I have to admit, the last time I tried cutting dovetails in thick stock the results were not what I had wished for. If you ever stop by my shop you can see them, like I get to nearly everyday. They are on the tail-vise assembly on my workbench. A constant reminder of the need for humility! I like to think I’ve learned a thing or two in the past 25 years so I took a different approach this time. The trouble was, back then, I didn’t have a handsaw that was up to the task of sawing dovetails in 3″ thick hard maple with any degree of real accuracy — I still don’t! So, I decided to put my band-saw to work this time. I did not want to handle the whole glued up table top, so I am cutting the joints in the table top halves before gluing it up. After sketching out the dovetails I put together this little auxilliary table that I clamp to the bandsaw table (at the correct “drift-angle”) to reproduce the desired dovetail angle.
This is a common approach to “band-saw dovetailing”- nothing that I dreamed up, but here are a few details. The table can be mounted to either side of the blade to reverse the angle as needed. The fence is integral to the slanted table, sliding on dovetailed ways to maintain parallel and is clamped in position as needed (with the C-clamps pictured). There are two slotted, removeable blocks — one is in position and held in place with a wedge — which serve to channel the sawdust below the table to the dust collection port. The other block is used when the table is reversed. I scribed the shoulder of the dovetails as is usual, with a marking gauge and simply saw down to that line once the saw fence is set. I am starting with the pins. I cleared out most of the waste, making use of a Grammercy turning saw, which works beautifully for this task:
I follow up with a guide-block clamped in place, smack on the scribe-line, and pare down with a chisel, coming in from both sides, to the middle:
I missed a photo here, but the outline of the pins are transferred directly to the legs by simply placing then in position on the legs and then tracing around the pins with a sharp drafting pencil. If I then saw right to that line on the waste side and just barely skim the line, to make the “dovetails” I should end up with a nice fitting joint. I decided to use the bandsaw for this as well, making use of a long wedge with the correct angle, and a bandsaw fence:
I set the fence, then slide the wedge to place the blade where I want it. Then the wedge and leg are moved as a unit to make the cut. My dad made this nifty fence using heavy duty magnets that are activated by rotating the knob — there’s one at each end: two twists and the fence is locked, two twists and it’s loosened. Very nice.
Again, I used the turning saw, guide block, and chisels to clear out the waste. Nothing wrong with the results this time!
Until next time!
df
