There's an article in an old FWW about using your tablesaw to make the cuts. The guy even has the blade re-ground to match the angle of the cut so he gets a flat bottom when the blade is tilted.
People have been using tablesaws and bandsaws to cut dovetails for a long time. Forrest sells the blades you mentioned.
Myx
Have been playing with handcut dovetails for a while. Have used a japanese pull saw (dozuki?), a $10 back saw and an expenso-costo LN DT saw (drive by neener). The first and last work very well, the $10 SUCKS!
One of the problems I've been having is stopping the cuts at the scribe line. If I overshoot the saw cut shows, though with luck it's on the inside where it won't show as much, or I undercut, which makes clean- ing out the waste a little more work. Even using The Mirror Trick, I still over or undershoot on at least one cut.
The other problem I have is getting the angle of the saw right when cutting tails. A little off and I've screwed up the joint or have more paring to do.
May have found a solution.
A buddy called me last night and asked to borrow my little Makita cordless circular saw - you know, the one with the 3 or 4 inch blade. This morning, while packing it up I looked at a practive board I had in the vise - layout lines all ready for cutting.
Hmmmm! Set the depth of cut on the Makita to the depth of the pins, check the blade for square and had a quick go at it. NOT BAD! With the shoulders cut I nibbled away the waste.
I may be on to something. This may be The Missing Link - the evolutionary link between the Neander and the Normite. More research will be necessary but this will document my discovery.
So if you've got a small cordless saw handy this may get you to try "hand cut" dovetails.
Picture posted in a.b.p.w.
charlie b
I've seen articles about using a table saw or a bandsaw for cutting dovetails but I'm a little initimidated by a 3 hp motor spinning a 10 or 12 inch carbide tipped saw blade, spinning at 3-5K rpms. My bandsaw table tilts "foreward" to 50 degrees but only tilts "backward" about 5 degrees. I could make an angled "table" for the backward cuts on the bandsaw but the cordless seems like it will be a lot easier. Tilt the foot for one direction then turn the board around in the vise and make the other cuts.
With a fine toothed "plywood" blade, the kerf isn't that much wider than with the DT or dozuki saws and unlike the table saw method, the bottom of the cut is relatively flat.
This cordless idea has possibilities. If you do any remodeling a small cordless is probably already in your toy - strike that - TOOL box. No new toy - err TOOL to buy. If it get's someone to try "handcut" dovetails my mission will have been accomplished
I'll be adding this to my dovetail instructions pages in a day or so - if it works on the tails. In the mean time, if your interested, the instructions are at
fun stuff this woodworking thing
charlie b
This is exactly how you would cut the pins. You need to make an angled table. David Charlesworth shows the use of one in his book. Of course you have to make sure your bandsaw is properly tuned so that the blade
90 degrees front to back. Once the initial table is built cutting DTs on the bandsaw is a piece of cake. You just have to make sure you stop short of the line because the blade has a tendency to pull the wood in over-cutting the line.Layne
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