Female portion of sliding dovetail.

[custard]

Bridge City Tools manufactured planes for cutting both the male and female parts of a sliding dovetail joint.

http://www.bridgecitytools.com/default/ ... eluxe.html

On the few times I've cut a sliding dovetail I used a dovetail power router cutter for both the male and female components (so at least the angle was identical). Statement of the obvious, but you have to begin with a regular housing or groove to get rid of most of the waste on the female part, and the dovetail cutter only then comes in for the angled section. I've used it for shelving and also for jointing the three splayed feet on a Shaker tripod table to the central stem. On both applications it took about five times longer than I'd budgeted for, so any profit got swallowed up in that one joint. Hey ho.

The inherent problem that I've never satisfactorily resolved is that if it's loose enough to slide then it's too loose to form a really tight joint. I suspect the best solution (which I've never attempted) involves an angled element to the joint meaning it only becomes tight in the final 20 or 30mm, this seems to be the route Bridge City takes.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A dovetail dovetail.

 

[AndyT]

I do agree that the tapered sliding dovetail is much more useful than the straight. The big difference is that you can do a trial fitting and sneak up on a good tight fit. The first time I made straight sliding dovetails was on a mahogany bookcase, about 10 inches deep. (This was in the 80s when mahogany was the ordinary hardwood option at small timber merchants.) Having managed to get the joints together, I could not get them apart again, so they never did get any glue.

If you watch the Roy Underhill video on the tripod table, he gets the tapers in the joints by tapering the central stem, having first cut the joint sides "straight".

 

[woodbrains]

Sorry, double post,

Mike.

 

[woodbrains]

Bridge City Tools manufactured planes for cutting both the male and female parts of a sliding dovetail joint.

http://www.bridgecitytools.com/default/ ... eluxe.html

On the few times I've cut a sliding dovetail I used a dovetail power router cutter for both the male and female components (so at least the angle was identical). Statement of the obvious, but you have to begin with a regular housing or groove to get rid of most of the waste on the female part, and the dovetail cutter only then comes in for the angled section. I've used it for shelving and also for jointing the three splayed feet on a Shaker tripod table to the central stem. On both applications it took about five times longer than I'd budgeted for, so any profit got swallowed up in that one joint. Hey ho.

The inherent problem that I've never satisfactorily resolved is that if it's loose enough to slide then it's too loose to form a really tight joint. I suspect the best solution (which I've never attempted) involves an angled element to the joint meaning it only becomes tight in the final 20 or 30mm, this seems to be the route Bridge City takes.

Hello,
It is interesting to see the male portion of the joint being cut vertically with this set up, whereas it is done with the timber on the flat with the traditional planes. It is also interesting to find that this kit at $682 does not come with the plane! ($259 extra and that still might need cutters and a fence!)

I'm not sure why I've developed a fascination with this joint just lately, it is not as if I can't do them with an electric router, but I like planes. It is fascinating to find that there are still manufactured at sensible user prices by 2 German manufacturers aside from a few boutique makes. I might have to succumb and purchase one, I think an Ulmia.

Mike.

 

[AndyT]

That Bridge City kit makes a Howkins plane look user-friendly and cheap!

 

[custard]

If you watch the Roy Underhill video on the tripod table, he gets the tapers in the joints by tapering the central stem, having first cut the joint sides "straight".

You wouldn't have a link to that by any chance? I've tried searching but without luck.

Thanks

 

[woodbrains]

If you watch the Roy Underhill video on the tripod table, he gets the tapers in the joints by tapering the central stem, having first cut the joint sides "straight".

You wouldn't have a link to that by any chance? I've tried searching but without luck.

Thanks

Hello,

Try this;

http://www.pbs.org/video/woodwrights-sh ... d-table-2/

Though I think the method is more hybrid, dovetail as much as possible, rough out the rest straight, then dovetail the remainder. Roy should slow down a bit, it's not pretty, but method is fine.

Mike.

 

[custard]

Very interesting, thank you.