I've been hand cutting dovetails today with the LV dovetail guide i got for
christmas . The LV dovetail saw and guide (
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...gory=1,42 884 )
are simply great. I've prefered to hand cut dovetails for some time cuz
setting up the router and jig to do it can be a real PITA. This jig (and a
good set of sharp chisels) made it much easier and more accurate than
before. In fact, I dare say now i can hand cut the dovetails for a couple
of drawers faster than with a router and jig, taking into account the time
it takes to set the router up (although if i had many drawers to do, i'd set
up the router jig). For me, the learning curve consisted of making a mark
on the jig for which side to use for the pins, and which side to use for the
tails. After that, i only had to make sure the teeth on the saw were
pointed toward the wood before i started making the cut
I also got the LV sharpening jig and angle finder which i used to scary
sharp my chisels before cutting the dovetails. My hand planes are scary
sharp now as well. Don't know why i went so long without one of these, they
are simply EXCELLENT.
As some others mentioned, i too got the cabinet scraper 101 kit. To
date, i've been burnishing mine with an old push rod So far, I've had a
little difficulty in determining how hard and how many strokes to make with
the burnisher for a good burr, but have narrowed it down and have gotten a
good burr on a couple of them. I haven't spent a great deal of time messing
with it yet, but the goal for tomorrow is to refine the methods until they
work better. Any info would be appreciated. TIA --dave

"Dave Jackson" wrote in message
ink.net...
I've been hand cutting dovetails today with the LV dovetail guide i got
for
christmas . The LV dovetail saw and guide (

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...gory=1,42 884 )
are simply great. I've prefered to hand cut dovetails for some time cuz
setting up the router and jig to do it can be a real PITA. This jig (and a
good set of sharp chisels) made it much easier and more accurate than
before. In fact, I dare say now i can hand cut the dovetails for a couple
of drawers faster than with a router and jig, taking into account the time
it takes to set the router up (although if i had many drawers to do, i'd
set
up the router jig). For me, the learning curve consisted of making a mark
on the jig for which side to use for the pins, and which side to use for
the
tails. After that, i only had to make sure the teeth on the saw were
pointed toward the wood before i started making the cut
I also got the LV sharpening jig and angle finder which i used to
scary
sharp my chisels before cutting the dovetails. My hand planes are scary
sharp now as well. Don't know why i went so long without one of these,
they
are simply EXCELLENT.
As some others mentioned, i too got the cabinet scraper 101 kit. To
date, i've been burnishing mine with an old push rod So far, I've had a
little difficulty in determining how hard and how many strokes to make
with
the burnisher for a good burr, but have narrowed it down and have gotten a
good burr on a couple of them. I haven't spent a great deal of time
messing
with it yet, but the goal for tomorrow is to refine the methods until they
work better. Any info would be appreciated. TIA --dave



Hi Dave -

Glad you're happy with the new tools...!

As far as burnishing scrapers go - the most common "newbie" errors are -

1) Not preparing/squaring the scraper edge
2) too much pressure on the burnisher
3) too great an angle

File the edge, and stone the faces of the scraper - you want perfectly
smooth 90 degree corners to start with...

You can burnish just fine with as much pressure as you'd feel comfortable
applying with 1 hand...or - hold your burnisher between the thumb and
forfinger of both hands (harder to apply too much pressure)...

Start with angles of 5-10 degrees only....you should be able to feel a hook
with your fingernail...

It's a real "AHA" moment when you get it!

Cheers -

Rob

Thanks for the advice! The LV burnisher doesn't need nearly as much
pressure to roll a good burr as the push rod i'd previously been using did.
Scrapers are A-1 now. --dave


"Rob Lee" wrote in message
...

"Dave Jackson" wrote in message
ink.net...
I've been hand cutting dovetails today with the LV dovetail guide i got
for
christmas . The LV dovetail saw and guide (

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...gory=1,42 884 )
are simply great. I've prefered to hand cut dovetails for some time cuz
setting up the router and jig to do it can be a real PITA. This jig (and
a
good set of sharp chisels) made it much easier and more accurate than
before. In fact, I dare say now i can hand cut the dovetails for a
couple
of drawers faster than with a router and jig, taking into account the
time
it takes to set the router up (although if i had many drawers to do, i'd
set
up the router jig). For me, the learning curve consisted of making a
mark
on the jig for which side to use for the pins, and which side to use for
the
tails. After that, i only had to make sure the teeth on the saw were
pointed toward the wood before i started making the cut
I also got the LV sharpening jig and angle finder which i used to
scary
sharp my chisels before cutting the dovetails. My hand planes are scary
sharp now as well. Don't know why i went so long without one of these,
they
are simply EXCELLENT.
As some others mentioned, i too got the cabinet scraper 101 kit. To
date, i've been burnishing mine with an old push rod So far, I've had a
little difficulty in determining how hard and how many strokes to make
with
the burnisher for a good burr, but have narrowed it down and have gotten
a
good burr on a couple of them. I haven't spent a great deal of time
messing
with it yet, but the goal for tomorrow is to refine the methods until
they
work better. Any info would be appreciated. TIA --dave



Hi Dave -

Glad you're happy with the new tools...!

As far as burnishing scrapers go - the most common "newbie" errors are -

1) Not preparing/squaring the scraper edge
2) too much pressure on the burnisher
3) too great an angle

File the edge, and stone the faces of the scraper - you want perfectly
smooth 90 degree corners to start with...

You can burnish just fine with as much pressure as you'd feel comfortable
applying with 1 hand...or - hold your burnisher between the thumb and
forfinger of both hands (harder to apply too much pressure)...

Start with angles of 5-10 degrees only....you should be able to feel a
hook
with your fingernail...

It's a real "AHA" moment when you get it!

Cheers -

Rob