cabinet construction all the time and they go completely front to back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 You guys are motivating me to re-assemble my router table. This is a great idea. I have some very solid built drawers in my office (3/4" plywood) all but jointed with 3" # 10 Spax screws. The drawers are not going anywhere but they are UGLY as sin. I need to replace them. I was going to try different joints, one of them was using a mitred joint with a spline, now I will add this tapered dove tail. Looks very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flairwoodworks Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Moffit, To adjust the fit, you should be able to leave one end of the fence secured and pivot the other end just a little to adjust the fit. Don't adjust the bit height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Vitale Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I am getting ready to dive into this same approach from the american woodworker site, on my sideboard I am building. Do you think its a must to taper the tail on the divider? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flairwoodworks Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I am getting ready to dive into this same approach from the american woodworker site, on my sideboard I am building. Do you think its a must to taper the tail on the divider? How long is the joint? 14" or so? Not absolutely necessary, but it would be helpful. If you don't, make sure the fit isn't too tight and remember that yellow glue will swell the wood, making the fit tighter. You can make assembly easier by not gluing the whole length - only a couple inches at one end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Vitale Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 How long is the joint? 14" or so? Not absolutely necessary, but it would be helpful. If you don't, make sure the fit isn't too tight and remember that yellow glue will swell the wood, making the fit tighter. You can make assembly easier by not gluing the whole length - only a couple inches at one end. That is my plan to perhaps glue maybe 4 inches or so and leave the rest dry to allow for movement. I was also thinking about doing a stopped dado, with say only a 2''-4'' pin but again not sure if it would be any more beneficial. I have six of them to do on the case. I figure to set up a jig such as the tapered one shown in the link would make easy work of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flairwoodworks Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 That is my plan to perhaps glue maybe 4 inches or so and leave the rest dry to allow for movement. I was also thinking about doing a stopped dado, with say only a 2''-4'' pin but again not sure if it would be any more beneficial. I have six of them to do on the case. I figure to set up a jig such as the tapered one shown in the link would make easy work of it. If the grain direction of the two pieces is the same, you don't need to allow for movement as they will move at the same rate, together. Gluing only the end out make assembly easier - that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Vitale Posted December 6, 2010 Report Share Posted December 6, 2010 If the grain direction of the two pieces is the same, you don't need to allow for movement as they will move at the same rate, together. Gluing only the end out make assembly easier - that's all. The dividers between the doors and drawers will be running in the same grain direction however the dividers between all the drawers will not... Also for those of you using a jig as shown in the link are you tapering both sides of the sliding dovetail or just one side? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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