Dave asked
I haven't cut a sliding dovetail yet but I was wondering if you felt it was easier to using a tailed router or hand tools?
Short answer: The machines (router table and hand-held router against a straight edge) take time to set up. This includes several trial cuts until it is set up accurately. I hate the noise and dust of a power router. I have 4 of these things (a large Elu 177e, a fixed-base GMC dedicated to a router table in my tablesaw extension, a small Makita for delicate hand use, and an unspeakable !!! that was hurled into the rear of a toolchest). Overall, however, it is six of one and half-a-dozen of the other with regard speed at the end of the day. It is probably faster than using hand tools when you are starting out, or if you are cutting several identical joints. Like everything, the more you practice, the easier and quicker handcutting gets.
(Very) Long answer:
Frankly, I have not been cutting sliding dovetails by hand for more than a couple of months. Lots of dados, yes, but no sliding dovetails. These were done on my router table
It was really about the time I received the Veritas Router Plane that I began to think more seriously about cutting them by hand. A large part of this was due to increased confidence I felt in the Veritas over the Stanley, although I am sure this was just psychological since I had no difficulty with the Stanley cutting a clean dado. I gave myself a very fast training programme, spending several hours a day over a weekend cutting sliding dovetails by hand. Making a 6:1 guide for a backsaw was easy enough (I used my bandsaw :lol: ). Of all the saws I tried (Japanese and Western), my 24" crosscut saw from my mitrebox worked best. I am now in the process of making a dedicated stairsaw for this cut.
Sawing and chiseling out the tail section (the male end) is really quite quick and easy. During my progress here I looked at the various planes I had to clean up the face of the tail. I did not like using a shoulder plane as it could not get into the acute angle on the shoulder. A Stanley #140 was far better, but I was not satisfied. At this point I decided to build a dovetail plane, which I did out of an old skew rabbet (I am writing up an article on this, so it is a story for another time). Initially I just wanted it to clean the face, but now it can cut the entire male section - so if I went down that route, handtool verses power tool, the hand tool wins hands down (pun intended! :roll: ) .
Cutting the pin section (the female end) is mostly about how accurately you can cut to a line, and at the correct angle. A saw guide helps - is essential. The hardest part is holding the sawblade against the guide (I am looking for some rare earth magnets to set into mine). Then it is cutting the waste with the saw, knocking it out, and out comes the router plane to smooth it over. Again, this is not a slow process, and it gets quicker the more one does it.
Regards from Perth
Derek
