Magnetic Dovetail Guides

[AgGEM]

Veritas, David Barron, Katz - Moses all make these.
Perhaps there are others.
Any thoughts or opinions about them?
Any one notably better than the others?

Please, no lectures about practice, practice, .....please not.
Ag

[Rich's Woodcraft]

Ag,

I don't cut dovetails very often, but when I do its with the David Barron magnetic guide. :-) And yes I too am tired of every time this comes up the dovetail police come out and spank us.

I have tried the Veritas one and find it too cumbersome with the screw. Barron's guide has sandpaper in the right spots and Teflon in the right spots. The one piece of advice is that you need a saw with zero set for this to work the best. David also sells a nice Japanese saw to go with it, I bought mine from LV, you need one which has some height to get you down into 3/4" material.

For me the guide is great as I only hand-cut dovetails for a few special projects a year so the guide ensures I get perfect results every time. If you are ordering from David, I would also suggest the 90-degree guide which is great for cutting accurate 90-degree cuts by hand. I use my quite often.

Hope this helps,

Richard

[AgGEM]

Richard,
Thank you. I have watched the various videos and wondered about the usefulness of the screw on the Veritas.
Your assessment is valued!
Ag

[BaileyNo5]

Have to agree with Rich on this one.  My dovetailing happens in bunches, so after a bit I might switch to freehand.  But I start with a magnetic guide.  I use the LV one, but don't use the screw - as Rich said, it is cumbersome.  I just hold everthing in place, works fine.

[DaveParkis]

I probably make fewer dovetails than most and I bought the Barron guides. They work well.

[Derek Cohen]

You gotta do what you gotta do. If the thought of screwing up (sawing) overwhelms you and you would then avoid a project, then using a guide is a good thing if it keeps you in the game.

On the other hand, sawing to a line is actually quite easy. Those that learn fastest (fine motor- and visual spatial difficulties excluded) are those prepared to make mistakes and go for it. The more you are prepared to go for it, the better you become.

Sawing good dovetails is not something that you have to do "all the time" to be proficient at. I think I am a pretty decent dovetailer, but I had to learn like everyone else. It is a learned skill, not an inborn ability. Plus I do not cut dovetails any more than any other weekend warrior. What I do is approach the task with confidence, lay the teeth against the line, and just do it. Even without a warm up.

I get concerned when I read someone writing, "I want to start dovetailing but I am waiting for XYZ guide to arrive". It is as though they do not believe there is any other way possible. You really only progress when you actually do a task without aids. Use a guide to orientate yourself to what is needed. Get familiar, build up a little hand memory. Then practice without aids. You'll get it soon enough, and then there is no looking back.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[AHill]

+1 on the Barron guide.  I too, have tried the Veritas and have the same experience as Rich.  I have an astigmatism and use progressive lenses.  Lining things up to saw a straight line is a real challenge for me.  And I have practiced for hours on end to try and overcome that problem - with and without glasses.  The guide allows me to maintain the line flawlessly.  Sawing is only half the part of dovetails.  You still need to remove the waste.  So, there's still some skill involved.  In the end, it's the final look that matters to me.

[Sawdustd]

I  use the Veritas (Lee Valley) guide and am completing my 4th Hope
Chest which has about 100 tails and pins.  The Veritas system/method enables you to mark pins and tails at the same time which is a tremendous help/time saver when working with wide panels.  The key to getting a "just right fit" between tails and pins is positioning/holding the guide "exactly" on the cut line.  That's the purpose of the set screw/clamp. Learning where to exactly position the guide is a matter to testing on scraps. A "whiskers" difference results in a too tight or too loose fit. Once you find the "sweet spot" and get your eye ball calibrated, you can  consistently clamp the guide at the sweet spot and get the just right fit.   That's my two cents.

Derick -  Thanks for your understanding.  The dovetail guide keeps me in the game.

Dave

[Bill Holt]

I like the Veritas.  The screw gives me more confidence.  Last week I built three drawers using DTs.  That was the first DTs in maybe three years.  I enjoy the process because the guide gives me confidence. Practice is great when you have loads of time (at least for me).  I also really like the Glenn Drake "kerf hook". I don't remember the actual name but it works.

[rwe2156]

If you are a craftsman whose goal is developing of skills, IMO crutches like this will hinder you.
I don't believe they will train you to the angles as much as developing your hand/eye coordination through practice.

I suppose it is something you could choose if you rarely cut dt's or have a disability.

You still have to saw to the base line, and chisel the waste accurately.