DT challenge - help needed

[bgeva]

I needed a utility storage box for my new DT saw from The Two Lawyers. So what is better than a nice dovetailed box? However, if this is for “internal use” I decided to challenge myself into new territory – both combo and London-pattern DTs. Here is a ready to mate side (tails, about 2" total width):



And this brings me to the problem – how to mark the pins – even my thinnest Czech Edge marking knife



does not fit into the tiny London tails. At the best I can mark something towards the tail end, but being tight I can’t be sure it is even marking along the real side of the tail…
Any suggestions? For the first try I marked/guessed part of the side and then extended it with a ruler, but I really can’t be sure it is correct.

Second challenge is removing the waste between the pins, especially at the back of the short ones. I am doing it similar to half-blind DTs after using the fret saw to cut the majority of the waste out. But maybe there is another way to do it?

PS: - The Ultimate DT saw from the Two Lawyers with extra thin plate is SWEEEEET!..

Thanks,
BG

[Jonathan S]

Nice! Try using your dovetail saw to mark the pins. Set it in the kerf and drag it back across the end grain of the pin board a couple of times. I took a dovetail class from St. Roy one time, and he had us mark the pins that way.

Jonathan

[bgeva]

Interesting... This will leave marks on the pins though, so you need to keep them higher than needed and flatten afterwards. Also, sawing will need to leave the full mark, not splitting it.

I will try the next one. Thanks!

BG

[Rob Young]

Long, thin snap-off blade knife, such as this. You will need to account for the two-sided bevel but not that difficult.

[EricU]

that should work. When I asked about marking knives, lots of people recommended an exacto knife with a number 11 blade. Works for me. Although I suppose the reach might not be long enough, now that I think about it.

[bgeva]

The sides are about 3/8 thin, so no long reach is required. Further searching online brought up Derek Cohen's post on another forum where he also marks the pins with the saw through the kerf BEFORE removing the waste.
Also, somebody suggested pins first for such a pattern. Another suggestion was Xacto chisel blades. They have two of them - small and big. Unfortunately no thickness mentioned by the manufacturer.

All of the above sounds like good ideas.

Thanks,

BG

[Anji12305]

Alan Little of "AskWoodMan" just uses off the shelf paring knives and he works in really dense hardwoods.

If it was me, I would lay down a layer of Blue painter's tape (the tape that's Blue in color, and peels off easily) before marking.

The really tight apex won't be easy to visualize, with standard marks.

[Dave Diaman]

It wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't cut your dovetails backwards. Everyone knows you are supposed to cut pins first

[Derek Cohen]

BG, there is a pictorial on my website to cut and transfer dovetails such as these ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeToo...ench4.html

The dovetail knife I use is an ultra thin "Cohen" knife made by Chris Vesper. Chris makes two thicknesses of blades, and the standard version is the same as a Blue Spruce, but this is still too thick for "London" style dovetails. This is where the ultra thin comes in. I would not be happy using an Exacto in this situation as the blade is bevelled on each side and will not mark accurately.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[bgeva]

Derek,

Thanks for the pointer. I actually saw this some long time ago and forgot about it completely. I will take two good advices from the article - use of tape and drilling the back side to the small pin depth. You are right, w/o this the chopping is endless. Especially if the layout is small and tight as mine.

Regarding the Xacto - you are right again. However, they do make the chisel blade that has one bevel I believe. I did not put my hands on one yet so not sure how thin it is. I tried the #1 standard and it fits tightly through the kerf. I might try to carefully grind off the factory bevel and make a one sided one. Not sure how feasible it is at all.

Vesper's thin blade is an option, but it will take a long time until it will arrive.

Thanks for the info,

BG