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+-- Thread: Cutting dovetails (/showthread.php?tid=7328279)
RE: Cutting dovetails - wmickley - 03-04-2017
Items that are all in a straight line are collinear.
Any two lines that intersect are coplanar.
Any two lines that are parallel are also coplanar.
RE: Cutting dovetails - Derek Cohen - 03-04-2017
coplanar
kəʊˈpleɪnə/
adjective
GEOMETRY
- in the same plane.
"coplanar orbits"
British Dictionary definitions for coplanarExpand
coplanar
/kəʊˈpleɪnə/
adjective
1.
lying in the same plane: coplanar lines
Derived Forms
coplanarity, noun
Regards from Perth
Derek
RE: Cutting dovetails - wmickley - 03-04-2017
British Dictionary definition for collinear:
1. lying on the same straight line.
2. having a common line.
Apparently British English is the same as American English in this regard. You might brush up on your geometry.
RE: Cutting dovetails - MattP - 03-05-2017
(03-04-2017, 07:27 AM)Derek Cohen Wrote: coplanar
kəʊˈpleɪnə/
adjective
GEOMETRY
- in the same plane.
"coplanar orbits"
British Dictionary definitions for coplanarExpand
coplanar
/kəʊˈpleɪnə/
adjective
1.
lying in the same plane: coplanar lines
Derived Forms
coplanarity, noun
Regards from Perth
Derek
Yeah, this is the definition I had in my head, too.
As an aside, when you referred to "the baseline" being coplanar, I was confused, because it has to be coplanar with something. When you said "baselineS" it made sense.
Thanks.
RE: Cutting dovetails - Smoothjazz077 - 06-18-2017
I have been cutting away, and today just finished my 3rd set of through dovetails. The gaps are getting smaller, but I'm still having trouble cutting the pins after the transfer from the tails. However the set I just finished today were considerably better than the last ones. I'm just going to keep practicing, but I'm having fun?.
Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!!
Scott
RE: Cutting dovetails - DaveParkis - 06-18-2017
Hey Scott, you might be making very small errors when transferring your marks. I was having the same problem because I wasn't holding the board steady enough. I saw a David Barron video where he makes a dovetail alignment board and it really helped me transfer my marks b more accurately. It was also fun to make. Happy Father's Day to you, too.
RE: Cutting dovetails - Philip1231 - 06-18-2017
I am with cputman on this one: great input from all, but its all about being able to cut a plumb line consistently.
RE: Cutting dovetails - Hank Knight - 06-18-2017
Scott,
You have gotten some great advice here, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned your choice of wood. Southern yellow pine is miserable wood to work with hand tools - or most any other kind of tools for that matter. The difference in hardness between the early wood and the late wood makes it inordinately difficult to work with hand tools. Your saw will tend to follow the soft wood and shy away form the hard late wood, so straight cuts in SYP is difficult at best. Same with chiseling. After working with SYP, walnut, maple and cherry will seem like pieces of cake. Don't be discouraged if your dovetails don't turn out perfect. SYP is a difficult wood.
The one piece of advice I can give you is to make sure you have a good saw. I struggled with dovetails for a couple of years until I finally got my hands on a quality saw. It was a revelation. Straight cuts and following the line was much easier with a good saw than I had ever imagined with my crummy first saw. In my view any sharp chisel will work well , but a good saw is a must.
Once you get the hang of hand cut dovetails, you'll find they're not nearly as difficult as you thought. Good luck.
Hank
RE: Cutting dovetails - Adnick - 06-18-2017
Also agree that SYP in one of the worse woods to cut dovetails in....
would also recommend you watch Rob Cosman's dovetail videos, if you follow the process there is no test fits because they fit right off the saw...
Just cut a few hundred dovetails in SYP myself using Rob's method and highly recommend it.
Andy
RE: Cutting dovetails - Steve N - 06-18-2017
(02-28-2017, 02:43 PM)elinourrumming Wrote: My best advice is stolen from Schwarz: Cut a DT corner every day for month. On day 2, examine the "problems" from day 1, and try to correct them. On day 3, examine the day 2 joint and so on. After 30 days, you'll be quite good. (It's how I train any PW staff members who want to learn hand-cut DTs – fun lunch breaks, eh?)
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/editors-blog/a-dovetail-a-day
Smartest thing Schwarz ever said
You can do a lot of different exercises, but nothing beats just cutting DTs.