Refining a design

Beautiful design and combination of woods. On the sliding dovetail, did you glue any portion of it at all?

-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT

very pretty. I like the dovetail. the cocobolo really get ones attention.

-- A thing of beauty is a joy forever...

Those are super cool. So you going to tell us about the dove tails and how you did it?

-- http://inhisgrip1.blogspot.com/

Those are some very nice boards.

The dovetails are glued in place. Some where tight enough that you could have let the joint hold it, but since these are cutting boards I didn’t want any small gaps for water to get into. Glueing seemed the right move.

I made the dovetails on the router table. First cutting a 1/4” channel in the slot side, working by 1/8 – 1/4 increaments bringing it upto “almost” the depth of the dovetail. Then swap out for the 1/2” dovetail bit, set the finial height and cut the slot side in one pass. I leave the dovetail bit where it is, since the hieght is set “perfectly” for the channel and switch to cutting the tail. I will set the fence so that it’s only taking small bites at a pass, and cut both sides of the board. I use a scrap piece of wood as a pusher to prevent it from blowing out on the back end of the cut. Move the fence back a bit, and cut both sides again. Just repeating this process and checking the joint each pass as it gets close. Some sort of micro-adjust on the fence would be nice; on my table I ever so slightly tap on the fence with my knuckel as the tail gets close to the right size. Which is a bit of a hit-or-miss thing.

I’m not too good at dovetails, but these are very nice. I might have to start.

I’m making a few cutting boards this week for gifts, and they are missing something. When I saw these, I knew they were missing a hole to grab it by.

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric

Those are really pretty. Would enhance any kitchen. Well done!

-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.

Very Nice!!
I love the dovetail. The wood grain and colors really compliment each other. Nice design.

What did you use as a finish?

-- Bob K. East Northport, NY

Great looking boards. The joint in the closeup looks perfect. Nice work!

-- http://www.grandprairiewoodworks.com http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6453794

I thought that your first boards were nice , but you’ve topped yourself here : ) Happy Holidays : )

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

Professional looking boards with a great combination of woods. I am a sliding dovetail virgin as well but have recently been eyeing a sexy router for my defloration.

-- I can so I wood but why are my learning curves always circles