David Barron Dovetail alignment jig

[DynaGlide]

I was looking for something to cut my teeth on for learning dovetails and a friend suggested I make an alignment jig. I've cut a sum total of two dovetails in my woodworking career, seen on my workbench endcap. I checked with my neighbor who's retired from woodworking and he had a nice quarter sawn 4/4 white oak board that he gave me. Admittedly cutting the tails and pins took me a couple hours but I subscribe to the slow is fast, fast is slow when learning something new. To my delight everything came out perfect. The Woodpeckers square registers against both boards and against the fence in both planes.

Matt

 

[RonMiller]

Wonderful! Well done.

 

[ChuckM]

Very nice. I've also made half a dozen of this using dominoes, including a version with a removable fence (for a shop teacher) which can be used as an angle bracket for routing when the fence is unmounted.

 

[Sparktrician]

Very nicely done, Matt!!!  [smile]

 

[rvieceli]

Looks great. Nicely done Matt

Ron

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Yep - beautifully done. I've done literally thousands over the years, and I'd be extremely satisfied with those. Great job.

 

[peacefulandpatriotically]

beautiful work!

 

[hdv]

Well done! I can promise you, my first dovetails didn't even come close to what you've done there.

 

[rst]

[thumbs up] [not worthy]

 

[DynaGlide]

Thanks everyone. I'm still learning but that's the fun part. I just placed a bandsaw on hold for pickup when the sale starts next week at the local Woodcraft. Might do some boxes next.

Matt

 

[Mortiser]

Very well done Matt. You'll be using the Frank Klaus method next!

 

[Crazyraceguy]

They look great, very tight and clean.

 

[TSO_Products]

[member=65062]DynaGlide[/member]  - you just keep inspiring the rest of us with your work and your approach to it:

    "I subscribe to the slow is fast, fast is slow when learning something new.                                                                                       
                                                                                      -  Matt"
thank you [smile]
Hans

 

[JeffSD]

Beautiful work!

 

[DynaGlide]

I made a slight modification to the jig:

The boards are already joined but you get the idea. They're called Bessey Table clamps. I bought them years ago, never used them. Basically just had to drill a hole on both fences of the jig for either orientation and the clamp goes into the hole so I can secure the tail board down and focus all my attention on the marking knife.

Matt

 

[derekcohen]

Matt, nice work with the dovetails.

The clamp is a good idea, as holding the work firmly will make for more accurate marking out. However, I note that the clamp is to the edge of the board on the jig, and that can induce too much pressure to one side and cause tipping. Far better to use a longer hold down in the bench itself, which will reach over to the centre of the board.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[DynaGlide]

Matt, nice work with the dovetails.

The clamp is a good idea, as holding the work firmly will make for more accurate marking out. However, I note that the clamp is to the edge of the board on the jig, and that can induce too much pressure to one side and cause tipping. Far better to use a longer hold down in the bench itself, which will reach over to the centre of the board.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thank you Derek. I have come to the same conclusion. I'll probably end up making my own clamp with a longer reach if I don't have a proper clamp to work with the bench.

 

[ChuckM]

I see that your alignment board sits in a vise in the photo. Can't you hold the vertical piece and the jig in place with the vise?

I use a holdfast and a clamp:
[attachimg=1]

 

[DynaGlide]

I see that your alignment board sits in a vise in the photo. Can't you hold the vertical piece and the jig in place with the vise?

I use a holdfast and a clamp:
[attachimg=1]

I do just that. I don't have a hold fast hole near my vise and I'm avoiding adding one until I'm positive I need it.

 

[ChuckM]

I suppose if the alignment jig and the pin board are held in place by the vise, you can simply hold the tail board by hand and do the scribing. That's actually how people hold the tail board by hand against a handplane or a block to mark the pin.

I use the holdfast because I need that to hold the jig (and it so happens the tail board is there).