Dovetail and/or finger joints

[notbob]

I WILL learn how!

Initially, I'm doing it to repair my late mothers kitchen cabinets. Later, I hope to make a dovetailed guitar amplifier encloser (ala MesaBoogie amps) after I become much more experienced. To that end, I'm buying another paring chisel and wooden mallet and a Japanese pull saw.

I'll prolly do the finger joints ona table saw, w/ dado set, but will try and learn how to hand saw dovetail joints using a dozuki saw.

So, my question is, what size paring chisel should I buy next. I was gonna go fer a B&D Sweetheart 1/2" paring chisel, but now wonder if I shouldn't get a 1/8" paring chisel, instead. I already have a 1/4" paring chisel. Remember, this is fer hand cut dovetails, mostly.

nb

[Larry Kraus]

Grab some scrap of the thickness you expect to use. Cut practice joints using your current tools. Decide if a bigger/smaller chisel would help. Shop, or not. Practice some more. Practice some more. Practice some more. Practice some more. Practice some more.

[dadiOH]

That rather depends upon the widths of the areas you will be chopping out and that depends upon how wide and deep the dovetails are and how you lay them out. Certainly, you don't want one that is wider but the closer you can get to exact, the less chopping you have to do.

BTW, since this stuff is new to you, check out sliding dovetails sometime. They are very easy to make on a router table, they are strong and handy when the two pieces aren't flush; ie, for example, when a drawer front overlaps and protrudes beyond the side.

[Scott Lurndal]

I assume you mean "Stanley Sweetheart", not "B&D Sweetheart".

If you've a regular flea market in your area, I'd encourage you to check there first - look for Marples or Buck Brothers chisels from the first half of the 20th century - they'll be fine steel and will be much less expensive than the USD40 new Stanley's.

If you find a handleless socketed chisel, turning a handle is pretty straightforward and a good way to use up that pretty piece of firewood.

[notbob]

DOH!

I jes found some new B&D drills/driverbits ina plastic case (my mom usta buy a lotta cheap tools). Like she usta, I musta suffered a senior moment. I better hurry up! ;)

nb

[Michael]

I don't know if you consider it "cheating," but I saw David Barron use one of these magnetic dovetail guides in a video and I made one out of oak. It works really well for me.

Mike

[Illiterate? Write for free hel]

First I would learn to speak English instead of gibberish.

[Puckdropper]

notbob wrote in news:dncis1F4ie7U3 @mid.individual.net:

That 1/8" chisel is awful fine, and won't take the push that the 1/2" will. OTOH, that 1/2" chisel is awful wide, and won't fit into spaces the 1/8" will. It's green beans and carrots. Both good food items, but hardly interchangeable.

Larry Kraus has good advice in this matter: See if your current tools work, then buy new ones.

Puckdropper

[Electric Comet]

good advice

always best to learn by doing

usually never hurts

watch a few videos by that welsh fellow Paul

[notbob]

I like it.

nb

[John McCoy]

notbob wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Well, I'll throw you a curveball. If you're going to do dovetails, you may find a skew chisel helpful (*).

However, of the two you mention, you'll find a 1/2" chisel more generally useful than a 1/8", which would pretty much only be used for cleaning up dovetails. You can certainly make serviceable dovetails without a 1/8" (I don't have a

1/8" chisel, and I can make dovetails, altho they're not by any means something to show off).

For convenience sake, I'd also suggest getting a dovetail template. You can mark them out with just a ruler and square, but the template saves a lot of effort.

(* this is not the same thing as a woodturner's skew, it's a bench chisel. Lie-Nielsen used to make a pair, beautful like all L-N tools, but I don't know if they still do. Lee Valley offers a rather ugly pair, at half what the L-N used to cost)

John

[Sonny]

I suggest you make your own mallet.. make several and several sized ones, f or different jobs. Make them with differnt woods... hard, medium-hard and soft wood mallets. Historically, hickory root stock is best for mallets.

You want to use a softer (wood) mallet, than what your chisel handle is mad e of, hence the reason for different woods for several mallets. You want y our (more disposable) mallet to break or disfigure, rather than your chisel handle.

You DON'T want to use a mallet on your paring chisels. Their sharpness sho uld be maintained to the degree for use with hand-held force, ONLY. Essent ially, a paring chisel is for CARVING straight cuts. When you can, get 4 sizes. You can use only 1/8" of your 3/4" chisel, to cut 1/8". You don't have to use the whole width of the blade to make a cut. I most often use 1 /4" and 3/8". I often use the 1" to (vertically) score a cut line, prior t o sawing or further chiseling with a more narrow chisel. Again, no mallet use on your paring chisels.

