Dovetail Saw TPI

[Joe]

I've just come across an old article in the Fine Woodworking archive in which the author, Mario Rodriguez, recommends reducing the tpi of a dovetail saw from the usual 20 or so down to between 9 and 12 tpi. Combining this with a reduced set he appears, from the accompanying photo, to get an impressively fine kerf. Does anyone have any experience of this kind of tooth configuration? Might it be advantageous to use a rip-cut tenon saw (given the fewer tpi) with a fine set to cut dovetails?

 

[MIGNAL]

Reducing the set will give you a finer finish but at the risk of the saw binding in the cut. On thin sectioned wood and with cuts that aren't very deep you should be OK. That's why my Roberts and Lee 26 TPI Gents saw gives a planed surface on endgrain, I'm not sure if it's got any set at all but anything deeper than 1 cm and it binds badly. A saw at 12 TPI with very little set is more of a specialised tool and probably only suitable for dovetails or when cutting thin sectioned wood.

 

[David C]

I think that 9 to 11 TPI is going to be far too coarse for thin hardwood.

USA drawer making tradition seems to be for 1/2" softer timber sides.

One thing rarely mentioned is 'carcass dovetailing'

When training I worked on a vestment chest for a church in Appleby. This involved single lap dovetails in 1 1/2" oak. This work clearly requires less TPI than 5/16" drawer sides.