Why Thin Pins

I suspect you're right. The small amount of experimentation I've done seems to indicate that a row of small through tenons makes a tough-to-beat (for strength) drawer joint. (example at bottom of

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I think it really does come down to aesthetics. Here it really

Well yes; but "readily available" is undergoing rapid change. I have a CNC router - which is a bit of a reach for hobby use by most people; but I saw a 3-axis CNC router with a 48"x48" work area (can handle larger workpieces, but spindle travel is only

48" for x- and y-axes and 6" for z-axis) for $2000 yesterday. That price included a PC and monitor but not a spindle. Now two grand isn't a cheap dovetail jig; but it can be used to cut any kind of dovetails the high-end jigs discussed here can cut, as well as more flavors of mortise and tenon than the high-end tenoning jigs discussed here can cut. Suddenly the $2K figure doesn't seem quite so high. As more and more people recognize that, we'll see more and more CNC tools in wood shops - and the price can be expected to drop...

Agreed. At one point the French royalty laid out aluminum tableware - because at the time aluminum metal was more rare than platinum or gold!

I think they're /interesting/; and built a dovetail jig onto my

3-axis machine
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so I could copy 'em. When it occurred to me that I could make even more interesting joints, I kind of left the bears' ears on the table. I've written a part program to cut a through tenon joint whose pins have an X-shaped cross-section and have been doodling with letter shaped pins. How about a bench drawer with tenons that spell out C H I S E L S?

Just noticed your sig. Linear algebra is coming soon to a workshop near you! (-:

Reply to
Morris Dovey
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I don't think I said it was "better", but it's easier for me. Obviously, YMMV. Anyhow, I'm talking about dovetails here, and I don't recall the last time I cut any dt's where feet came into play. Try this: Take an inch and subdivide it by millimeters. Take an inch and subdivide it by 16"'s. Which is easier to be more precise with?

Chuck Vance

Reply to
Conan the Librarian

well, an inch divided by 16ths is, um, lesse (fumbles with adding up the fingers on 4 hands)... ah! it's 16!

and an inch divided up by milimeters- well that's easy. everybody knows that that comes out to 25.4

Reply to
bridger

Concerning dovetails, after cutting a couple of hundred by hand seems to me it is as quick to do them by hand as to do them with a machine considering the set up time etc . I suppose only when a production dovetail operation is ongoing does the machine really have an advantage .

In addition what is the advantage of a machine when doing non through dovetails the rounded corners still have to be cleaned up by hand and I would imagine secret dovetails would be well neigh impossible with a jig.....mjh

Reply to
Mike Hide

Hey boyz! The imperial vs metric thread is coming back!

Greg

Reply to
Greg Millen

That's nice, but I wasn't talking about converting an inch to millimeters, I was talking about which is *easier* to get more precise with when *laying* *out* *dovetails*. You may find it easier to divide by 16ths, 32nds, 8ths, etc., but I find it easier to divide by increments of 10.

I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree. If you like it better working with inches then do it. I was offering up a different approach that works for me.

Chuck Vance

Reply to
Conan the Librarian

I vote for metric...

Agkistrodon

Reply to
Agki Strodon

Yeah, I think that's where the previous poster wanted this to go, but I'm not going there. :-) I rarely use metric, but I simply found that it comes in handy when laying out dovetails. Nothing more, nothing less.

Chuck Vance Just say (tmPL) I'm married to a Canookie, so maybe that explains why I'm part-metric.

Reply to
Conan the Librarian

nah, not interested in a flame war with Conan... just wanted to show another side.... one ain't better than the other, and it's good to have both available in the shop.

Bridger

Conan- he's one of the GOOD guys....

Reply to
bridger

Well put. I guess I overreacted a bit myself. Stoopid flame wars and spammers are getting us all a bit touchy. :-}

Thanks, Bridger. Same here.

Chuck Vance

Reply to
Conan the Librarian

Thanks for the link, Charlie. It is a good site to bookmark.

Regards, Ed Bailen

Reply to
Ed Bailen

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