Wenge and Hickory Using Tapered, Splined Dovetail

[DavidCBaker]

I'm still working on Christmas boxes, trying to make each one with different woods and joints. I decided to try a tapered (1 degree), splined (7 degree) dovetail type joint, making the top and splines out of Wenge and the box itself out of HIckory. Here's the rough box, glued up and ready to wreck (that's what I was afraid of, anyway). This is the first time I've made anything with Wenge or Hickory, and I really loved the process. Hickory, especially, is gorgeous...and hard to find around here, anyway. The lumber yard I bought it from said they get it about once/year.

I cut an extra Wenge piece from which to cut the splines. The grain direction is important if you want them to be more than decorative.

Then it's time to set the left-leaning blade to 7 degrees. Yes, this is set to 14 degrees. I bought the template and jig from http://www.dovetailspline.com and the directions for the thing just plain suck...and are wrong in two places. It says to set the blade at 14 degrees, so I did and cut a bunch of splines, only to find that it's one-half that. And one of the jigs was offset 90 degrees in the wrong direction. Talk about messing with my head.

I used this magnet to keep me from pushing too far and slicing up the jig.

Here's what I had to make to get this thing to work. You slice a spline off, flip the wood over and cut another one off, etc. The poplar stop on the left side helped me keep the width of the spline exactly right. You can see the cut splines to the left of the blade. All in all it worked great.

Then a test, which works well in a 2x4. Cheap and not as hard to make as a box! The price of the kit from the Kehoe fellow (link above) is worth it for this jig. The rest of the kit is poorly done with inaccurate instructions. I don't know if you can see or not, but the splines are tapered at a 1 degree angle. So they fit in only one direction, and very tightly. They have to be hammered in, actually.

Fits beautifully.

Time to take a deep breath, cross my fingers and cut the box.

Using this bit and the MFK700.

Here it is before I remove the jig/template.

Here's a shot of the tapered spline glued in place. You can go very sparingly with the glue, as almost all of it gets squeezed out.

I'll spare you pictures of cutting the splines proud and all the sanding (RO 125 and DX 93) and just present the finished box.

 

[spikfot]

Interesting stuff, a while back I made a variation of this in MDF, it worked alright. The degree problem is a little funny, why do they call a 7deg. cut a 14?. Ive made 14s in very thin material but the greater the true angle, the weaker the DTs actually are as more end grain fibers are exposed in the cuts.
I've beem on the hunt for a few years for a DT bit that has the smallest possible small diameter to the cutting edge- nearest the shaft-without being dangerous. In my opinion this gives a more custom appearance to the DTs

Nice picts!  

 

[DavidCBaker]

Thanks! It's fun to look at the joint now that it's finished. It takes on an almost impossible nature unless you know the steps used to make it.

 

[-The Dutch Guy-]

Hey David,

That's a really nice connection you've made there!! I love it! The different types of wood really show of in your project.

I'm relatively new at the FOG, just looking around at the stuff everybody makes. I actually never heard
of the FOG (because I'm from Holland) till a few month's ago, when I was searching the internet for fellow woodworkers!

Keep up the good work!

Rene

 

[DavidCBaker]

Thanks, Rene. I've learned a ton by hanging around here, including learning about this jig from nickao, the apparent curmudgeon.  ;D

 

[nickao]

Got to love a guy watching the football games while woodworking. 

 

[DavidCBaker]

Maybe if I concentrated instead of doing that I'd make fewer mistakes.  [tongue]

 

[nickao]

Several years back when the HD LCD's first were getting bigger I went and got one. The wife came home and asked why the new TV was not set up yet. I told her it was set up and right where I wanted it. Of course I mounted it on the wall in the shop! Then I got 3 big monitors for the office, a triple 30in monitor setup for the computer(one is usually on a TV station). She still is watching the old school tube in the living room.  

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Another great project.  I love the way you wrapped the grain around the box.  The contrast between the wenge and the hickory is wonderful.  

