RobCosmanb

TECHNIQUEBOOK
A11rights resewed.No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronicor
mechanical,includingphotocopyng,recording,or by any
rnJormahon storageand refrlevalsystem.Mthoul wntten
permissionftom Rob Cosman.

02008 AvsRlcANCnarrsl,nNPunucenous

Box 3260,Grand Bay,New Brunswic( Canada E5K 4V5

1-877-967-5966

rsBN978-0,9809412-0-3
Visit wr.rw.robcosman.
com

Photographyby Kim Hilchie

Book designby JohnHoffrnann

www.r0bc0sman.c0m Hand-Cut
Dovetails
TABLE OF CONTENTS

4 DEDICATION

5 PREFACE

6 SECTION1 TOOLS FOR THE TRADE

12 SECTION2 STOCK PREPARATION

15 S E C T I O N3 T H E M A R K I N G G A U G E

21 SECTION4 LAY OUT

28 SECTION5 DOVETAIL SAWING

33 SECTION6 THE FRET sAW

36 S E C T I O N7 S P L I T T I N G K N I F E L I N E S

40 S E C T I O NB C H I S E L I N G

45 SECTION9 TRANSCRIBINGTHE TAILS

50 SECTION1OSAWTNG PINS

55 S E C T I O N1 1 C H I S E L I N GT H E P I N W A S T E

51 S E C T I O N1 2 P R E - A S S E M B L YC H E C K

53 S E C T I O N1 3 A S S E M B L Y

59 SECTION14 TROUBLESHOOTING
TheTailBoard
ThePin Board
TheJoint

Hand-Cut
Dovetaih www.I0Dc0sman.c0m ROB(OSMAN3
 I owe my mosthumbiegatitude to the giverof all talent.Often asI cut into wood I am hum-
bledat thebeautythat is oursto enjoy.

in this field is largelythe resultof an encouraging

My success andlovingwife,Kimberleyhas
alwaysbeensupportiveof my endeavors andthe first to jump in andhelp.Thisbookwas
madepossibleby the manyhourssheput forth. In additionto helpingme shehasraisedand
educatedour ten children.Trulya remarkablewomarywife and mother.

I alsoowe a debtof gratitudeto both Kim's and my parentsthat amongmanythingstaught

us the valueof hardwork. Into the livesof the fortunateentervery specialpeople.Forme this
wasDr. DaleNish. Earlyrn my careerDalerecognizedmy ability and providedme with every
opportunityto expandmy experienceand developmy skll. He openeddoorsthat would not
haveotherwisebeenopened.Dalehasspenthis careerdiscovering talentand givingthose
individualsthe opportunityto displayit to the woodworkingworld.I would alsolike to thank
the manywoodworkingstudents/friends that I havehad the pleasureto meet,teachand
be{riendaroundthe world.Finallymy childrerya most cherishedblessingin my life.

FamilyFirst!
RobCosman

4 ] ROBIOSMAN www.robcosman.com Dovetails

Hand-Cut

I
PREFACE

I havebeenworkingwoodsincemy earlychildhood. On my motherssidemy grand{ather and

greatgrandfather wereboth carpenters.I knew themboth andhad the opportunityto work
with"Gramp".My fatherwasan industrialartsteacherfumedcarpentersowoodworking was
definitelyin my blood.Duringmy boyhoodI wasalwaysbuildingsomething,from boatsto
gunhandlesandIromgo-cartsto woodenbowls.Not onlywasI fascinated with woodbut my
questfor perfectionnearlydrovemy fathercrazy.

Duringmy earlyyearsof professional furniturebuildingI workedhardto masterthe art of

dovetailing. As a studentandteachlngassistant at BYU,I usedmy access
to thewoodshopto
practicecuttinga row of dovetails eachmomingbeforeclass,OnceI mastered theprocess my
nextquestwasspeed.I hadthe incredibleopportunityto spendsometimewith mastersLike
TageFridandAlan Peters. Theirinput to my careerwasboth pricelessandinspiring.It is
because of thisI now feelit both an honoranda dutyto passon whatI know andhelpkeep
the traditionalive.Tothis endI haveproducedthreedovetailvideos,writtenthis bookand
continueto traveltheworldteachingthosewantingto learn.Sawcutto sawcutjoineryis my
motto,straightfromthe sawandwithouta testfit. \A,hi1e somescom,hundredshavegoneon
to do it anddo it extremely we1l.

I continueto build fuiniturefor my ever-expanding

familyandwith no endin sightI am
thrilledat the prospect.Toteachandworkwoodfor a livingis bothan honorandprMlege.

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.r0DC0sman.c0m ROB
COSMAN 5
 1 TOOLS FOR THE TRADE
L SECTTON
of iolksin ser,eral
Ater teachinghr-rtrclrecls I havcfonnd
countrieshoi,tto hant-lcltt dovctails,
theuseof impropeltoolsquitecommon.To do theiobrvellthetoolsneedto be sharpand
properlysuitedfor the task.On a dovetailsar'r,, thatcoversevcrything fronithehandleto
ihc numberoi teeth.Thisfirstsectionis desigred to inform you on to lookfor rnrhen
i,r,hat
choosing or r.nakingvor-rr
dovetail too1s. not
\'\thile promoting an-vspccific brand,thebetter
toolsrvil1olien comewith lnostif not a1lof the character.rstics
qr-ralitv belon'lAs vor-r
sr-Lggestcd
gainexperience yorlmavwantto fine tr.ure1,.our too1s,I haveoitendonethisandI notethose
changes in thetcxt.

A pistolgripregisters in
thehandthesanrervav
eachtimeit is pickedLLp.

