Hammer5573 Posted April 3, 2022 Report Share Posted April 3, 2022 I agree with pkinneb, I use a fret saw because it's smaller and can be turned 90 degrees easier than a coping saw. I assume that you're referring to cutting the base of the pin sockets on the tailboard? If this is case, I've also learned that making additional vertical relief cuts through the middle of the material being removed from the pin sockets improves my ability to turn the sawblade 90 degrees. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammer5573 Posted April 3, 2022 Report Share Posted April 3, 2022 Sorry....I wasn't thinking when I mentioned (above) only cutting the base of the pin sockets. This suggestion also works when cutting the bases of the tail sockets on the pin board (I guess that I'm used to cutting half-blinds only). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 I remove the waste between the pins by making a series of quick cuts from the end of the board almost to the base line with the band saw - makes the rest easy to remove with a chisel. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 On 4/2/2022 at 7:32 AM, sjeff70 said: 'Boards that a person buys from a lumber dealer are just slabs with the wane cut off.' I'm misunderstanding this. If lumber dealers didn't cut with grain orientation in mind, how would people get desired grain patterns or parts that shouldn't move much? I made a gross over simplification of the matter. In reality a sawyer is sawing to grade which means they are rotating the log and taking slabs off the outside of the log to get high grade material and as they move in the grade decreases. Sawing for grade is complicated. In working with dry slabs that have reached EMC i mill them no differently than commercial lumber. Keep in mind youtube woodworkers have to work to a different set of standards because of the awful peanut gallery that is the comment section. This has tended to lead to some misinformation or possibly it's better to say it's lead youtubers to play it overly cautious or to become overly concerned with process that may not be necessary in all circumstances. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 8, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted April 8, 2022 Ok…for my first ever dovetail and first hand cut dovetail I think it turned out ok. Had some gaps around the joints and they were a touch proud in a spot, but all in all turned out pretty good and feels pretty strong. I tried to fill the gaps with saw dust, but glue got into the end grain and would not really sand out. Any suggestions on how to fill the gaps but not gum up the end grain. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted April 8, 2022 Report Share Posted April 8, 2022 Save scraps of the same board, and split off little wedges to glue into the gaps. They will virtually disappear, since end grain faces the same direction. I also like the cut the joint just a hair proud. Easier to sand the ends flush than flush the face to a recessed joint. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammer5573 Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 If you do an additional vertical cut down through the pin or tail that your trying to remove it will let you insert a wider blade and give you more space to turn the saw 90 degrees 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 That looks pretty good time to do some drawers! All four corners of 2 chest of drawers and you'll be a pro. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 Looks better than my first dovetail joint. More than good enough for a strong, functional joint. Like @Chestnut said, time go make some drawers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 Yes! I was going to make some little dovetail doxes for the kids and that will give me enough practice by the time I get them done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 Oh that’s right, boxes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 14 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: Save scraps of the same board, and split off little wedges to glue into the gaps. They will virtually disappear, since end grain faces the same direction. I also like the cut the joint just a hair proud. Easier to sand the ends flush than flush the face to a recessed joint. The little pins on the ends are soo small I was worried I was going to break them. Is there any rules of thumb on size to make those end pins or is it really just how you like the look? I just set my dividers so I would have three tails and just left space that seems reasonable to cut for the pins but hand. I think I tired to have 1/4 inch in from the sides for those little end pins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 4 minutes ago, JohnG said: Oh that’s right, boxes! Do you glue your dovetails? Any tips on not getting the glue into the end grain or does that just come with practice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 21 minutes ago, Woodworking_Hobby said: y rules of thumb on size to A hair bigger than your smallest chisel is my goal. My smallest chisel is just over 1/8" which makes the smallest part of the pin about the width of my bandsaw blade kerf. 21 minutes ago, Woodworking_Hobby said: Do you glue your dovetails? Any tips on not getting the glue into the end grain or does that just come with practice? Have the pins sit a hair proud then after the glue you'll sand or plane them back removing the glue. If