Finally a dovetail

[b4man]

It did happen I've got pic's just don't know how to attach them so go to my gallery! Hallelujah!:eusa_clap

 

[DaveO]

Like that:mrgreen: Insom. has done a great tutorial in the FAQ section about posting pics. Great job on the DT, soon you'll be doing them like Frank Klauz.

Dave

 

[D L Ames]

Barbara, Great looking job on your DTs. I am humbled by yours as I have yet to attempt any DTs by hand. You can be very proud of yours because they look great.:icon_thum Thanks for sharing them with us. And BTW.......now that you have a photo album we would love to see some of the other projects you have been working on.

D L

 

[McRabbet]

Barbara -- great job on your dovetails! :eusa_clap You'll notice I haven't posted any pics of mine yet, because they are not worthy :-( . I'll need to get back to them and see if I can do as well.

Rob

 

[ChrisMathes]

YEA! Congratulations!! That's awesome...can't wait 'till we're all master box makers..haha

 

[sapwood]

Great work Barbara. I'm truly envious :jealous:

Sapwood

 

[b4man]

I don't know what this says about my life But I was so excited yesterday when I finally cut these, and bear in mind that I started with 2 24" boards and now they're 6" and 9" , all I could think about was showing them to you guys! I celebrated last night with my best friend Mr. Dewars!
I have to admit some details about my success. I cut the tails with my scroll saw set at 08 degrees as John suggested. I just couldn't get a clean cut with my "door cut off saw". Also, it was only when I cut the tails first did I succeed. Pins first just didn't ever work out for me. Also, I bought the saddles and used them. Boy did that make a big difference in laying them out correctly!
They still have gaps but I will keep working at it. Again to Rob, John and the rest of our class, thanks for the help and the encouragement. To you members who have replied, Thank you for looking, caring and being the best group of supporters I've ever known.

 

[mshel]

Practice................then practice some more.................then practice some more......................then start over and practice some more. Eventally, you will get to the point that you will get a good tight fit. An older gentleman woodworker once told me that " If I run out of wedges and wood putty I break out in a cold sweat". Obviously he wasn't that concerned with a perfect fit. Me on the other hand, I get very upset if mine don't fit just right. You will find that if you don't do it for awhile, you will have moments where one might not fit just right but after you get back in the swing, they will start coming together the way you want.

Just my .02 1/2

MIKe

 

[windknot]

I guess I will join the anal bunch when it comes to a tight fit. I have been cutting some by hand recently and just cannot seem to get all of them to look great. I too have not posted any pics of them, but I may do so just to see if I can get some pointers. I have found that if you don't have a really sharp chisel, don't even try.

 

[McRabbet]

Scott, one of the things that Woodguy stressed in our class was to avoid trying to use the top edge of a cut as a fulcrum with the chisel and prying against it to remove wood at the bottom of the cut -- it is a natural thing to try to do, but the chisel mashes the exposed wood and keeping it dead straight is almost impossible. And, you're right about sharp being critical -- your chisels must be very sharp!

 

[woodguy1975]

NICE WORK BARBARA!!!!!!!!!!!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

I'm really proud of you. You stuck with it and now you have it. Congrats. You did it!

As for Rob, we are expecting pics SOOOOOOOOON! :lol:

Good job again!


John

 

[woodguy1975]

I guess I will join the anal bunch when it comes to a tight fit. I have been cutting some by hand recently and just cannot seem to get all of them to look great. I too have not posted any pics of them, but I may do so just to see if I can get some pointers. I have found that if you don't have a really sharp chisel, don't even try.

Please do post. There are always tell tail signs in a joint where things are going wrong. If you don't want to post feel free to email me pics and I'll do my best to help you. If you still aren't happy and around Hickory drop by the shop.

Being able to hand cut good dovetails will give you a lot of confidence in other areas of your woodworking as well.

Good Luck,

John