Learning to Cut Through Dovetails

I read an article by Frank Klausz, master of the hand cut dovetail, a few years back.  To paraphrase, he said "Quit whining.  Learn to cut to a line, learn to cut straight, and just cut them.  You don't need to measure... just eyeball it and cut them."  After making many practice cuts, I discovered it was much easier for Frank to say than it was for me to do.  Still, I kept at it and it's getting better.  Pictured at left are my first four paractice boards (numbered in chronological order)at attempting to cut "straight and parallel" lines.  By the time I had gotten to S&P 4, it had become more consistent, but as one can see, I still have an occasional problem with parallelism and going below the cut line.

I will say this though.  I've discovered the difference between a good saw and a crap saw is the will to keep trying.  A good saw won't come cheap, but it will cut straight, fast, and accurate to the extent that it's wielded properly, and properly weilding it is the problem of the end user.  I bought a Lie-Nielsen and I like it a lot but there are also great saws available from Wenzloff & Sons, Gramercy, Rob Cosman, and others.  Chris Schwarz has written a good review of Western style dovetail saws on his blog and you may want to check it out before you rush out and buy one.

Ever been movin' along and have one of those "duh" moments? I had one.  Here I am just practicing cutting straight lines when I could be practicing cutting straight "to a line."  So, I made up a saddle square very quickly and made some lines.  Kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

One thing about a good saw... they cut quickly, and as is easily seen in the photo, I've still got a major problem running the saw below the cut line.

Between Frank's article advice and his 3 minute demo, one is led to believe that with a little practice, anyone can build an acceptable set of dovetails in short order.  Well, if anyone knows Frank, tell him I said his "just eyeball it" crap doesn't work unless you've cut about a billion of them.  Granted, I haven't and that's my fault, but it darn sure ain't is easy as Frank makes it look.  However, he's still my hero and I'll keep trying, but I'm gonna buy some dovetail saddles!

My first "just eyeball it" attempt is pictured at left.  Oh yeah, and his "just get a bigger hammer" idea will cause the wood to split if it's off just a tad too much.  Of course, his wasn't and that's one of the reasons he's one of my heros.