the pins are shallow it's harder to deal with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 3 hours ago, Chestnut said: A hair bigger than your smallest chisel is my goal. My smallest chisel is just over 1/8" which makes the smallest part of the pin about the width of my bandsaw blade kerf. Have the pins sit a hair proud then after the glue you'll sand or plane them back removing the glue. If the pins are shallow it's harder to deal with. Eventually did you get one of those triangle shaped dovetail chisels? I can see where they can help but it seems like such a specialized shape that you only use in the corners and was not sure if it really helped that much clean them up after sawing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 43 minutes ago, Woodworking_Hobby said: Eventually did you get one of those triangle shaped dovetail chisels? I can see where they can help but it seems like such a specialized shape that you only use in the corners and was not sure if it really helped that much clean them up after sawing. If your talking a dovetail chisel, I do have 3 jappenease chisels that have the "Dovetail grind" on them but I use them as a regular bench chisel. Most often I'm using my stanly sweetheart 750s to chop out the waste between the tails. The stanly 750s are nice and thin and you can get into corners just fine. So no I don't think that specific dovetail chisels are needed. If you are talking about a fishtail chisel, I do not have one of those. That is more for handcut half-blind dovetails. If you get into that my sugesstion is to buy two half inch hardware store chisels and put a skew grind on them. You could also do this for the dovetail chisel above but chopping end grain it can be nice to have a decent steel that both takes a sharp edge and will hold that edge for a while. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noviceneil Posted April 13, 2022 Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 apologize if I'm repeating something someone said earlier. Something that may help you with cutting the dovetails for a better fit is to use the blue tape method. Derek Cohen who is on this forum (and every other one I've visited) has a nice tutorial on using this method. google In the Woodshop. I haven't tried it b/c I've become competent over the years but if I were starting out or teaching dovetails I certainly would use it 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 2 hours ago, noviceneil said: apologize if I'm repeating something someone said earlier. Something that may help you with cutting the dovetails for a better fit is to use the blue tape method. Derek Cohen who is on this forum (and every other one I've visited) has a nice tutorial on using this method. google In the Woodshop. I haven't tried it b/c I've become competent over the years but if I were starting out or teaching dovetails I certainly would use it Thanks I looked at the site quick and looks pretty good! I will read it in more detail when I have some time tonight. Also I think I need to make my pins a hair larger and that might help as I am starting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 On 4/8/2022 at 5:43 PM, wtnhighlander said: Save scraps of the same board, and split off little wedges to glue into the gaps. They will virtually disappear, since end grain faces the same direction. I also like the cut the joint just a hair proud. Easier to sand the ends flush than flush the face to a recessed joint. @wtnhighlander when you say wedges do you mean to split of a little chip or just to shave off a thin strip like comes off a hand plane? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted April 17, 2022 Report Share Posted April 17, 2022 It would require a pretty thick shaving to be rigid enough to force into the gap. I've only done it by splitting out a small piece with a chisel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2022 Has anyone tried liquid hide glue for dovetail joints? From what I read it is a little easier to sand over and finish and was not sure if that would help where I was trying to fill some gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 On 4/17/2022 at 8:45 AM, Woodworking_Hobby said: Has anyone tried liquid hide glue for dovetail joints? From what I read it is a little easier to sand over and finish and was not sure if that would help where I was trying to fill some gaps. It would probably work very well for that. I've never used liquid hide glue but i've heard good things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 Real hide glue is also reversable, with a little moist heat. Handy, if you don't like how it went together the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodworking_Hobby Posted April 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2022 Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on how to best clamp a dovetail box? I am assuming you do not want to over clamp the joint as you could bow out the ends and you just need enough pressure for the glue to set? I was thinking just some clamps across the ends would be good but wanted to see what others did on their boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 23, 2022 Report Share Posted April 23, 2022 F clamps strategically placed. With just enough pressure to close things up. For drawers if possible i use the drawer opening. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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