Shameful Dovetail practice

[DannyEssex]

I thought if I post these up it would encourage me to keep on practising. I'm not sure where I went wrong, as I seem to have a half tail on the ends and not a half pin. They was quite gappy and I was having problems cleaning the waste, I wasn't sure which angle to go at to clean the waste out.

Quite a few pictures In the hope if any of you experienced guys see something wrong then please tell me lol

I am just going to keep on practising again and again and again, and hopefully one day with get a little neater

Thanks for looking and any advise
Danny

 

[carlb40]

First of all well done for having a go. =D>

That looks like meranti or similar so not that hard. If you want i can send you something harder to practice on - like wet toilet paper :mrgreen:

How sharp are your chisels? They need to be very sharp to get cleanish cuts, but it is always harder in softer timbers.

Have a look on youtube there are a few on dovetails, i know as i have been watching some for my one board comp build. (hammer)

EDIT

Also there is some info in here that might help if you haven't seen it already.

a-quick-question-on-skew-chisels-t76518.html

 

[Jacob]

Could be worse!
Doing it at all is nine tenths of the way, and it will only get better with practice - as long as you look at other stuff and keep your eyes open for what's going right or wrong.

 

[rspsteve]

Wow Danny....looks like a great job from here !

Well done mate .

Steve

 

[Grahamshed]

I think the end result of those is better than mine will be. Practicing them is on my to do list to.

 

[Lee J]

firstly to me that timber looks very difficult to work especially down it's grain, looks like it will just splinter off.
Are you using a marking knife to score the cut lines first or just a pencil line?
Are the chisels sharp?

the end result looks good though!

nice one. =D>

 

[mickthetree]

Well done for having a go. You are right on track with lots of practice. Only way to learn.

What saw are you using to cut the main bulk out?

How close to the line do you cut?

 

[markturner]

I am amazed at how terrible they look to start and how good the finished result is........!

as the others said, the timber you are using is probably not helping.....

 

[Handcrafter]

Nothing to be ashamed of in trying to learn a tricky skill! You might find an entry on my blog helpful. It seems I can't post links here for some reason - so go to Wordpress and search for boxmakermichael and find the thread 'How I cut dovetails.
Having a really good quality dovetail saw helps no end - Veritas to a great one for about half the price of their rivals. Then the other important thing is practice technique - it's as easy to practise bad habits as good ones! i've a series just started in The Woodworker entitled 'raising my game' - part 1 this month on timber prep - and part 4 is specifically about practice methodology. I applied the same approach to this as to learning a musical instrument: break the operation right down to its basic elements and practice each repeatedly until it's reilable before moving on to the next. The article includes (assuming the ed uses them) 'before' and 'after' pics that show my dovetails used to be a lot worse than anything you've shown us! A final tip - never chisel along the grain, it's just asking the tool to follow the grain rather than your line. Practise precision sawing to get the cheeks right straight from the saw, and then lay the timber flat to chop out the waste back to the shoulder line with a square upright on the bench - it's all on the blog. Keep on at it - there's nothing quite like the buzz of satisfaction when a dt goes together first time!

 

[jimmyhenson]

I cut my first dovetails last night, happy enough with the results for the first time but plenty of room for improvement. I used walnut as I want to make a box and I have the components planed up and I was practising with the offcuts. I have rob cosmans DVD on dovetails and he teaches cutting to the line, so that's the way I went. Your finished box looks good, it's a great feeling tapping the joint together.
Happy dovetailing
Jimmy

 

[Handcrafter]

Agreed Jimmy - cutting straight to the line may need a bit of practice to perfect but it repays in all kinds of ways. I've got one of th eCosman DVDs and foudn it really helpful - thought at first that the 'no trial fit' dovetail was probably an exaggeration but believe me it's not!

 

[custard]

Good on you for having a go. You've made a joint that's strong enough to last for 200 years, and you're going to get better and better with each attempt. If that's not satisfying woodworking I don't know what is!

 

[DannyEssex]

Cheers Guys

Carl it was Meranti, I found it was more difficult to work than Pine, It seem to splinter off very easily and was a bit fluffy if that makes sense lol.

I was using a scalpel to mark my lines, I might try just using a pencil line as its a bit thicker than a scalpel line and maybe that will make it a tad easier?

I used a coping saw to get the bulk waste out and went as close to the line as I dared. I will just keep on practising and take my time, I found I was rushing toward the end, just to see it finished lol.

Thanks for all the tips and links

 

[n0legs]

Keep at it Danny, like they say practice and perfect and all that.
Assembled it looks great, well done.

 

[Handcrafter]

Plug away, Danny - it's really worth the effort I promise you. There are some kinds of dovetails that I can't imagine any router jig or machine coping with, so it's well worth developing the hand skills. I'd suggest you consider a jeweller's saw for removing the waste - its finer blade is much less likely to abrade the cheeks when you slide it down the saw-kerf.
Good luck - put up some more photos as you progress.

 

[Handcrafter]

Danny, K should have added - you're right about using a pencil (for the tails, that is) - the line's easier to see and as you're cutting a template it doesn't have to be so precise as when you cut the pins. Rob Cosman uses a pen for the tails - but you do need to use either a scalpel or marking knife for the pins.

 

[Jacob]

Knife for the shoulder lines, scribe point through the pinholes for the pins, pencil everywhere else, IMHO.
Knives aren't strictly for marking, it's just that some marks are better cut.