# Dovetail Plane



## ac445ab (27 Jul 2012)

I just finished restoring this German old dovetail plane. It cuts very well and produces a clean result. 
The first pic is the plane as came to me from ebay. 






















This has an adjustable depth stop also, a feature not so common for dovetail planes but very useful. 

Here, its story: 
http://woodworkingbyhand2.blogspot.it/2 ... ne_27.html 

Ciao, 
Giuliano


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## AndyT (27 Jul 2012)

I really like that Giulano. An unusual old tool, found by someone with the ability to research it properly and do a wonderful restoration back to working order.

Have you had a chance to try it working cross-grain yet? It looks like it would work well, for shelf ends and suchlike, with its skewed blade and nicker.


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## jimi43 (27 Jul 2012)

WOW....Giuliano

That was my remark...out loud...as I scrolled from the first picture down.

That is a superbly crafted and sensitive restoration...back to a working tool which just about sums up my idea of the perfect job!

You do however realise don't you that I am now on yet another woodie quest and I hold you totally responsible my friend! :mrgreen: 

Superb work as usual! =D> =D> =D> 

Jimi


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## ac445ab (27 Jul 2012)

AndyT":1y1b8c4i said:


> Have you had a chance to try it working cross-grain yet? It looks like it would work well, for shelf ends and suchlike, with its skewed blade and nicker.


 
I tried today. Clean cut cross-grain too :wink: 






Thanks for appreciating my job. 
Ciao 
Giuliano


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## ac445ab (27 Jul 2012)

jimi43":3dke15c0 said:


> You do however realise don't you that I am now on yet another woodie quest and I hold you totally responsible my friend! :mrgreen:
> 
> Jimi


 
Then, do not look at my next posts. I refuse any responsibility :mrgreen: 
Thanks
Giuliano


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## Tierney (31 Jul 2012)

Very nice find and restoration.

DT


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## bugbear (1 Aug 2012)

Great restoration, and an interesting tool design.

Nice to compare with this:

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTo ... Plane.html

And one for the infill fans:

http://traditional-handplanes.com/GFTH_ ... ail-plane/

(a dovetailed dovetail plane!)

BugBear


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## ac445ab (9 Aug 2012)

Here is the female plane too:





















The cut on the beech is good. I think this tool can be useful for long sliding dovetail joints.

More here:
http://woodworkingbyhand2.blogspot.it/2012/08/a-female-for-dovetail-plane.html


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## jimi43 (10 Aug 2012)

Ok...that's it! 8) 

Before I make my little brass and steel mitre plane..I will be making a pair of these.

I love sliding dovetails...very elegant and this is an equally fine solution to creating them.

I like Derek's approach too....I missed this so thanks goes to BB for reminding me.

Cheers Giuliano....something to keep me busy in my "retirement!" :mrgreen: 

Jimi


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## pedder (10 Aug 2012)

very cool. Do you start the female part with a straight rabbet or bare wood?

Cheers 
Pedder

Edit: OK, I should have followed the link:


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## Philipp (10 Aug 2012)

Great job, Giulano!

But tell me: how do you tackle the thing with the tapered joint? Normally, the dovetail groove is slightly tapered to give a tight fit. Do ou taper the male part instead or do you cut a tapered groove with your guide fitted to lines not parallel to each other?

Regards, Philipp


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## ac445ab (10 Aug 2012)

Philipp":4yirwe8r said:


> Great job, Giulano!
> 
> But tell me: how do you tackle the thing with the tapered joint? Normally, the dovetail groove is slightly tapered to give a tight fit. Do ou taper the male part instead or do you cut a tapered groove with your guide fitted to lines not parallel to each other?
> 
> Regards, Philipp


 
Ciao Philipp, 
For a tapered dovetail joint I would trace the lines on the groove not parallel (the only limit is that the minimal dovetail width must be inferior to the blade width). 
For the male, you can first cut it straight, so taper to not parallel lines with few other plane shots (following pics). 











Giuliano


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## jimi43 (10 Aug 2012)

Hi Giuliano

Just a quick question. What angle is the sole set at from the side on the male one?

Cheers

Jim


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## ac445ab (10 Aug 2012)

jimi43":5qmlisvs said:


> Hi Giuliano
> 
> Just a quick question. What angle is the sole set at from the side on the male one?
> 
> ...



It's 78° and it depends from the male plane.
Cheers
Giuliano


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## jimi43 (10 Aug 2012)

ac445ab":1g7gqdpu said:


> jimi43":1g7gqdpu said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Giuliano
> ...



Actually Giuliano...I was just being stupid!  

After having read through your blog and Derek's again...it all became clear...silly me!

Thanks for the confirmation...

Jim


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## Sheffield Tony (15 Feb 2013)

I'm thinking over designs for a bookcase at the moment, and feeling slightly tempted to use it as an excuse to need to make a plane of this sort ... I hope no one minds me digging up this old thread.

Lots of questions come to my mind. Firstly, 78 degrees... That would seem to cut the dovetail sides at 12 degrees, which seems quite steep (1 in 6 being about 8 degrees at my rough mental reckoning) - are sliding dovetails normally cut at a steeper angle ?

A couple of things relating to the skew of the cutter too; firstly, if I'm not mistaken the skew is the opposite way around to a normal, right handed skew rebate plane - is there a reason for that ? Normally it is skewed so as to pull the fence up against the workpiece, I thought. My second thought on skew, is is it actually needed ? Since the sole is angled, in combination with the bedding angle of the plane, won't this naturally give a cut skewed at about the same angle as the dovetail's slope ?


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## ac445ab (18 Feb 2013)

Sheffield Tony":rkqgper2 said:


> I'm thinking over designs for a bookcase at the moment, and feeling slightly tempted to use it as an excuse to need to make a plane of this sort ... I hope no one minds me digging up this old thread.
> 
> Lots of questions come to my mind. Firstly, 78 degrees... That would seem to cut the dovetail sides at 12 degrees, which seems quite steep (1 in 6 being about 8 degrees at my rough mental reckoning) - are sliding dovetails normally cut at a steeper angle ?
> 
> A couple of things relating to the skew of the cutter too; firstly, if I'm not mistaken the skew is the opposite way around to a normal, right handed skew rebate plane - is there a reason for that ? Normally it is skewed so as to pull the fence up against the workpiece, I thought. My second thought on skew, is is it actually needed ? Since the sole is angled, in combination with the bedding angle of the plane, won't this naturally give a cut skewed at about the same angle as the dovetail's slope ?


 
Hi Tony, 
sorry, only now I saw your reply.... 
The 78° angle was for matching the male plane. This angle is variable. ECE dovetail planes have a 80,5°, the Ulmia ones 73° 
http://www.ulmia.de/English/Ulmia-Hobel ... nfacheisen 
http://www.fine-tools.com/divhob.htm 
But I don't know why these differences. 
For the skewed blade, the left skew orientation is for pushing the shaves in the opposite direction of the wooden guide. 






If I understood well your second question (I am a beginner student of English), I don't believe the effect of angled sole was the same as the skewed blade.


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## Sheffield Tony (19 Feb 2013)

Ah, so it is skewed opposite to the way I expected. Looking at your photo helps; I guess it would reduce the risk of undercutting the guide and making a loose joint.

Thanks for that Giuliano.


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