/r
Thisallorvstheuserto

#H
dcvelopa feclforvertical
sarving, a blg helprvhen
sawingpins.
. A thinblade(.018-.020)
removeslcssrvoodai-rd
is easrer to push.
. Thcsetof theteeth
(s1i ght or,rtrvarcl bending
of eaclitooth)shoLrld be
in therangeof.001kt DO\TTAILSAW
.003persideto helpthe
bladetrackpropcrlv
(cutstraight).
. Dovetailing is primarilv
e
ripplngr,tooclvs.cross ?
cLrtting, hcncethetecth
shouldbefiledrip (cut- $ppi8f v,
l i n gf . r c rer fl , r u l lpl s l p q n €,
d i c u. r -t n l c r r $ ho i b l ; d r ) .
. PPIor points(tccth)per ,)
inchshouklbein tbe
14-16range, toomanv
v,
teeth(20+)sklvsthe f,)
sarving lvhiletooferv
teeth(-12)rnakcsthe
F)
san r'lifficr-rlt to start. *

DO\TTNLSAWPPI t
6,
(OSMAN
ROB www.robcosman.com HandtutDoveraits
rl
 . Barrel hme qarseq rrp

usuallyreadyto useout
of thebox.
. Thc
' ' . ' ' - 'crrftino
.-'.t] vrhppl nn

thisgaugeis easierto
sharyenthanthepin on
traditionalgauges.
. Themicrometer adjust-
mcni el]nurq fnr rrpnr

precisesettings.
. Rarrel onrropq crn hp

rolledinsteadof pushed/
pulledfor precisemarking
or on difficultsurfaces
-..^L ^^ ^ -^--^-,, ^l^^
DUlrr d) d rrdrruvv cu6c,

. Sawingthe buik of the

wastebetureentails
"M*iu;; ^-,1 -;-^ ;- ^^-;^-
dl tu Pl1 tJ rJ gdJltrl

chiseling,
especially
with
+L^-
u ld r l

.:
.':::.
I€r"t naffowor Londonstyie
tails& pins.
. Frpl q:urq r:n
-*" rqp
-'"' \/pn/
''-J

finebladesthatwil1fit a
naffowdovetailsawkerf.
. Frpt qaurq urith
' ' ' . ' . ' 'riqid
tr'*
lremeq end urin o nr r I

tensionadjustments a11ow
for a verytauntbladethat
resistsbowingduringuse.
FRETSAW

. Toexceed the limitation

of a 3" throat,theblade
canbe twistedabout30
d
* 'pl rm' 'p' "p*s. . 'a. t' ' ,t h
- ,p' . rc'l.a. m
t ) nino
nnintq Thiq Lppnc lhp

frameabovethejoint on
a horizontalcut.

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.r0Dc05man.c0m ROB
COSMAN
 I
-^
W'' 'a
F&
rl G
'^ -
il -'3
. Dividersarea more ,I
3
accrlrate
mcthodoi tr:ans-

g
I
4
-3
ierrineciinrensious. !I

. Six-inchdnidersarea
comiortable sizcior ft
jointlavor-rL. ?t
. Scrcith'peacljr-rstments
r+
arcbetterthanfi-iction
h'pefor prc.rrenting
accidentalmo\renrent.
a
a
DMDERS ?
?
. A gooclnrarkingkniic
1 ' 1 . . ' .1Jo-h e, ' ," t ' i , , r [ . t b lht r a
hold anclaccuratc
. Tlie blaclcneedstctbc thin
enoughkr passin the
to Lrse.
a
t
dorretailkerf r.ctr-igid
e
e
enough to pre1,g1l1 ataat-
sivc flexirrerlurins nse. \
. If thc blacleis too sharp
thc mark left in cnd erain
P
can bc cliilicultto scc,
dullingthe bladcmakes P
t l r , n ' . r r kr rt t l c t, t r t .rl ' . 1 > : e t
to sec.
P
. The blacleshoLLld bc rvide P
ct'totjshat the tip to allcnv
the userto fccl jt registcr MARKINGKNIFE P
againsttlie tail.
F
P
P
P
i:lr:
i..t'
e
. A six jnch sqnat-c
P
enor-rgh
ts larire
to be accuratc P
vet small anclconrrenient
to rlse.
e
P
P
P
COMBINANON
SQUARE P
e
(O5MAN
ROB www.robcosman.com Hand(ut Dovetails
I
Ff
p
Fr . Thismarkerallowsthe
angledfaceandthe
Fr squareendto be marked

Fr urifh nnp cpl-tinq

. Dovetailanglesvarywith

Fr
p
hardandsoftwood"1:7
rake(8 degrees) for hard-
woodand1:6rake(10

FT degrees)for softwood.

f
tr
Fo
il
f ;:.',..
fi
Fr A roundmalletdoesnot

Fr requiredirectionaihitting
likeihe hammert1pe.
FI Themalletshouldbe light
enoughto be comfortable
f yet hear,yenoughto
allow gravityto do most
Ff of the work.

Fr
FI
il i :)i
. ":r.,
,'"i

t ,1nEl-

il
Fo
F . A steelhammerallows
theuserto"feel"orread
Fr whatis happeningwith
lrt eachstrike.
. ForassembLing small
F
p
boxesandmostdrawer
dovetails,
a 12-ounce
hammeris sufficient.

Fo
l{
Il
!| Hand-CutDovetails www.rob(osman.com ROB
COSMAN 9
 -l
!:. t
_-l
fr z
rr
. A spatula is invaluablc
for east'anclaccurate
e
?
placcnrent oi e1ue.
. Steclblarles arcmorc f .r._t ' ' -
+.Ts* "
P
dr-nable
bLrtplastic
arccasler
blacli.s
to ctean.
. ..;
?
?
?
CLUINGSPATT]'I-A ?
?
?
. Chisels nceclto bc conr- P
tiltablekt use,lightanrl
e
lvellbalancecl.
. Thebettcrihestceland
e
sharpcr thechisclthe
lonsertheeclgcrctenturn. ?
. Thesidcslopcon bevcl
e
cdgedchisels nccdstcr
extcndlron thechiscl
backkr thetop,alloning
*'#8
e
ior clear-ance
l hcncliop Cl,
plnebthveentai1s.
c,
CHISELS e
G)
P
. Uslngan insiclerabbetis
?
an cfiectirrctvav to r-eier-
cncc.the tailboartlto the t{- e
pln boarclu4renh-atrsfer
e
e
ring d(r'ctails.Secpage18.
. Thc skew,blockplancr,r'ith
its fenceanclskciverlblade
rurakes thc srtroothcstci-rt e
on crossgrair-t,
. The shor-rlclerplanecan e
alsocb tht lob though
sorlctjnresncttr1-lteas
P
cleanor as convrrtient. P
SKE\'V
BLOCKPLANE P
d
www.r0br05man.(om H a n d - (D
uot vetails
I
 . Shooting boardsare
desigredto enablethe
luserto casjlvplanetlic
p endof a rnorkpieceat
rightaneles to itstacc
anci1tsedge.
. ;\ goodnraterialfor
shooting boarcls is
I,icdir-r
nr densih'fiber'
board(NlDF), it is stablc,
inexpci'islveandhasa
longtvearing srLriacc.
1 . Thereis no spcciflc size,
ho\t'ever thisshootine
-*J, boarrlis28"br,17' andis
SHOONNG
BOARD madefor bothrlghtand
lefthandnsc.

