My First and Second Set of Hand Cut Dovetails

very nice, even the first set looks good… but obviously the 2nd attempt is much tighter!

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

They look good to me, the bottom box in the first picture looks tight as a drum…I need to get over my fear and give it a try!

-- Chris N, Westford, MA - "If you won't eat something from your fridge that turned green...why would you eat something that started out that way?"

Most days I have trouble cutting a 45 let alone a dovetail. Great job

I enjoyed your post… thanks. Second set does look better than first set… practice, practice… etc. I posted my first cut and haven’t had the nerve or the time to get back to it… but I need to. How quick we forget. Dovetail saw is something I’d like to have. I used a flexible flush cut saw and that created a little problem. Also, I need to learn how to stop more cleanly and uniformly at the depth line. I over-shot by the depth of a saw tooth on a few and that makes things a bit unsightly.

Anyway… again… nice job.

-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...

Nice job and a great learning curve. I guess. Practise makes perfect.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Good Job – Keep it up. I find it very satisfying when I complete a dovetailed drawer or box.

-- If you are not living on the edge you are taking up to much room.

Nice work on the dovetail!

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

Gentlemen, thanks for your kind words.

Dusty, your first cut’s looked great. I’d be proud of those as they were definitely much better than my first attempt.

Rat

-- I love the smell of sawdust in the morning....

FL,

Good start! I think they look very good for your first attempt. You might check my profile, I have some of my practice HT Dovetails pictured there. I learned how to cut mine from Rob Cosman. You may want to check out some of his DVD’s. Let me know if I can help you in anyway. Great job so far, keep at it!!

Jeff

By the way, I love you raised panel jig for the tablesaw! Where do I order one from you?? : )

-- Jeff, Indiana

very well done , my man .
you are getting better !

a friend of mine had a 600 year old chinese trunk ,
that was heavily carved ,
all dovetailed .
upon inspection ,
it was like your first one .
some filler in the joints here and there !

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Good job!!

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Great job!! I need to work on my handcut dovetails!!

-- Matt, Houston Texas