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Do You Dry-Fit Hand-Cut Dovetail Joints Before Glue-up?

3K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  lumbermeister 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
My first dovetail project - hand cut. I'm tempted to not do a complete dry fit (only partially insert tails to pins to assure against major flaws), as I am afraid of compressing the fibers and compromising final fit and, also, potential breakage when separating the pin and tail boards.

What is your experience/advice? Anyone go straight to glue-up without dry fit? Thanks.
 
#3 ·
Well I machine cut mine, so your experience may vary, however I always dry fit dovetails. The trick is to cut them with an easy friction fit so they aren't damaged during the dry fitting process.
 
#5 ·
If you find the fibers have compressed slightly after dry fit you can always lightly tap the pins/tails what have you with the ball end of a ball peen hammer and it will spread them back out and fill any gaps that may be present.

That said I always dry fit as well… like has been said.. you don't want to have an oh shi%$ moment AFTER glue is applied.
 
#7 ·
Often I find with dry fit that I had not cleaned the bottoms of the pins perfectly square and when assembled they will not seat properly leaving a gap that looks terrible. I make sure I always dry fit. Whatever compression there is inside the joint gets filled, perhaps even better, with glue.
 
#8 ·
Dry fitting is essential. If you're afraid that it'll compress fibers, then your joints are too tight. If it's too tight, then you need to trim. Last year I took a 5 day class with Roy Underhill & Bill Anderson, and I just got around to making a video series of what I learned about cutting dovetails by hand. Here's the link to video 1/15. Let me know if this helps!
 
#9 ·
Thanks everyone for your input. Its not often that I see complete unanimity here on Lumberjocks, but its very clear that, on this item, the smart money is doing a dry fit. With that, (and my curiosity re. my dovetails - too impatient to wait until glue-up to see how they fit) - I dry-fitted my work. Glad I did, and I am satisfied with it. I believe it is ready for glue.

Appreciate all your feedback.
 
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