. Thcbaseis 28 bv 17 bv
r/r",thetopis28 bv 11
bt"/," andthefrontcleat
i s1 7 b r ' 1 / i ' b v 1 , " .
. Thetop'/,"piecchasa
rabbet('/ru"bv
shallor,r,
'/r")cr-rt
alongtheedgcior
theplaneto ridcagainst.
. Thctop,bottomandcleat
afeghledanclscr-en ed
togethel; it is bcstto
clamptheunitilatnfiile
thc glr-resets.

. Theshootine board
r,r,orks
bestif theienccis

ry
positioned 6-8"in fionr
i^_lk thecnd.
. Thcicnceshouldbe a

Is.
clr-u-a
bleharc'hvoocl and
secr-rred lvith ghreand
screivs, thisoneis 10r/:"
br'1 '/,' br'1'/.'.
. Thcicncemustbesqr-rar-e
to thcleference siclcoi
theshooting board
(tvhere theplancrides)
andhelclback'/'"h.om
touclring theplancin use

Hand(ut Dovetails www.robcosm

an.com (Ost\4AN 1l
ROB

a1t?qa
 SECTION2 STOCK PREPARATION

TIPS

Oftenoverlooked" oneof the keysto a successfuljoint is to haveaccuratelymilled stock.

Yourboardsshouldhavethe insidefacehandplanedflat,smoothandparal1e1 to the outside.
Theedgesshouldbe planedstraighfsquareandpara1le1 to eachother.Theendwherethe
joint will be cutneedsto be squareto the long edgesandthe face.Theendalsoneedsto be
smoothto bettershowthe knifelayoutmarks.

It is a goodideato practicewith the samewoodsyou usefor building.Themostcommon

placefor dovetailsis in drawerconstructionand slncethe drawerfrontsarethickerthan the
sides,throughoutthis bookyou will see13/16"stockdemonstrated for the pin board(simulating
the drawerfront)and 1i2" stockdemonstrated for the tail board(simulating the drawerside).

Using contrastingwoods is anotherhe1pfultip. In finishedwoodworkit is a greatwayto

showoff the dovetailedcornerasthe drawergetsopened.Darkpins againstlight tailscan
evenmakea so-sojoint look a lot better.\.A/hen
you fust startcuttingdovetails
a bit of success
cango a longwayin encouraging you to persevere.

. Placeyourhandon the
widestpart of the side
andbe carefulnot to tip
the p1ane.
. Usethe longsoleof the
planeto straightenthe
board'sedge.
. Usethe shootingboard
to keepthe boardsedge
and planesquareto
eachother.
. Do the sameto the
onnocite
- r r ' " _ - - ' *edoe
o-'
 I

. Planca smallchanriertcr
prerrentsplintcringof the
backetlge.
. Planethc chamferbv
hnl, lir,' tlrp h,rrr, i rurrr:
"-'''''tl

irom lireleft sicleof the

'-\ lence.

PLANINGACF{AMFER

. Position thc boar-cl

lvith
thechamfered sidc
against thelence.
. Kccpingtheboardtighttcr
tl.refencc,thcplanetight
to therebatcclcclgeancl
thc boarcliedurtop1ane,
cutnntilthcchanrier"
almostclisappears.
. Rcpeatthesestepsrvith
thetailboarcl.

SHOONNCENDGRNN

,W"'

. Theinsideiaccoi thcpin
andtailboarcls nrustbe
plancdbciorcthcjoint
is cut.
. IrLancb rcniorre themill
nrarksanc'lto leavethe
flat,snroothand
sr.rriace
finishcd.

PLANINGTHEINSIDEFACE

A p l e c e o f 1 8 b r ,1 1 b ) , r / : n
' rdilrjthabottotufroltcleatat'ida'/,'topbackclcat
makcsa g-eatplirningboard for wofking on short and smallprieces.

H a n d ' (D
u to v e t a i l s www.robcosman.com ROB
CO5MAN 13
S E C T I O N3 T H E M A R K I N G G A U G E

TOOLTIPS

. Whencuttingdovetailsthe marking gaugeis secondonly to the dovetail saw in importance.

,, It needsto leavea clean1ine,squareto the goodsideof the scribeand angledon the waste
side.Thegaugecreates partof thefinishedjoint sothebetterthe markthebetterthejoint.

, Becauseof the shapeof the cutter,it pullson the gaugeasit is draggedthroughthe wood.
For easein making fine adjustments,somehave a one-handoperatedmicrometer.
'
Theseareequippedwith two lockingscrewsthat hold the gaugefirm1yin place.

Thecutterson the banel t)?e gaugesarevery easyto sharperya bit of facehoning on a fine
stoneis a1lthatis needed.Alsolook for a gaugethatis well-balanced andcomfortableto use.
Thesharperthe markthe betterthe chiselwiil hold in the line asyou getreadyto chop.

. Setthe markinggauge
to the thicknessof the
pin board.

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com ROB
CO5MAN 15
 . Scribethepin board
thickness on all four
surfaces of the tailboard

ff#
It is easierto pull the
gaugethanpushit.

SCRTBINGTAILBOARD
$* t**;:i

. Thehvo edgesaremore
easilydoneby holdingthe
gaugeagainstthe endof
the boardandrollingthe
cuttersideto side.
. Makethismarkasdeep
asthe gaugewill allow

ROLLT}IEEDGE

. Setthe markinggauge
about'/r"lessthanthe
thickness
of the tailboard.

www.robrosman.com Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . Scribejustthe hvofaces
of thepin board.

