In strong, close grained woods it is reasonably strong. . You can now step off all the two inch points or reset the callipers to the crosshairs square to the edge of the board. I don’t ever look for ease as such, or dumbed-down alternatives in methods that deny me achievement. Just for the heck of it I did this AM. How the base lines are marked is important for two reasons. So a drawer is more likely to be an awkward 3 7/8″ tall or 85.8mm tall instead of an easily divisible number like 4″ say or 10cm. Eventually, like the Greene brothers, Mr. Limbert of Grand Rapids, MI, and Mr. Roycroft, you take elements of what really works in A & C and go your own way with it. Half blind dovetails (which are used mainly in drawer construction) will be covered in the next issue. I crossed a line and discovered what I was looking for, that which I never found using methods other than my hands. I prefer the look of narrow, low angle dovetails. Lets say you have a piece of wood 5″ and you want 6 tails. Select output Fraction Precision, Decimal Inch or Metric mm. The greater cause of this is for the work to look hand cut, not with a dovetail bit but a dovetail saw. Just to keep you on your toes, when viewed from the ends of the boards the pins look like tails, and the tails look like pins. In the case of through dovetails, it's generally accepted that it doesn't make much difference which is cut first. Thank you, thank you very very much! Start from the half pin marks walk them across the work leaving a light pin mark. Is it equal thirds? As showrn in the drawing (above, right), the marks are placed just a smidgen outside the width of the chisel to allow some room. Without getting bogged down in too much detail, you have three choices. (and never even mention the cringe factor). You can contact us here. Reply This has been for tool chests and the carcass of a wall cupboard. marking the pieces. A piece from the late 17th or very early 18th Century, made here in America, will probably have chunckier, steeper angled dovetailed than one from the late 18th or early 19th Centuries. A cutting gauge can do a lot of the work of a marking gauge with a few limitations and some bonuses. The distance diagonal would best be say 12″. Looks good IS good. All four corners are joined with through dovetails. Make a mark with a pencil to show where your first tail cut will go. The tails nearest the edges of the board are the smallest, while those on the middle of the board are wider. They do express refinement and you will find them on even vernacular pieces too. Thus, when the base line is marked on the drawer's front, the distance between the base line and the end of the board is equal to the thickness of the drawer's sides. and an inspiration to us all. This can then be stepped off on the end where the dovetails will be. I like this in some measure. They are beautifully strong and attractive too. This I found personally to be of much greater importance, adding great value before the conclusion comes. Paul, what do you with shavings that collect after sweeping up? Two sets of 12 hours in a day. That being so, only occasionally do they go wider than say around 6″. The pins are cut on the drawer's front and back, and the tails are cut on the sides. And does it make any difference? This means the ends of the pins are recessed slightly, lb clean up the finished joint, it's now quite easy to use a plane to clean up the joint. If you like the guide check out and sign up for my woodworking blog, i'm on youtube, facebook, twitter and pinterest too. what's the difference between the marking gauge and cutting gauge? The difference has something to do with the strength of the wood. Meaning,i start cutting a undersized (female) dovetail cutout, than use the round measuring rods inside this dovetail to measure the flank width ,and compare to the outcome of the formula, and see how much more i need to cut out !! Well, whereas some may claim that there is an industry standard, in reality there really isn’t. Then when I see alternating sizes of pins it brings it to a new level. Before starting on the cut, first begin with the layout, which is the most critical … The basic procedure for marking the base lines is to use the thickness of the board for the tails (in this case, the sides) to set the marking gauge. w idth of pin vs. tail. Undercut very slightly to allow the shoulders to pull up nicely. This just takes a little getting used to. Most box and drawer sizing is determined by many factors and most often they are not 1, 2, 3 or 4 units in size but more likely 1.35 units or 3.68 and any size in between. Therefore hand cut and more desirable . For some it’s their attachment to the conclusion of the work rather than the process throughout the making. Follow Paul's technique and project videos over at Woodworking Masterclasses, our dedicated site for honing your skills. Then from the basic foundation you can adapt the theory for other dovetail types. The direction of strength is toward the pins. So that’s the reason the eye picks the hand cut dovetail and the machined ones and sets them apart. Flip the pin board over and repeat from the other side. Reply We use this all the time to reduce the need for complex calculations and measuring and dividing increments mathematically. In my work I often lay out my dovetails on a section of wood cut from the stock of my tail pieces. Also, make sure the thickness (particularly at the ends of the boards) is equal from one edge to the other. Thanks Paul. It depends entirely on the time period of the piece I am copying. there are three or four measurements that define the dimensions of a. dovetail slot: the opening and end widths, shoulder angle and depth of. To begin my dovetails I rely often on sketching something directly onto the wood. By the way, I don’t use degrees, just the ratios. Trim the half pin waste with the dovetail saw. Do you ever do this? Personally, reducing the expanse of a dovetail width means it is less likely that the dovetail in its housing will cup away from its seating. A through dovetail joint consists of two halves: the pins and the tails. Almost a zen like philosophy to his art! Theory 1. The purpose is to just mark a line.