Wide handcut dovetail

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Ok Ok, so it's not on a project, but I have been thinking of tackling some projects that have wider dovetail joints in them so I needed some practice. Hand cutting the wide ones has always scared me because of how long it takes me to fiddle with the smaller ones. But a couple of new breakthroughs in my technique have helped me out a lot with my accuracy, and this set was cut in about half an hour, and fit the first time out. Looks like all this practice is paying off!!

 

[cskipper]

Gosh - they are so tight they are virtually invisible. Had to look really closely to be sure you weren't pulling our legs! I'd have to agree that the practice certainly has paid off! :icon_thum

 

[LeftyTom]

:eusa_clap, Marco. Did you learn technique at Bill's (willarda) class, or pick it up as you rolled merrily along?

 

[b4man]

Marco,
Congratulations! The first time I cut dovetails that fit I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. You definitely has the touch!:icon_chee

 

[PeteM]

Yeah - Not to bad but those are pine boards! Real men don't use pine! Let's see how you do with some real wood like Lignum Vitae or Ipe!!! :slap:

Just kidding - Great looking joints. :icon_thum

pete

 

[Tar Heel]

Very nice. Practise does, indeed, make perfect.

 

[froglips]

Most awsome job!

Care to share your new found breakthroughs in technique?

Jim

 

[Charles Lent]

I can do that ! (with my D4R). I gave up trying to do it by hand many years ago.

I only wish that I had that ability. It looks like you have about reached by hand what I can do with a router and my D4R, and that's very impressive.

Congratulations,

Charley

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Thanks for the compliments everybody! They are definitely not perfect, but for some reason it's hard to tell from the pictures. They aren't far off though, which really urprised me!

Tom - no, I have never taken a class, I have just read darn near everything I can find on the web, and I have cut probably a hundred or more joints over the last couple of years. It's something I have really wanted to master, so I've been especially driven. I find it relaxing to cut a joint that isn't part of a project. There's no pressure, and it's just me trying to elevate my game. Not to mention, it's kind of Zen.

Pete - haha, maybe the lignum vitae will come! For now, I chose pine because I wasn't convinced that I could even fit a joint this wide, even in pine! It's really a confidence booster though, so maybe now I can try poplar :eusa_danc

Jim - I am thinking about doing a pictorial post on my new method of cutting dovetails soon. It's nothing groundbreaking, but I feel that a lot of the online tutorials are lacking some of the more important subtleties that I very recently picked up, and I think I can write a better tutorial. More to come on that soon though.

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

 

[Ken Massingale]

Very excellent dovetails, Marco.
k