Dovetail saws

Lie Nelson $75 ti $125

-- WOOD/DON (...one has the right to ones opinion but not the right to ones own facts...)

I’m sure Lee Valley’s is a nice saw, but I haven’t used it before. I have the Lie Nielsen dovetail saw and I really like it. You can read my review in the LJ Reviews. I recently found this web site www.dilegnosupply.com, and they sell Lie Nielsen tools for under list price. It’s the only place I have found that sells Lie Nielsen for under list price. The dovetail saw at their site is $119. I bought a nice mallet from them recently and really like it.

-- http://theinquisitivewoodworker.com/

I use a Crown gent’s saw which only cost me about $15-20. It does a fine job, especially for the money. I would like a full-handled saw for a better grip, so that Lie-Nielsen sure looks like a beaut. However, I’ll be getting a ryoba (Japanese) saw soon, and look forward to trying that on dovetails.

Have fun on your class and be sure to report back on how it went!

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

Betsy,

I actually like a lot this saw:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=50663&cat=1,42884

It is super fast cutting, very light and has a very narrow kerf (0.015). It only costs 23$. It definitely puts to shame my Pax dovetail saw (big, clunky and 86$).

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

Betsy,

If possible, you should see if you can make some test cuts on a western saw and then on a Japanese saw and see which style you prefer. That would help narrow your selection down by about half…

-- Ethan, http://www.merganserwoodworks.com, http://greystonegreen.blogspot.com/

I bought a Japanese dovetail saw at Rockler for $38.00. It cuts on the pull stroke, and has a thin blade.

-- Maplewood, MN

Betsy,

That saw is made my Wenzloff & Sons, who have a great reputation for quality saws. I’m not sure if Lee Valley has them in stock though, so you may want to call and find out first. Wenzloff’s website says they have something like a 21 week wait for new saws.

Everyone I’ve talked to who has them, love them. Another option is Tools for Working Wood’s Gramercy dovetail saw

While it’s back ordered too, it should be back in stock in the next week or so, per my phone call recently about them.

Hope this helps :)

-- "Give me your poor tools, your tired steel, your huddled masses of rust." Yep, I ripped off the Statue of Liberty. That's how I roll!

Betsy,
I was in your same situation not too long ago and ended up having a saw custom made by Tim Hoffman. He frequents woodnet.com and goes by username TimHoff. The price was quite a bit cheaper than either the Wenzloff, LN, Adria, or Gramercy. It is a really sweet little saw. Here is a thread he started showing how he makes the saw blade: http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=3505158&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&vc=1

There are a couple of individual sawmakers that do really good work if you are interested in going that route. The Wenzloff saws are probably the best thing going right now though. All of the above are great and you really can’t go wrong with any of them.
Best,
Stacey

-- S. Box --- "But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." - John Adams

i agree with tomcat on his posting. i have a lie nielsen and i really like it, but the wenzloff and gramarcy are highly spoken of always. one good thing is there is no waiting for the lie nielsen. i live in ct and get super fast regular delivery from them. i think most woodcraft stores carry them as well.

greg

-- Greg, CT

Thanks for the advise fellas. I split the difference and went with http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=48033&cat=1,42884 from Lee Valley. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

Hello

I found an old copy of Fine Woodworking that reviewed the saws. They reccomended the Crown gents saw as the best deal and best saw. It is very reasonablly priced and comes very sharp.

-- Scott, Kentucky ----- "Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry" Mark Twain

betsy, I was in ther same situation and made the same choice, it tunr out great, good luck dovetailing.

-- Artesano Taino

Betsy,

I have the saw you decided to purchase and I do not like it a bit. I prefer the 4 times cheaper dozuky I indicated in my previous post by a mile. The PAX saw is heavy, clunky and has a kerf that is way too large. With a little more money you can get a rally good western dovetail saw. The PAX is clearly not worth the money.