I used to have that jig (probably still somewhere in the shop if I could find it [unsure].  As I recall, the hole and the spline are tapered very slightly aren't they.  

Beautiful piece.  Thanks for posting.

 

[DavidCBaker]

As I recall, the hole and the spline are tapered very slightly aren't they.

Yes, that's correct. Both at 1 degree. You have to take that into account when cutting the splines and when cutting into the box. The router guide fits tightly on one end but then has some movement on the other.

Thanks for the compliment!

 

[Corwin]

Did you set your dovetail to cut a little too deep by accident, or did you intend for the spline to be a little short of the corner?

Either way, I like the box you've made.  [smile]

 

[DavidCBaker]

Did you set your dovetail to cut a little too deep by accident, or did you intend for the spline to be a little short of the corner?

Yeah, let's say that. I planned it that way.  [big grin]

The truth is that the bearing guide on the bit was so high on the shaft that this was the shallowest I could cut it and still retain the ability to follow the template. Either that or I'm just missing something in the whole setup. The bit came with the kit, but who knows if that was the right one.

 

[waynelang2001]

Did you set your dovetail to cut a little too deep by accident, or did you intend for the spline to be a little short of the corner?

Yeah, let's say that. I planned it that way.  [big grin]

The truth is that the bearing guide on the bit was so high on the shaft that this was the shallowest I could cut it and still retain the ability to follow the template. Either that or I'm just missing something in the whole setup. The bit came with the kit, but who knows if that was the right one.

Maybe if you see this happen again you should use a round over bit or cut a 45 degree on the corner to try hide that you came up short. I dont think it would take away from your design. Maybe you could still do it and just refinish.

 

[DavidCBaker]

That's a good idea. I might try that on my test piece.

 

[Corwin]

Did you set your dovetail to cut a little too deep by accident, or did you intend for the spline to be a little short of the corner?

Yeah, let's say that. I planned it that way.  [big grin]

The truth is that the bearing guide on the bit was so high on the shaft that this was the shallowest I could cut it and still retain the ability to follow the template. Either that or I'm just missing something in the whole setup. The bit came with the kit, but who knows if that was the right one.

Maybe if you see this happen again you should use a round over bit or cut a 45 degree on the corner to try hide that you came up short. I dont think it would take away from your design. Maybe you could still do it and just refinish.

Rounding over the corner or even cutting it at a 45 would take away from look too much in my opinion -- especially since David has cut the side pieces such that the grain wraps around the corners.  No, in the future I would simply use a thicker stock (or make a glue up) for the splines so that they will be tall enough to fill the dovetail completely.

 

[Hoover]

Did you set your dovetail to cut a little too deep by accident, or did you intend for the spline to be a little short of the corner?

Yeah, let's say that. I planned it that way.  [big grin]

The truth is that the bearing guide on the bit was so high on the shaft that this was the shallowest I could cut it and still retain the ability to follow the template. Either that or I'm just missing something in the whole setup. The bit came with the kit, but who knows if that was the right one.

Shim under the jig before you clamp it.  Using various sizes, you could change the spline to whatever you want and use that bit and jig.

 

[mouppe]

How about an inlay running down the side? I would make the most of the opportunity to correct the shortness of the spline and use it to try something new such as an inlay or a bead.

You may like the results more than the original design, who knows? And if not, at least you can say you tried something new. 

 

[nickao]

How did those splines end up so shy? Usually they are long(or deep) and you have to lop them off.

Not my pic:

 

[Jay Knoll]

David

You're getting enough advice about the size/depth of the spline so I won't pile on to that conversation.

But, I think the box would look much better if you had 2 (or maybe 3) splines on each corner.

Jay

 

[gojira]

Would using a guide bushing instead of a bearing on the bit allow more depth control for the dovetail slot? I noticed that you mentioned poor instructions. Some years back, when I purchased the Kehoe Jig, I also got the video. The guy is a little repetitive in glorifying the "1 degree angle" but the presentation on how to use his product is fairly instructive. Your project turned out marvelous and I think Mr Kehoe himself would agree on that point.