"william kossack" wrote in message
. ..
one of my reasons for thinking of using glue blocks is to save exotic
wood.

Another is a constant problem of not getting a good tenon angle. I'm
debating getting one of the dovetail chisels to help get the angle right
when I cut a tenon. Any comments on them?

I ground one of those scrapers from my carbon steel tools to do it. I
"sharpen" by running the top flat on sandpaper. Works fine for recesses.
Tenons just work to a cardboard template. Or you can check and see if your
skew's ground at the right angle.