Veritas Dovetail Saw

[Mr Ed]

On offer for £36.98 at Axminster (1 week only) for anyone who is thinking of buying.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/article-Veri ... ailsaw.htm

Cheers, Ed

 

[lurker]

Thanks

Just grabbed one :lol:

 

[TrimTheKing]

You won't be disappointed lurker. I am very happy with it, and those who tried it out at The Great Northern Bash had nothing but good words to say about it.

For price/performance value I don't think you will be able to match it...

Cheers

Mark

 

[Waka]

Got mine from CHT a while ago and have to say I prefer it over the LN.

 

[Peter T]

On offer for £36.98 at Axminster (1 week only) for anyone who is thinking of buying.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/article-Veri ... ailsaw.htm

Cheers, Ed

Just ordered one, plus a few other little items, but these were so I wouldn't have to pay postage..................................you understand, don't you

 

[lurker]

You people might find this hard to believe, but I got serious about woodwork 3-4 years ago & this is my very first brand new handtool :lol:

I was lucky enough to inherit a big tool collection and have since then bought car booter stuff because I like resurrecting & using old tools.

I have bought quite a few tools with tails however

 

[cambournepete]

Just ordered one, plus a few other little items, but these were so I wouldn't have to pay postage..................................you understand, don't you

Ditto (but out of stock ) and yes, I understand

 

[lurker]

Mine arrived yesterday :lol:

Its certainly nice looking and excellent value for money(nearest new equivelent must be at least double cost).

BUT

Maybe folks here hyped it up too much, because I'm not as excited about it as I had hoped.

I suppose its because I have two old but good and well sharpened (not by me!) brass backed ones of my Dads. To be honest I did not need it and was seduced by the "glamour".

Maybe after some use I'll change my tune?

 

[woodbloke]

Mine arrived yesterday :lol:

Its certainly nice looking and excellent value for money(nearest new equivelent must be at least double cost).

BUT

Maybe folks here hyped it up too much, because I'm not as excited about it as I had hoped.

I suppose its because I have two old but good and well sharpened (not by me!) brass backed ones of my Dads. To be honest I did not need it and was seduced by the "glamour".

Maybe after some use I'll change my tune?

I think when you use it you'll see just how good it really is and at the price that LV knock 'em out for it's gota be the best value toolie bit of kit out there :wink: - Rob

 

[Peter T]

Parcel just arrived....................off to the garage to play

 

[Peter T]

OK, so here is my first ever attempt at hand cut dovetails, well half a joint anyway. Can't remember if these are the tails or the pins: -

Obviously I still have a lot to learn, but I also have a question for all the D/T experts out there.

What's the best way to remove the scrap material from this size of D/T. I was going to try coping out most of the waste and then cleaning up with a chisel but this seemed too much like hard work so I just went for it from both sides with chisel and mallet.

This seemed to work OK except that, after chopping down so far, the last piece in the centre broke out, taking a chunk of the end grain at the bottom of the D/T. Obviously when the joint is assembled this won't be visible but I just wondered if this was normal?

By the way, the saw is fantastic, very flattering to my humble skills.

Thanks,

 

[Handworkfan]

What's the best way to remove the scrap material from this size of D/T. I was going to try coping out most of the waste and then cleaning up with a chisel but this seemed too much like hard work so I just went for it from both sides with chisel and mallet.

This seemed to work OK except that, after chopping down so far, the last piece in the centre broke out, taking a chunk of the end grain at the bottom of the D/T. Obviously when the joint is assembled this won't be visible but I just wondered if this was normal?

By the way, the saw is fantastic, very flattering to my humble skills.

Thanks,

It's hard to avoid some breakout, but it can be minimised and rendered unimportant. Firstly, ensure a razor-sharp chisel - a lot of breakout problems with mallet and chisel are down to the blunt edge and excessive force.
Take very light cuts, through to about half-way and turn the timber fairly frequently so you're working from both sides and the leverage exerted on the waste that's coming away is minimal. When you get close to the line, start taking ultra-find cuts to ensure that teh wedging effect doesn't drive the chisel back past the line.
Any minor breakout you get should be in the centre fo the socket where it won't be visible and since end-grain doesn't glue well anyway and it's the sides of the sockets that do the holding it shouldn't affect the srength of the joint.

 

[Peter T]

What's the best way to remove the scrap material from this size of D/T. I was going to try coping out most of the waste and then cleaning up with a chisel but this seemed too much like hard work so I just went for it from both sides with chisel and mallet.

This seemed to work OK except that, after chopping down so far, the last piece in the centre broke out, taking a chunk of the end grain at the bottom of the D/T. Obviously when the joint is assembled this won't be visible but I just wondered if this was normal?

By the way, the saw is fantastic, very flattering to my humble skills.

Thanks,

It's hard to avoid some breakout, but it can be minimised and rendered unimportant. Firstly, ensure a razor-sharp chisel - a lot of breakout problems with mallet and chisel are down to the blunt edge and excessive force.
Take very light cuts, through to about half-way and turn the timber fairly frequently so you're working from both sides and the leverage exerted on the waste that's coming away is minimal. When you get close to the line, start taking ultra-find cuts to ensure that teh wedging effect doesn't drive the chisel back past the line.
Any minor breakout you get should be in the centre fo the socket where it won't be visible and since end-grain doesn't glue well anyway and it's the sides of the sockets that do the holding it shouldn't affect the srength of the joint.

Thanks for that.

On reflection I was probably a bit brutal with the chopping, and I'm sure the chisels could be sharper

I'll get the water stones out and then try again.

Thanks,

 

[bobscarle]

Use a coping saw or fret saw to remove most of the waste, don't go too close to the line. Use a sharp chisel to clean up working from the inside first, cut to about half way. Turn over and clean up from the outside. The reason behind this is the outside is normally the "presentation" side.

Bob

 

[Handworkfan]

A fretsaw will generally serve best - Classic Hand Tools sell one as used by Rob Cosman on his DVD, and that is fine enough to get into the saw kerf without risk of damaging the tails. If using a coarser coping saw, you can avoid that problem by cutting down the centre fo the waste andn then working out to either side.
There's little more satisfying than a really good hand-cut dovetail - good luck with it.

 

[Peter T]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I've tried a cheapo coping saw and didn't get on with it. Sounds like a frett saw may be the answer.

Thanks,

 

[bugbear]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I've tried a cheapo coping saw and didn't get on with it. Sounds like a frett saw may be the answer.

Thanks,

For very small pins, the teeth of coping saw are too coarse; in any case you definitely need a rigid coping saw frame - a slack blade is horrid.

Alternatively, a "jewellers" or "piercing" saw is what's need.

A "fret saw" would be most cumbersome, since the frame is at least 12" deep, to allow the cutting of .... frets.

BugBear

 

[newt]

I am with Bugbear on this, I find the piercing saw perfect for small dovetails.

 

[woodbloke]

I am with Bugbear on this, I find the piercing saw perfect for small dovetails.

Agree...piercing saw is the one to buy for dovetails - Rob