dovetail saws

[petersb]

Okay...

here I am building a trunk with my 13 y.o. son and the joinery is dovetails. I have never made anything out of handcut dovetails other than 2 practice pieces, that were to get familiar with them for this project. I used a miterbox handsaw for the first attempt on some scrap mahogany that the truck is being made from. The saw was duller than a butter knife and the results were terrible!

my second attempt was cut on the bandsaw and I was very happy with the result, but I just have this feeling that I could do even better with a decent dovetail saw soooooo..........

My question to you folks is this,

Is there a dovetail saw out there that gives good cut quality WITHOUT breaking the bank? When I say breaking the bank, I mean no more than $50. Is this even a possible price range?

I have seen $120-$250 for a saw and that just isn't doable for me.

Any help in this area would be GREATLY appreciated.

[HoboMonk]

If you are willing to try a Japanese-style pull saw, here's one that works well for dovetails.

Lee Valley

If you want to stay with a Western saw, consider learning to tune, sharpen and set the saw.

Even a less expensive saw can do a good job cutting dovetails when set up properly.

[LordLQQK]

My question to you folks is this,

Is there a dovetail saw out there that gives good cut quality WITHOUT breaking the bank? When I say breaking the bank, I mean no more than $50. Is this even a possible price range?

Well this one will squeeze right under that $50 mark. Dozuki from Highland Hardware makes a great dovetail saw. There are other dozukis out there that are a little lower in price but this the one I would go to. They are about 1/64" thick. While that means that when you first start using them you might bind a blade or two the ultra thin kerf means easier cuts, less tear out, and more accuracy. Like almost all Japanese saws they cut on the pull which will help you in the end and the rattan wrapping is very light and comfortable.

LQQK

[wilburpan]

Quoting your subtitle: What makes a good one?

Practice. This will make a much larger impact on your dovetail sawing than the actual saw itself. A useful exercise is to simply make a dovetail joint out of scrap wood every day for a month. By the end, you'll be so good at dovetails that you won't want to do them any other way.

Having said that, for the $50 saw range I don't think that there is anything that beats a disposable blade dozuki, and I'm not saying that just because I really like Japanese saws, and other Japanese tools, for that matter.

[petersb]

Thanks everyone!

I was looking at the Dozuki saws and I was wondering if they worked well enough. I have a couple of pull saws and I like the cut on the pull stroke, so I think that this is the way that I will go.

I will have to confess that I went to Home Depot and bought a backsaw with a thin kerf and 16 tpi. It actually did a nice job, especially compared to the first one I did with the butter knife! Now I am set back $10 for the saw but I can use it anyway.

Thanks again for your help!

[Vic]

This one is much cheaper, but I really like the Shark saws and love the pistol grip.

[Vic]

This one is much cheaper, but I really like the Shark saws and love the pistol grip.

[jlloydparks]

These don't quite meet the $50 criteria as they are $65. However, I can vouch for them being the best bang for your buck for a new Western dovetail saw. They really do work great. They may look a bit funky, but they feel well in my hand.

The Japanese Dozuki's are probably going to get you under the $50 mark. I can't seem to handle a pull saw, some people do incredible things with them. I prefer a push saw.

The last option as has already been mentioned is buy a used saw and learn to file over at Vintage Saws.

Good Luck!

[woodcanuck]

Thanks everyone!

I was looking at the Dozuki saws and I was wondering if they worked well enough. I have a couple of pull saws and I like the cut on the pull stroke, so I think that this is the way that I will go.

I will have to confess that I went to Home Depot and bought a backsaw with a thin kerf and 16 tpi. It actually did a nice job, especially compared to the first one I did with the butter knife! Now I am set back $10 for the saw but I can use it anyway.

Thanks again for your help!

I sort of took the same way out. I bought an 'inexpensive' tenon saw at a big box store a while ago. It works fine, but I suspect over time it's going to get dull much more quickly than a better saw would.

Does anyone have a good source for instructions on sharpening saws? Maybe this could make for a Whisper Mini...the basics of sharpening a hand saw.

[kep1019]

There is a fine woodworking DVD by Frank Klaus on setting up hand tools in the shop, that isnt the actual title but it is something close to that. covered chisels, planes and saws, sharpening, and ussage, from what I can remember. Checked it out from the library a couple of years ago.

There are also other pocasts that go over tuning DT saws and they dont have to be expensive to work good once tuned.

[PaulMarcel]

Rob Cosman has a DVD called "Mastering the Dovetail Saw". He covers the use of the saw yadda yadda but also sharpening it. Further, in one section, he takes a cheap saw from a box store, describes what is wrong with it, then goes to tune it based on what was in the rest of the DVD. At the end, he makes some dovetail cuts and counts the number of strokes to hit the baseline between an LN saw and the new one. The new one was just a hair behind. Was very interesting! Worth watching it. I think I watched it in a woodworking store dunno the cost.

[WeilWorks]

Thanks everyone!

I will have to confess that I went to Home Depot and bought a backsaw with a thin kerf and 16 tpi. It actually did a nice job, especially compared to the first one I did with the butter knife! Now I am set back $10 for the saw but I can use it anyway.

Thanks again for your help!

Well done on the dovetails. Those BuckBro saws work pretty good when they're new, but don't expect it to last too long. The extra couple dollars at the box stores normally get you a saw that'll last quite a bit longer, even though it not a high quality tool.