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

It’s worth figuring out your preferred style for cutting dovetails – western or eastern.

I’ve tried Japanese saws and I can’t work with them. It’s entirelly a personal prefernece and before investing $$ in a saw I’d figure out which you like better. I personally love the Lie Nielsen saw and just could’t imagine any thing else, but that’s my style…you need to decide on your own.

Good luck!

Got my saw from Lee Valley yesterday. (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=48033&cat=1,42884). Returning it today. It’s very apparent that it is much to heavy for me and the handle is much to big for my hand. I was surprised, even though they tell you the weight, how much it really did weigh. So Alin – you were right!

I’m going to try some of the other recommendations you all have given until I find the right saw for both the job and my small hands.

Thanks again for all the input.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

Nothing beats the dozuki for fineness of kerf and a somewhat “flatter” learning curve. You don’t have to spend a bunch, I picked up a modestly priced one from a Woodcraft store. Also, I can get replacement blades for it too. I also have a pair of L-N saws, a dovetail w/rip teeth and a carcass w/crosscut teeth. For Western saws they are hard to beat but pricey as they should be. Neither is superior just a different kind of “groove” for the woodworker.

I guess the killer is that I spent about $30 for the dozuki and over $125 each for the L-Ns. They sure are pretty though…

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

This thread is making me even more impatient for UPS to bring my new saw! I ordered the dozuki that Alin recommended; supposed to arrive Monday.

Betsy, If you try a Dozuki make sure you get one that is filed rip, not crosscut. It probably be stated in the ad copy. Cutting dovetails is in the vast majority of instances a ripping (with the grain) operation. Some “dozukis” are offered with either. And as you discovered with the one you ordered the Pax so called “dovetail” saw is available in a crosscut version. The difference is in the actual shape of the teeth. A crosscut blade has a secondary bevel to each tooth called a “fleam” that helps to slice the wood crossgrain. Check out http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/glossary.html for a far better explanation than I can give.
Good luck in your new journey.

Recycler, I have to warn you that it takes some getting used to in order to learn how to use a dozuki. It will feel weird at the beginning but after a while it will go really well. I suggest you do practice cuts on scraps until you feel comfortable using it. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Betsy, I truly recommend the small dozuki. It has the rip (not crosscut) teeth and it cuts really fast and precise. Unless I work with really thick stock, it is my saw of choice. I’m sure the other dozukis on LV are good as well but I did not use them personally.

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

Betsy,
I learned to cut dovetails with a Dozuki saw and would highly recommend it over the saw you’re considering. The technique of using the Dozuki that differs from a standard dovetail saw is that you need to start the cut at a very steep angle and once started, you can then level the saw and cut across the top of the board you have clamped upright in a vise (think of starting with the saw held almost straight up and down against the layout line of the board).
Once you understand the method, you’ll love using the Dozuki, since the kerf is so tiny you can cut very close to the layout lines and minimize the cleanup/fitting work you need to do with the chisel.

-- Gerry

Mine arrived this morning. I’m impressed—as Alin said, it cuts FAST and the kerf is fine. Now the only weak link is skill. ;)

This weekend I bought two poplar boards, 1×3x24. As a drill, I’m dovetailing them together, then cutting off just enough of the joined ends to hold together. Shoot the ends, then start over. Bonus is I’m getting practice shooting and was inspired to order a LA block plane.

So far today, I’ve cut three joints, and the third is almost not especially embarassing.

I bought a Crown saw this weekend to play with a bit – it’s ok—- but I honestly get better results with my tiny Zona saw. I feel like I have better control of the saw with a rod type handle and not a pistol grip type handle. Will keep trying different ones until I find one that feels good in my hand and gives a good cut as well.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

For the record, I know of one more site that sells LN tools under list. They don’t sell all of the LN stuff, but a good number of their tools. The dovetail saw is listed for $113 there now.

http://www.finetoolj.com

-- johnjoiner