SCKBEPINBOARD
U I
Thefollowingprocess
will helpalignthe tailboardto the pin boardwhentranscribing
thetails.

. Makethe planea rebating

lnnl hrr rpmmrin o the ci,la
nlafp ln pvnnqp ihp p,'lop
r-*.'.".,'r""'.'.''*tr.
of theblade.

. Adjustthebladeto project
irrql hprunnd fhp
.''' cdoe
'*b' nf
''
l-"' "'J ""-

thetool andpara11e1
to the
snlp Spt il fnr a liolrt crt

Hand-(ut
Dovetails wwurobcosman.com
 . Clampthe tailboard,
insidefaceup andpro
jectingjr-rstoff the edge
of thebench.

. Adjustthe fencesothe
pointof thebladeis cui-
tingon thescribeline.

. Balance fhetoolsoii
starts,cutsandendson
thesameplane.
 . Theshavingneedstobe
uniformin width, lengh
andthickness.
. A coupleof light passes
areusuallybetterthan
oneheavyone.

. A shoulderor rabbet
planecando thejob with
the aidof a fence.

. Checkyour resultswith a
str"aightedgeanda back-
lighf it shouldbe lower
andparallelto the inside
faceof the tailboard.
. If it is out of parallel,
dependingon the
condition,eitherrepair
it or startwith a new
tailboard.

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.r0Dc0sman.(0m ROBCOSMAN
19
www.r0bcosman.c0m Hand-Cut
Dovetails
SECTION4 LAY OUT

TOOLTIPS

Thefewerstepsandtoolsln layoutthebetter.Reducethe steps- reducethe risk

of errors.

Combined with a goodsteelrule,dividersarethe mostaccuratemethodfor

fransferrinp
.^-^.".'''''.t] dimensions.

Usea fine ballpoint pen for layout- it is easierto see,the ljnewidth doesn'tchange
--l:+/^ ^l-,,^-, ^L^*l
4rru rL J drvvoyD DItdlPl

A precisejoint startswith a preciselayout.

. Secure
the iailboard
r*rrn. 'rti]o' .h. 'f' . i n l h c r r i q e r c o e

squareor bubble1eve1to
ensureit is plumb.
. Keepthe endof the tal1-
boardlow in theviseto
preventsawingchatter.
. Seftin o thp
* ' ' urnrL niono
""""b
plumbhelpsdevelop
the abilityto saw
nprncndier rlar

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com
. Thesenarrorvpin
arcsimpleto
dovetails
l;rr nrrl hri: "
h" " i. l- . bt "n r o h

to cutfor beginners.

LONDONDO\ETA]LS

. Markthehalfpinsby
r p f p l c n c i n o n" "n- 'p- b l p o n
. - f" l h p'

f irrirlor rt tho e,loo nF th..

andmakinga
tailboard
markrviththe other.
. F o r n r o q i -; r_nf rn_l_i c- -r-t i-o n- s
'/r" will work.
. Do bothsidesar.rdsa\reth€
sclnrglu lar.,utfrreotl,ol
comefsof theproject.
. Usea second pairof
for thencxtstep.
drviders

1/2PIN LAYOUT

. Divldethedistancc
betleenthc '/rpinmarks
by the desirednumber
of talls,leavea shallor'v
nrerlz rl o.rrh irrnrlinn

Seetop of page67.

LONDONLAYOUT

www.robcosman.com Hand(ut Dovetails

 . Usethedoveiailmarker
thcjoint.
to layor"rt
. Rcfcrence both angles
fromthesamemark.

DO\ETA]LMARKER
i,

. Widepinsoffel morc
lvill be
roomto rvorkar.rd
thp qrrhic.cf .f ih{. rPct r )f
" '
! 4 l '
"

thisbook.
. T h l e v n r l r'r' r' i-d- c' tr- n" i' n" s l.l'r'p-

dividersettinghaskr
includethcrvidthot one
tailandonepin.

\\'IDEPINSAMPLE

. Balance make
thc'/:pins,
themr,videenoughto
roqicl qnl;rinq hrl nnl

sowideasto be out of
nronnriinn
T "T'- '''"
io
' ' ihe
_ ' ' _ ioint
l''_'-'
. '/*"is a goodsizeto start
with thor-Lgh fine
sor'ne
tuningwillconewith
prachcc.
. T r An i r q r- r" n f h
' ! d
l ! c
' -r
J lih'h
' - n t_ h
_ '
T _ _ _

a shallolvmark.
. Savethisdir,idersetting
for ihe othercomers.

LA\{NG OUT1/2PINS

Hand-fut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com ROB(OSMAN
23

!Fp{ij;:':r;: .lrywJ-
. Startthesecond pairof
divrderson the '/: pin
mark.
. Wthout leavingany
marksadjustthediviclers
untilyoucanstepoff the
desired numberof tails
andlandon theopposite
'/' piu.

START
ON 1/2PIN

. Openthecljvidersa small
amountto begincxperi-
mentingwith pin widths.

. Starton thc 1/'pin and

walkacross thejoint.
. Notc horvfar beyondthe
opposite '/:pin thedivider
leglands. Thiswili r:lti
matelyreprcsent the
widthof theinsidepins.
. Openingthe dlviderswill
increase the pin width
andclosingthe dividcrs
will shrinkthepin width.
. Don'tpresshardcnough
to leavemarksuntil the
desired settingis found.
STARTINC
INTHE ]/2 PIN

www.robcosman.com Hand-(ut
Doverails
 . With the desiredstetting,
LL^ l/- ^;,- ^-J
)LdrL urr Lrrtr /2 PIr drru

stepacrossthejoint
leavingshallowmarks
a I e a c h i rr n c l i o n Spe lnn

of page67.

DMDERLAYOUTl

. At the oppositeedge
dont leavea mark
h p v n n d l. h' ' 'p Anin li{r thp
"'J "-'*

dividerout andsiartfrom
+L ILL ;r J. r / - - ; - . - , 1 .V^V,A^Al l , LU .A-L1\ ,
AlrU
//
Plrr

leavinga secondmarkat
eachjunction.

