First Handcut Dovetails


Al Capwn

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The linked article does not indicate teeth break Easily and describes atrocious form in the broken teeth story. I am not saying teeth don't break, but neither are you correct that I merely dovetail with Dozuki. I don't want any of the comments to come across as an attack. I want the conversation to be fuller. 

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Great thread as I'm about to start my dove training. As I prepare to purchase my first dovetail saw, i assume there is no reason for me to consider a 20tpi saw as a N00b, right? Planning to purchase the Veritas 14tpi saw.

I purchased a veritas dovetail saw starting out, figuring it would be a good quality saw at a value price.  I could never get good results with it.  I felt that it was hard to track in the cut and also hard to start the cut.  Led to nothing but frustration.  I was a beginner, and I'm sure that user error was part (most?) of it.  But I recently picked up a LN DT saw, and the difference to me was immediate.  The cuts started effortlessly and I was able to track the line much more easily.  Once again, I'm a hand saw beginner (still), and I'm just relating my experience.  YMMV, and others will probably chime in and (rightly) tell me I'm an idiot and shouldn't be blaming the tool.

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I am a truly intrigued at the picture posted. It kind of proves the abuse. Notice the massive kink in the saw. That kink would ruin a western saw making the broken teeth a distracting non-factor. He explicitly states he tried to push the saw (thin plate at that) into a bound kerf. I take that far beyond impulse control and begin to wonder about sobriety. Your saw Daniel, is a much better case study. It does not appear kinked and is only suffering the broken teeth. 

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Here is my point...

If you go around breaking your tools through misuse, then say they fail it's just wrong. I can break any tool in my shop due to misuse. That would not give me the right to caution others on the quality of that product in a public forum.

Thats bs. Your BCTW tools are all indestructible! !!!!!
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Here is my point...

If you go around breaking your tools through misuse, then say they fail it's just wrong. I can break any tool in my shop due to misuse. That would not give me the right to caution others on the quality of that product in a public forum.

Well said sir. Came up with the thought that was eluding me. If torture test is your standard, then torture is all you have tested.

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I may be green, but I would think if I am forcing a saw sideways, I can't expect good things to happen.

The advice I have read has been, "Hold it like a baby bird trying to escape your hand, and let the saw do the work".

As to Daniel's missing teeth (no, I am not calling you a redneck or former NHL player), I don't know what to say - seems odd they would sheer off. Perhaps you got a dud of a blade that wasn't tempered properly, unless this is something you frequently run into.

Side note: Bench vise, diamond sharpening stones, and some other goodies come in today - so I am excited about that. Should be able to turn my chisels from "meh" status to "adequate".

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Congrats on the new arrivals! 

Thanks! I am pretty confident an ACTUAL woodworking vise will help out considerably. I mean, look how big of an upgrade to the current method of clamping.

Note, I do have some other work surfaces but they are not for heavy duty assembly - think more like "shelving" workbench.

...and yes, I plan on making an actual workbench for this to reside in, of course.

20151120_192718.jpg

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I purchased a veritas dovetail saw starting out, figuring it would be a good quality saw at a value price.  I could never get good results with it.  I felt that it was hard to track in the cut and also hard to start the cut.  Led to nothing but frustration.  I was a beginner, and I'm sure that user error was part (most?) of it.  But I recently picked up a LN DT saw, and the difference to me was immediate.  The cuts started effortlessly and I was able to track the line much more easily.  Once again, I'm a hand saw beginner (still), and I'm just relating my experience.  YMMV, and others will probably chime in and (rightly) tell me I'm an idiot and shouldn't be blaming the tool.

Thanks B. Has anyone else experienced this with the Veritas saw? I don't have the patience to be frustrated by a low quality tool that will hinder my ability to learn. 

EDIT: Anyone know if Lie-Nielsen has a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale?

Edited by N00b-in-training
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While I have preferences, I try to evaluate free of bias that relies on marketing or personal feelings. Veritas is not my favorite brand but this is the first I have seen empirically based negative feelings about their saws. This may be worthy of its own thread as you may be dealing with a QC failure that can happen with a busy company. 

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While I have preferences, I try to evaluate free of bias that relies on marketing or personal feelings. Veritas is not my favorite brand but this is the first I have seen empirically based negative feelings about their saws. This may be worthy of its own thread as you may be dealing with a QC failure that can happen with a busy company. 

To be clear, I love veritas tools, and I've probably got an equal number of veritas and LN - I don't consider myself brand loyal at all.  I also definitely wouldn't call the veritas saw "low quality."  Just saying that I couldn't really get it to work right, whereas the LN one worked for me right out of the box.  Like I said, YMMV.  Could definitely have been a QC failure.  I'm a beginner with hand saws, so I wouldn't necessarily be able to diagnose any specific issues.  All I know is I couldn't get it to work well for me.

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