USE OF HOMEMADE JIG/FIXTURE
My "hand made dovetails" tool kit (includes
jig/fixture).
By 2010 I had not made any dovetail joints using hand tools for many years -- the time came to do so once again for I intended to make some small wooden boxes. I couldn't use power tools if I wanted to -- we live in a townhome community where the units are very close to each other and loud noises of any kind are much frowned upon. A few practice joints brought home to me just how difficult it had become for me to follow joinery layout lines on wood. I could no longer comfortably crouch or bend down to eyeball the way the saw blade was following the lines and my eyesight was poor even when wearing glasses.
There was something else: I had just undergone surgery for what was supposed to be a routine out-patient umbilical hernia fix, but the (three day) rehab for that was interrupted when I developed a high fever. A second emergency surgery revealed that my lower intestine had been clipped during the original surgery and I developed massive infections (peritonitis). At least I got to celebrate my eighty-first birthday with a hospital room party! The recuperation from the follow-up surgery required me to be tethered to a wound vac machine for six months with limited mobility which in turn severely curtailed my woodworking activities. I felt the need for some kind of assistive device that would enable me to cut very precisely to those layout lines despite my physical limitations.
I made up a simple jig/fixture by modifying a Veritas® Dovetail Saw Guide (from Lee Valley) and incorporating a clamping/alignment device for the base line. I discarded the clamp that is a separate part of the Veritas® Dovetail Saw Guide as it won't work with the way I am using the guide. I also want to use my back (bead) saw -- I prefer the European style of saw operation -- and that is not possible using the guide in its original configuration. Another reason for using the Veritas® Guide was that I already possesed one that I couldn't use anyway and the magnetized guide surfaces are wonderful assists for my less than steady hands. I have now cut a number of dovetail joints using this jig fixture with satisfactory results.
It may appear that the aluminum clamp (for defining and cutting precisely to the base line) would be a problem in that it could dull the saw teeth when making vertical/sloping cuts unless great care is exercised when approaching the line. However I have cut a lot of very hard woods: Rosewoods (including Cocobolo), Desert Ironwood, Lignum vitae, Ebony, et al., without any significant or accelerated dulling of saw teeth so I believe an occasional "scuff" will not be of great significance.
Of course if you have younger eyes and steadier hands then you will be able to produce finely detailed dovetail joints "free hand" with a little practice. Or if you do use an assistive device such as the Veritas® Dovetail Saw Guide System, you should be able to use it without modification and in accordance with the Manufacturer's Instructions.
Baseline alignment clamp - 6" long opposed 1"x
1" Aluminum
angle secured by machine bolts/wing nuts at each end.
Modified
Veritas® Saw Guide secured in position using "C"
clamp.
Head-on view of Jig/Fixture set up.
I use a bead ("Gentleman's") saw to make
cuts.
I use a fret/jeweler's saw to remove most of
the waste, retracing the first
bead saw cut then twisting the blade in order to cut
along the base line.
I now mostly use Olson PGT Double Reverse Tooth (Univ. No. 5RG - 12TPI/8 Rev.) blades
I use a fine rasp to clean up baseline
waste.
Assembled unfinished joint -- initial clean-up
using 100 grit sandpaper.
Assembled joint.
Assembled joint.
Assembled joint.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
-
Hand Cut Dovetails After Fifty - an excellent
general reference resource.
- The Veritas Dovetail Saw Guide System is available
from
Lee Valley
-
Gord
Graff Lumberjocks review of the Lee Valley Veritas
Dovetail Saw Guide System
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