. T. -Jnon
r . - " ' . -cnmnlptinn
-"r,-'-.-" rrol
J ".^
qhnrld havp vnr rr 1/,nr'n
l"-'''Y'
*^-l-- ^-l -^;-- ^f ^^..^l
rLr4r^D drru PdlrJ ur cL]udr
^;- *^-1.^ ^^.^-- +L^
P[t l r t d r N J d L L U J J tltg

board.

Hand-[ut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com (O5MAN
ROB 25
. Set e finp hallnninl non
"-'r"-"'r-"
in thelhpinmarkand
slidethe dovetailmarker
againstit usingthedesired
slope,1:7for hardwood
1:6for sofh'vood.

. Startthe penat the scribe

line anddrawup.
. Thispreventsaccidentally
drawingbelowthe scribe
line,somethingthat
couldleadto sawing
belowthe 1ine.
. Anglethe peninto the
gaugeto getan exact
placement.

. Themostcriticaltailboard
cutis the perpendicular
acrossthe end,the Line
andsawcutmustbe
square.

SQUAR]NGTHE
ENDMARK
Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.r0DCosman.c0m ROBCO5MAN
27
 I

SECTION5 DOVETAIL SAWING

---
J
J
TOOLTIPS G
Practiceso you canassembleyour ioint from the saw.Thepurposeof a dovetailsawis to
J
cut a cleanstraightkerf that canbe giued.Intentionallyleavingmaterialto be paredlateris
counter-productive and non traditional,dovetailsweremeantto be assembled sawcut to saw
J
cut.Yoursawneedsto be up to the task,goodtoolsequalgoodwork. J
The peqpendicularcut on the pins is critical.Forthejoint to work the sidesof eachpin must
J
be straightand plumb.Thisis wheregravif canhe1p. A pistolgrip sawhandleregistersin your J
hand the sameway eachtime you pick it up with a bit of practiceyou wili be ableto saw
verticallywithout watchinga line. Rememberto alwaysplumb the work piecein the vise! J
Youshouldhold your dovetail saw like you would cradlea baby'shand.Holdingtoo
J
tight is a commonenor madeby beginners.Held lightly a properlysetsawwill cut straight J
and leavea smoothkerf.
J
a
J
J
J

. Hold the sawwithyour

indexfingerpointing
down the blade.
. Yourgrip shouldbe similar
to the pressureusedto
cradlea baby'shand.
. Holding on to the sawtoo
tightiy preventsit from
sawingstraightand
causesa raggedkerf.

28 ROB
COSMAN wwwI0DCosman.c0m Hand-CutDovetaih
I
 . J Jsp fho hnftnm ' f nrrrfpr
**-.''

nf rrnrrr inrler . "finopr

' . { r ' ' * ' .:n,-]
*
thrrrrh to ninch ihp pnd

of theboardto forman
anchorfor the saw.
. Pinchingwith the bottom
quarterkeepsthe contact
pointwith the sawabove
the teeth.

& FNGERPINCH
TTII-,MB

. Pressthe sawlaterally
againstyourfingerand
thr rmh to nrerrpnf il
T'-'.''.' "
]1,^* ^l,l-r;-^ -- -.^.,
1 1 v l r r ) N 1 1 L U 1 5d D ] V U

beginthe cut.

PRESSTRE
LATERAL

. T lqp rrorrr anehnrirro dioiiq

""'J""."'.''."''-.t]"'D.."
to pressthe sawinto
nncitinn hacir.lo the lino

. Thiscutshouldbe nextto
not
thelinebut shor-rld
removeit.

Dovetails
Hand-Cut www.robcosman.com 29
ROBCOsMAN

. j-;. - t €!:;s.. ?th,nCq!FEFWTrylFJ

 . Startthe cut by tilting the
sawforwardand taking
about80%of its weight
off thewood.
. Continuingto presslater-
allyagainstyourfingertips
will increaseyour saw
startingcontrofusea
light touch.

. fu you cut alongthe line,

focuson wherethe saw
meetsthewoodand
makethe necessary
coreclons.

. Afterestablishing a
shallowkerf pausefor
a second.
. \A,4ththis part of the task
done,takea breath,aim
the sawaiongthe angled
markandheadfor the
bottom.
. Don't attemptmid cut
conections, its betterto
havethe kerf straight
evenif the angleis
slightlyoff.

www.robcosman.com Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . Sawrightto the scribe
linel
. Stoppingon theline
establishes
yourcorners
andsavesa lot of time.

STOPONTT{ESCREE

. Sawall of thesame
anglesbeforechanging
r'\
$i N yourbodypositionand

t|' iti 1'ourbench1amp.

. Thissavestlme and
{u you will benefitfrom
therepetition.
ht'

M.
REPETTTTVE
CUTS

. Tosawthe othersideof
the tail pull yourthumb
out of I'ourline of sight
andusejustyourindex
fingerto anchorthe saw

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.robco5man.com (OsMAN
ROB
 . Finishthe sawcuts.

SECTION5 NOTES J
f
J
]C
-l

T
f
f,
t
r-!
-
It
f
]
f
-d

It
I
]
f
]
!
--
-.

32; ROB
COSMAN www.r0D(0sman.c0m Hand-CutDovetails
f
SECTION6 THE FRET SAW

TOOLTIPS

A goodfret sawwill havea rigid frame and a tensioningsystemthat allowsfor a very

tauntblade.Thebettersawshavetwo tensioningmechanisms, oneon the frameto takeup
mostof the slackanda fineradjustmenton the endof the bladeclamp.\A4thnanowblades
moretensionis requiredto preventseverebowingduringuse.

Go slow until you get accustomedto how the saw performs.Thenanowbladedoes

not providetrackinglike a dovetailsawsoyou haveto steerthe cut asweli aspushand pu1l
me saw

Tapingthe handlewith adhesivesport tapewill improveyour grip andmakethe saw

easierto control.Thenalrower(3") th,roatsawsareeasierto balanceon a horizontalcut.

. Installthe fretbladeto
cut on the pull strokeand
put it undersubstantial
tension.
. Usea pairof pJiersor side
cuttersto twist the blade
about30degrees at the
e]emninq nninfq
. Thiskeepsthe saws
frameabovethe joint on
horizontalcuts.

