Which dovetail saw?

[fergusburger]

I am going to learn to hand-cut dovetails, and so am in the market for a dovetail saw. From what I read, I am probably looking for thin kerf, set to rip rather than crosscut, many teeth vs few. Some of the saws cut on the pull with a straight handle (Japanese style), others on the push and are formed to the hand (English style). Some are expensive, some prices are only in the teens. What has worked for you?

Supplementary question: can you recommend a dovetail template that has worked well for you? I'm currently looking at a set from Lee Valley for around $20 that will arry a square line over the end grain, but perhaps a $10 set and a try square would do the same job.

Thanks,

Tom

[final_t]

Check out the book "The Complete Dovetail" by Ian Kirby - it might help you to decide as to which one.

[Whit]

Dove tail saw

Check out the April 2006 issue of Fine Woodworking. There is an article testing different types of saws. Some very good info there.
Whit

[Tom Miller]

I decided to buy one of those cheap, uhhh, inexpensive (<$20) Gent's saws (10" rip, 16 tpi?) and get proficient at sharpening. So far, I've only played around with it a bit, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how close I can saw to the line with it.

It really needs sharpening out of the box, but it only takes about 4-6 strokes per tooth. Then it cuts much better. I've played a little with adjusting the set just by taking a stone along the sides of the teeth. The blade stock is ~20mils, and the kerf is now ~25 mils. I'll have to buy the saw set pretty soon.

This is the first time I've ever tried sharpening a saw, and experimenting with set, and it's affect on drifting from the line, etc. I didn't want to do this with a >$100 saw.

Regards,
Tom

[jdschulteis]

I remember seeing an article where an instructor who has the students in his hand-made dovetail classes try both said most of them wound up preferring the dozuki. I like my flush cut pull saw, so I've decided to try the Japanese style first.

[wreckwriter]

I thought dovetails were cut with a router? No?

[scorrpio]

I personally prefer the Japanese-style pullsaw.

Cutting dovetails with a router is faster, especially on a jig, but a lot of fine work is still done with a saw and chisel.

[LarryG]

Dovetails and routers and jigs, oh my.

I thought dovetails were cut with a router? No?

The ancient Egyptians were perhaps the earliest known practitioners of dovetail joinery, and a router is certainly what THEY used. (Probably a Porter-Cable 690, right, Loring? )

Ahem.

There are a lot of ways to cut them. Neanders (woodworkers who prefer Ye Olde Ways, using only hand tools) cut beautifully tapered ones using saws and chisels. Normites (the "More Power!" and "More Power Tools!" majority, which takes in most of us here) are more apt to use a router and jig, especially for joints that are not normally visible, such as a drawer. There's really nothing wrong with this except that many jigs can provide only a uniformly-spaced row of pins and tails that look like they were cut, well, by a machine.

One excellent compromise approach is to use a band saw for as much of the work as possible and then finish them off by hand. A lot of people think band saws are just for curves and resawing but they're capable of semi-automating a lot of what used to be handwork in a way that makes it virtually impossible to tell from a joint cut entirely by hand.

[Tom Miller]

I should mention a couple reasons why I chose a "backsaw" over a Dozuki (at least for now). The rip Dozuki I tried did cut rather nicely, with a very narrow kerf, but it took forever to make a cut compared to the moderately well-tuned Gent's saw.

Secondly, I knew I would be able to climb up the learning curve in saw tuning with a backsaw. Not so much with the Dozuki.

I do have a couple (albeit cheap) pull saws around -- I like 'em. For flush cut, they're the only game in town, too.

Regards,
Tom

[fergusburger]

Thanks for the help

Thanks for your responses. The "steel-backed dozuki" in the Lee Valley tool catalog (item E, p95) caught my eye...I always fall for marketing ploys like "best value we have ever offered". Whether I get that one or another, my guess is that I'll probably start with a Japanese style pull saw of some sort.

Thanks again for your help.

- Tom