Best dovetail saws?

[Jameshow]

What are the best dovetail saws

Perhaps two categories below £50 and above??

As far as the UK made saws go there are Thomas flynn, Footprint and crown tools.

S and J are imported I believe.

Any thoughts.

Cheers James

 

[marcros]

I would suggest that you do below £66.84 and above.

The veritas used to get a lot of recommendations on here Veritas Dovetail Saw 230mm x 14tpi I have never used it but it is a decent benchmark for you. The negatives were aesthetic, although I actually quite like it.

vintage and learn to sharpen it is also an option, say £15 and another few quid for a saw file, plus your time.

 

[luke burgess]

I have a few but never reach for the modern ones,
my go to is an old ward,14ish tip early to mid 20th century flea market find about ten years ago had to file the teeth of and start again.
just feels right in my hand.

Im not sure id trust anything new less than £50 without trying it.
Look for an old English cast steel plate ,handle that fits your hand and is weighted ok and sharpen it (your going to have to keep it sharp anyhow).
you'll probably pick something nice up for £25 or less,

good luck

 

[Jarno]

I have the Veritas, and like it a lot. Also have a razorsaw that's sometimes also advertised as a dovetail saw (the thin flushcutter), but I think it is too flimsy and thin for a dovetail saw, also not keen on a pull action for dovetails.
Also have a gents saw somewhere, which I might give a try (bought it to saw guitar fret slots).

 

[Sean33]

What are the best dovetail saws

Perhaps two categories below £50 and above??

As far as the UK made saws go there are Thomas flynn, Footprint and crown tools.

S and J are imported I believe.

Any thoughts.

Cheers James

I have the Veritas dovetail and crosscut saws, would recommend both but if your budget allows Bad Axe and Pax are lovely to use

 

[Blackswanwood]

I was given one of these for my birthday.

https://www.workshopheaven.com/gyokucho-297-compact-dozuki-evagrip-180mm.html
Having previously been sceptical (if not dismissive!) of Japanese saws I am now converted.

 

[thetyreman]

there are loads and loads of them on ebay, just seach for 'dovetail saw' in collectables and you'll find loads of old ones for a bargain.

 

[Peter Sefton]

The Veritas are very good value for money, my student tool kits have three Veritas saws the 20TPI rip Dovetail, the 16TPI crosscut Dovetail and the 13TPI rip Carcass saw. I also have these for demo purposes but prefer the heavier Pax 1776 saws for my own work.

 

[richarddownunder]

I have the Pax 1776 rip. Excellent saw and a real pleasure to use (and look at). I also have an old Groves which is also excellent and has a great feel. The difference is that I spent a few (happy) hours restoring the Groves. So, it is whether or not you want to do that. I completely re-toothed mine which is quite fiddly.
Cheers
Richard

 

[NickM]

I was given one of these for my birthday.

https://www.workshopheaven.com/gyokucho-297-compact-dozuki-evagrip-180mm.html
Having previously been sceptical (if not dismissive!) of Japanese saws I am now converted.

I was also given a Japanese dovetail was for my birthday. I was also sceptical but I've been cutting some dovetails with it over the weekend and it works really well. It cuts faster and finer than my Veritas dovetail saw (which I do like). The only thing I need to get used to is that the blade is wider at the tip so if you keep the saw level you end up cutting too deep on the back of your piece...

 

[SteL]

I've been looking for a dovetail saw recently but I've struggled to find anywhere that has a stock of Pax 1776 or the Lie-Nielson dovetail saws.

 

[Blackswanwood]

I've been looking for a dovetail saw recently but I've struggled to find anywhere that has a stock of Pax 1776 or the Lie-Nielson dovetail saws.

It looks like the Pax Dovetail saw may be available direct on the Flinn-Garlick website. Of course it may be they haven't updated their availability!

Cheers

 

[SteL]

It looks like the Pax Dovetail saw may be available direct on the Flinn-Garlick website. Of course it may be they haven't updated their availability!

Cheers

Thanks. I didn't think of trying them directly. It says most saws are made to order so there might be a short delay. I'll contact them and see what that delay actually is.

 

[billw]

My Veritas one is by far the best saw I've ever used.

 

[Droogs]

I'm quite happy using my Crown for larger dovetails and my Zonasaw for very small stuff

 

[Peter Sefton]

I've been looking for a dovetail saw recently but I've struggled to find anywhere that has a stock of Pax 1776 or the Lie-Nielson dovetail saws.

We have stock of the 1776 Dovetail saw in 20 TPI both rip and cc or the 10" 15 TPI rip tenon saw which is great for thicker dovetails.

 

[SteL]

We have stock of the 1776 Dovetail saw in 20 TPI both rip and cc or the 10" 15 TPI rip tenon saw which is great for thicker dovetails.

Thanks, Peter. I don't suppose it comes with a guarantee that all dovetails created with it will be perfect? I'll order that now, cheers.

 

[AESamuel]

Another vote for Japanese dovetail saw. Gyokucho are great. Either the 311, 372 for fine cuts or the 303 if you want a bit more "grr".

 

[Popey]

I have the 20TPI Veritas dovetail saw and I am very pleased with it. Its capability far exceeds my dovetailing ability

 

[Peter Sefton]

I have the 20TPI Veritas dovetail saw and I am very pleased with it. Its capability far exceeds my dovetailing ability

It's a great saw!