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.I0D(0sman.c0m
. Havingtwistedthe blade
you wili needto tilt the
sawsiightlybeforeyou
drop it dov,nthe kerf.
. Comeoffthe bottom
about'Ar"beforeyou starl
sawing.This keepsyou a
safedistancefrom the
scribeline.

. Sawascloseto the scribe

asyou can.Althoughfast
cuttingthis sawcanbe
fficult to control,slow
dov,nuntil practice
enables you to saw
accurately.

. Slowdownasyou
approach the endof the
cut to preventscaffng
+L^ ^li^^^-+ +^il
rrrs 4urdlsrrr r@.

www.r0DC0sman.c0m Hand-Cut
Dovetails
 I

SECTION7 SPLITTING KNIFE LINES

tF
a
J
TOOLTIPS J
A ballpointpen worksbestfor drawingthe tails.Howeverwith the precisework of sawing
J
the pins to fit, a knife line is better suited.Theknifeline givesa verydefinitedividing J
poinf splittinga pen or pencilline canbe verysubjective.
J
V\henyou aretransferringthe tailsto the pin board,concenhateon keeping the knife tight J
to the part being copied.Pushingtoo hardinto the part beingmarkedwill causethe knife to
wanderasit searches for the path of leastresistance.
A slightlyduiledknife is easierto useand J
Ieavesa wider and easierto see'\,/". J
When sawingagainsta knife mark on the pins,aim to take half of the knife "V" out with J
the saw kerf while leavingthe otherhalf of the"V"with the pin.
e
J
J
J
J
J
tl

J
f,
f,
. Think of the scribeline as f,
a"V"shapedgroove.
. Propersawingleavesone e
half of the'T"with the tail
f
or pin while the otherhalJ
is sawnaway. e
t
e
q
-j

35 ROB
COSMAN www.roD(osman,c0m Hand-(utDovetails
e
 . Setthe iailboardleveland
low in theviseto prevent
sawingchatter.
. Usea bubblelevelif you
cant"eyeball"it.

. Useyourdigitsto anchor
the sawasit startsto cut
on thewastesideof the
scribe.
. If yourgripis sufficiently
l;^Lr ^- +L^ ^^,,, -+^v!- +^
1161tLi 4) trrC DdVV J(AILJ rU

cutit will slideoverto the

scribedshoulder.
. Thistechniquegivesthe
crrlr rn evrat qlrrltnq

referencepoint.
. Thisis the reasonfor
errttino dppn rmth thp

markinggauge.
Seepage16.

. Splitthe scribelineby
Lppnino helf fhp"V"in

thekerf.
. Striveto geta perfect$
vertlcalcut.
. Slowdormatthebottom
to avoidscarringthe side
of thetail.

HALFWAYDOW\]

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.r0DC0sman.(0m ROB
COSI\4AN 37
. Sawingan angledcomer
with a sawthat cutsa
squarebottomleavesa bit
of wasteto be removed
with a chisel.

. Check)our cutsforexcess
waste.Anythingabove
the scribeline needsto
be pared.

. If thereis materialto be
removed" startwith the
chiselon the marking
gaugeline andundercut
the surfacein the middle
of theboard.
. Thiq ic pnd mein cn ii

doesnot reducevaluable
gluesurface.
. A nanowchisela11ows
greatercontrolby reduc-
ing the pressure
required
to cut.
 . With the middleremoved
you now havesmaller
areasro pare.
. Keepthe chiselreferenced
nn fhe qlrop linp
-""'
""'^'- b**b"

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.I0DCosman.c0m
 S E C T I O NB C H I S E L I N G
--r
TOOLTIPS ;
I
Thechiselis probablythe simplestof commonwoodworkingtools,howeverfor it to perform
it must be properly preparedand sharpened.Thebackdf the chiselmustbe madeand
U
maintaineddeadflat.Todo thisthe sharpeningstoneshaveto be keptflat.Thismeansflattening 1
the stonesbeforeeachuseand everyminuteor so duringheavyuse.Thecloserthe chisel "
back.is to beingdeadflat the sharperyou canmakeit ani the b"etterit will perform.youcan 1
checkflatnessby inspectingan imagereflectionon the chiselback.No distortlon- it,sflat.
Distoriion- it's not flat. If thereis distortionyou needto reflattenthe chiselstartingon your
t
coarsest stone. t
Yourdrisels should to be comfortableto use.Top-healychiselscanbe awkwardandtiresome
t
sinceyou oftenhold thechiselnearthe tip to benergLudeit. Modifythemif necessary,
I have U
cut handlesin halJto lightenthem up especia,lly
on the smallersizes.
r|
Thebevel anglecan dramaticallychangea chiselsperformance.whiie 25 degrees
cornmonfor benchchiselsyou mayfind a steeperangleis neededfor mortisechise"ls
is t
(30)and
a moreacuteangleoftenworksbestfor softwoods.I havea few chiselsgroundat 17degees O
for choppinglight woodsthat easilycrush.
CI
1
l
1
a,t

I
t
. Usea sacrificialboardto I
protectyourbenchtop
andyourchisels.
i
. Setthe tailboardinside I
faceup, startchiselingon
theinsideandfinishfrom
I
the faceside. t
I
I
I
rt
40 ROB
COSMAN www.I0Dcosman.(0m Hand-Cut
Dovetaik j
 . Positiun
thc tailLroartl
andchiselsovoucarl
secplrlm0.
. Keepthechisclplunrb
or-pcrpenclcr.rlar
as
vouchopr.

CHISELPERPENDICULAR

ffi'r'..;:;

. Chop the scribelurc kr

thc midpointbetl cclr
e a c ht a i l .
. Note; somcnooclsnrar
crushbeforcthel cr-rt.
]f so,rtr.r mav neecla
narrorvchiscln,ith an
aclrtecLLttlng anglc
(17-18dcgces)

CHOPFL{LF\\AY

. Flipthetailboartl ovcr.and
t
inspectthescribc hnc.
li
ri
. Toon'r-rch n'asteincreasts
plessLLre
un thcchisel
bevelthr.eateniue kr push
it bcronclthescribelinc.

,i q*,
EXCESS
\\ASTE

H a n (du tD o v e t a i l s www.robcosman.com (O5MAN

ROB 41
 . If the sar'vcutwastal<en
to thescribeline,the
corneris establishedand
thejobis done.
Secpage31.

