Figuring out how to cut dovetails by hand after 4 years of using jigs

Last week I finally sat down with some scrap walnut and a set of $20 chisels from a garage sale and somehow managed to cut a full set of dovetails that actually fit together, what method did you guys use when you first learned?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim81917d ago

My first successful set came from Frank Klausz’s old video where he marks all three angles with a sliding bevel. I tried his method on some poplar and got decent fit on the third attempt. The trick for me was keeping the saw cut consistently just shy of the line so I could pare to it with a chisel.

diana2016d ago

Keeping the saw cut just shy of the line and paring" is exactly the part most people skip. That little extra step makes all the difference between a tight joint and a gap-filled mess.