As John McCoy, I don't have a 1/8" paring chisel. If I have to cut somethi ng that small, I'd use a carving chisel.

You want a chisel for hammering on, get a firmer chisel, a mortise chisel o r a set of "disposable" chisels, like the cheaper sets at Lowes, Home Depot , etc. If you have some time, search the garage sales for some old, bette r metal chisels, than what is available today. I'm always on the lookout for those older chisels.... *And rusty doesn't always mean olde, olde-time y.

For your paring chisels, buy what you can afford. If you have big dollars, look for Marples, Ward and/or Sheffield, preferably original hand-made She ffield. Don't be fooled by chisels "Made in Sheffield" (the town). You w ant the chisels made by Sheffield (the man).... they are marked appropriate ly with Sheffield's mark and the handles are of a particular (recognizable) design/turning. If you shop Ebay, look closely at the pics, to make sure of what you are getting. Ask for more close-up pics, if need be. If the s eller is reluctant to provide more pics or info, steer away from them. Po ssibly, your best bet for genuine Sheffield is from the UK, and that may no t be such an over priced buy, though they are more expensive than most othe rs.

One last bit of advice: Maybe keep your paring chisels separate from other s. Make some leather sleeves (fingers from old leather gloves?) for the bl ades, to protect the edges. You could make a "jacket" that rolls up, like many folks do for/with their sets of carving chisels. I think Mary May use d old blue jeans fabric, to make her carving chisels jacket/tote. Roy Unde rhill has a similar one, for his.

Sonny

[Dr. Deb]

I assume you have your paring chisel set to 15degrees, and honed on a strop - it really does make a difference.

Then, if you are going to cut dovetails, make one of these first (and view a few of his videos)

On the finger joints, the best jig I have used is the one by Stumpy Nubs. Well worth the making, IF you are going to be doing finger joints.

Slicker than nasal mucus on a copper and zinc door opening device - and a lot less messy.

Deb

[Bill]

Inspired by seeing Mary's May's tool roll on Roy Underhill's show, Bill made one too, with a custom number of "pockets" of 3 sizes (to fit the handles I had). Caution: Should you have occasion to sew through 5 layers of denim, do it by hand with a thimble --not an inexpensive sewing machine (DAMHIKT!).

Someone in more of a hurry could cut the "fingers" off of inexpensive hide gloves from Harbor Freight--add rubber bands to taste. I use these "fingers" on my knife-wielding hand (one finger and thumb) when woodcarving with a knife, and wear a glove on the other hand.

Bill

[Puckdropper]

Bill wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Would just an ordinary commercially available tool roll work? I picked up one at Menards when they were giving away a free bag with purchase of the tool roll. (Or was it the other way around?)

Puckdropper

[Bill]

Would it WORK, you ask??? Ahh! ::: raising hands in disbelief :::: What about the custom sized pockets? ::: SWEAT dripping from forehead ::: ... the PRIDE of saying you wore these jeans in 1995, but have "recycled" them! Ahh! WHERE did I go wrong??? : ) Seriously, no tool roll is as good as one you've made from your own jeans (it impresses people who don't care about wood too, though that wasn't the goal). My wife has asked me to show it to people (if you might imagine that...).

BTW, I picked up a set of 3 Marples chisels from Menards for about $17 a few weeks ago, that came in their own tool roll. I already have paring chisels, these are designed to be hit with a mallet. After I get the yard work out of the way, and then get the lawnmower self-propelling again, I hope to try them out!

Ah! Bill

[Spalted Walt]

Robby and I roll with 1/4" & 1/2" only.

Frank don't need no stinking chisel.

[J. Clarke]

chiseling with a more narrow chisel. Again, no mallet use on your paring chisels.

Ask for more close-up pics, if need be. If the seller is reluctant to provide more pics or info, steer away from them. Possibly, your best bet for genuine Sheffield is from the UK, and that may not be such an over priced buy, though they are more expensive than most others.

Or if you're willing to spend serious bucks, you could go for folded- steel Japanese.

[J. Clarke]

There's an inexpensive tool called a "sailmaker's palm"--lets you get some real force on the needle.

[Michael]

I made one of the alignment boards (using handcut dovetails). It really makes accurate scoring with the knife faster and more accurate.

Mike