M
|r
i#
INSPECTION
CORNER .6
:;:$

i\

!\
I ,lt
iu'\
ii

d I
Fryrq;
Cornerslike tliis dramati
ca1lv
increasc thetimert
takesto cuta dovctail.

INSPECTION
CORNER

. \\brking frontto back,

skell a narror'v
chiselto
critthecorncrs cleanand
removethc ilebris.
. Usethe straightedgeof
thechiselto checkfor
h,,m,rc hah,-oon tho trilc

the surfaccmr-Lst
be flat or
slightlvr-rndcrcut.

3l*,*,.,-
CLEANINGCORNER

Hand-Cut
Dor/etails www.robcosman.com COSMAN 43
ROB
. Starton the insideface
of thejoint with the tail-
boardsecurein thevise.
. \'Viththe guidinghand
anchoredagainstthe tail-
board"finnly graspthe
chiselcloseto the
cuttingedge.
. Setthe chiseledgejust
insidethejoint to start
the cut.
. Pareto the centel,flip the
boardandrepeatfiom the
otherside.Easeoff asyou
approach the center.

N0TE:Hffm:';:ffi:lT.i''1:ilffi
::.''*zeappLiedrorce
SECTIONB NOTES

www.IoDCosman.c0m Hand-Cut
Dovetails
S E C T I O N9 T R A N S C R I B I N G T H E T A I L S

TOOLTIPS

perfectly executedtails are of no use if the transferto the pin

Thisis a critlcalprocess,
boardis not accurate.Cuttinea shallowrabbeton the undersideendof the tailboardcan
neatlyalignthefr,vo boards.
Ir needsto be1/32"deep, smoothandparallel to thefaceof
theiailboard.

Findinga goodmarkingknifeis difficult.It needsto be thin to fit betlveenLondondovetails,

flexible to bendslightlywhenpressedand wide at the tip to registeragainstthe tail.You
-l .r.l d y h
r r"d' v q
. lt nu m r LNas ^u "r m
l l rd r n6liftr nnp ln crrif
"uu")

Try to resistpressingthe knife hard into the end grain of the pin board.Doingsowill
makethe knifedifficultto controlasit triesto followthe pathof leastreslstance.
Forthis
reasonit is betterdull thansharp,when dull the markis easierto seeandthe bladeeasier
to steer.

. Secure the pin boardin

thevise,faceout andthe
top flushwith theplane.

PINBOARD
INVISE

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com CO5MAN 45
ROB
 . Pushthe planebackirom
the pin boardto createa
bridge.

. Usethe rabbetto register

the tailboardinto poiition
with thepin board.

. Pulledinto placethe hr,zo

boardsarelinedup and
justneedto be flushed
on theedge.

wwwrobcosman.com
Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . With drawersandboxes
thereis a"bottomhous-
ing" grooveon eachpiece
thatneedsto bealigned.
* . Usethe dovetailmarker
or anyflat surfaceto flush
I theedgeof eachboard.

Useyouroppositehand
to preventthe tail board
frommovingasyou scribe
thetailsin thepln board.

. Approachthe sideof the

tailwith the marking
knifeat 10-20degrees
andbendit to 1ayflat.
. Thispressure keepsthe
-k" 'n
" 'i f p tLi]ob -h t t n t h p t e i l e c i t
"

'iq
" - .draoop,l
*trtr'* lhnr tho en,.l

grainof thepin board.

. Don'tpushdornnsohard
thatit becomes difficult
to keeptheknifetightto
the tail.

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com

rylF5wit{F {$trGF;.ffiF,
 . U:e a bendrlampto
checkfor strayknife
marksbeforeremoving
the taiiboar"d
. Makeanvcorrections
now andnotethemwith
a markassoonasthe
boardis removed.

. Bv anglingthe bench
lampto shineacrossthe
pin boarcfshadowswill
makethe knifernarks
morevisible.
. liy,to avoidhighlighting
wur chalkor penciJ,the
baremarksarebest.

. C-hamjer theinsideedge
oi eachtail.
. Startthechisel'/,u,'
from
theend.
. Forgreatercontroland
safely.chokeup on the
cntsel.

ROB
CO5MAN
www.robcosman.com
Hand-Cut
Dovetails
 I

. Thechamferneedsto run
dov,nthe"side"ofthe tail
tn eeco eccemhkr enrj
facilifetp oLrino
-"--'-'..'' lr'*,''b'

CFIAMFERTT{E
EDGE

. Clipthe shavings
at the
scribeline.

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com
 S E C T I O N1 OS A W I N G P I N S

TIPS

Practiceso you cansawwith,confidence.Alwaysattemptto spiitthe line,

don,tbe tempted
to sawawayfrom the line and haveto pareto fit.

Precisesawing.is a lot easierif you arerelaxed.Afterlayingout thejoint

takea fewdeep
breaths,look off in the distanceto giveyour eyesa quickrert Ina th.n i.sume
vour work.

Thereis no substitutefor good light. A werl-positioned

benchlampwill go a longwayto
helpingyou makeaccurate sawcuts.

. Makesurethe pin board

is low in the viseand
standingplumb.
 . Usea dovetailmarker
on its side(or a square)
ln rJreur nomon,-lin'l"t

linesfromthe scribeline
to theknifemarksin the
endgain.

PLTIMB
LINES

j|
I

---{
<d[.:.

. Minimizemistakes bv
clearlymarklngthewastel

MARKINGWASTE

. Pinchwiih yourforefinger
andthumbto providean
rnnhor Fnr qtrrtino lhp

sawcut.

THLII4B
ANDFINGER
POSITION

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.robcosman.rom ROB
COSMAN 5l

lF;5a}.-!r: #.FF-F11:1 ,.:F$i I : ry; ::w;-

 T

. Pressthe sawagainst
1,ourfingersandposition
I it to spiitihe line.
. lhke 80%of its weight
oit thewoodas1'or-r tilt
the sawforwardto start
thecut at the backof the
pin board.

SAWTILTED

. Todo thisproperlythe
"V"shaped knifelinehas
io besplit.
. Onehalfof the"V"stays
with the pin whilethe
otheris wastedin the
sawkerf.

. Oncethekerfis estab-
iishedalongthetop,
finishthecr,rtby salr,rng
to thescribeline.
. Ar optionis to establish
the top kerfthenpause
brieflybeforeaimingthe
sal to finishthecut.

SAWTNGACROSSTHE
BOARD

52 ROB
COsI\,1AN www.rob(osman.com
Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . Followthe lineto the
bottom.

. Completethe cutby
sawingto the scribeline.

. Verticalsawcutsareihe
mostcritical.Practice
and
gravitywill makethis
secondnafure.

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.r00c0sman.c0m
. Th crr^r nn lhp onnncifp

sideof the pin your

+L,.-L L^- +^ ^,,11 1..^-1.
L rL U r rL U LL d J t U P U I U d L N
ln oYn^co lhe lino \Tnur

the indexfingeranchors
the saw.

FINGER
&THUMBPOSITION
FOROPPOSMSIDE

. Usethe fretsawto cut

ascloseto theline as
possible.

. R i o h t s i d p n f l 'p"f t n i n'
"' r"
showssomeof the"V"
rpmeinino lpft qido nf
r i-qoh__
_ i _n i_n_ _s h o w q t h e " V "
r
qnlit :n,l thp rioht cido

nf thp rioht nin qhnurq all

'- ljb"
"''

t'-h ''p " \ / " r p m : i n i n*"b'o

,',.'*,'
. Llard
. ' " ' - r . .ninq . ' . t r " ' ' . . 'qnFtpr
. " / " - ' ininino
tailswill allowfor some
cnmnrpqqinn nf thc 6horq
. Hardpinsloininghard
i:ilq rlloruq fnr
. " . ' ' . rrpnr
- l ' - . . ' ' littlo

cnmnrpqqinn rrnrr nood

+^ ^,-1i...+ ^-^^-.1;-^1..
LV auJuJL dllvrurrLF)ry.

(O5MAN
ROB www.r00c0sman.(0m Hand-(ut
Dovetails
S E C T I O N1 O N O T E S
 S E C T I O N1 1 C H I S E L I N GT H E P I N W A S T E

TOOLTIPS

Thechiselwork doneon thepin boardis usuallymorediffioilt thanthat doneon the taij-

board.Youwill find choppingend grain is easierwith a narrow chiselthanwith a wide.
Thereducedeffortneededto cutwith the narrowtool meansthe userhasbettercontrol.you
mayalsofind the narrowchiselcutscleanerwith lessfracturhgof thewoodascompared to
thewiderchisel.In mostcasesi wouldusea 1/2"ratherthani3l4',.

Effectivechiselwork requiresa sharpchiselthat hasa deadflat back.Thechiselbackis

the.jig.that_guides
the tool.Youneedto keepthe chiselverticalasyou startto work in the
scribellne-Ifyou startfiom a verticalpositionthe toolwill beginto undercutasyou nearthe
centerof the board.Thisensurestherewill not be a bumpin tlie centerthat hasto be removed
with anotherstep.

Yorrcan.speedup the dovetailprocessby becomingmoreefficientwith eachprocedure.

i'Ahen.choppingthe pin waste,practiceangling the chisel to follow the side of the pin.
Thiseliminatesor at leastreducesthe amountof paringto be donein the cornerpnor
to assemblv

. Placethe pinboardon a
sacrificial
boardto protect
yourbenchtop.
 . Dcvclopa comiortablc
andaccnlatc nrcthodior
placingthecliiseledge,
. It hclpsto anchorrroLu-
priclinghandon the
nork piecebefore setting
thcchiscl.

. Keepthechiselvertical
rvhilechopping along
thcscribc.
. Practicekr reducethe
numberof required
malletstrikes,
. Firststrrkeseatsthechisel,
secondandthird tal<eit
to ihenridpolnt.
. Flipthcpin boardovertcr
finishchiselingfromthe
laceside.

. Topr-s,cnt thcchiscl
flomniovingpastthc
scribeliner-rse
a prelimi
nan'chopto Lctt'tol'c
excess hraste.
. Lesswasteequals less
later.al
pressurc on thc
beveloi thechiscl.

EXCESS
T,VASTE

www.robcosman.com ROB
iOSMAN 57
 ----T

. Placethe chiseltight to
thesideof thepin.

. Afterseatingthe chisel
with a light strikeangleit
to chopdor.nn the sideof
thepin.

CHISELANGLED
,

. If you canlearnto chisel

alongthe sideof the pin
youwill saveconsiderable
timein the fina1cleanup.
,t:,;ffi,
n,fl. ,
CLEANCORNERS

www.r0DC05man.c0m Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . Secure thepin board
(faceout) in the vise
to freeup bothhands
for paring.

. T/q eecipr ln nere onl

glain with a narow chisel.

It requireslesseffortto
pushthru the wood and
thus givesyou greater
control.
. Onehandpusheswhile
the otheranchorsand
firm1ygripsthe chisel
to providecontrolling
backpressure.

. Seatthe chiselhandleinto
yourhandtoapplythe
controlledpowerneeded
fn * . " " . .pnd
. " r nerp * t r . *qein
..

Hand-Cut
Dovetaih www.robcosman.com ROBCO5MAN
59
www.r0bc0sman.c0m
Hand-Cut
Dovetails
 S E C T I O N1 2 P R E - A S S E M B L YC H E C K

TIPS

I dont dry fit my joints and I discourage

my studentsfrom doingthe same.Anything learned
from a dry fit canjust as easilybe discoveredduring a carefulpreassemblycheck.Dry
fittingcausesa coupleof problems;it preventsyou from developingthe confidence in your
layoutandexecution. Thecrutchof a dry fit lessens
the needto prefectyourtechnique.
The
secondproblemis the risk of compressing fibersand damagngcrispedges.Thejoint wiil fit
bestthe first time.

2
'*h
Be patient and take the time to make conectionsbeforeyou apply the glue.Theexcitement
of seeingthejoint togetheroftengetsthe bestof us.If it isn't conectbeforeit's assembled
won't be conectafter.

Sometimesbeingtoo patientcanbe equallybad.Toomuchfettlingis oftenmoredetrimental

%' than not enough.Preciselayout is the key. Beingableto trust andwork to your markswill
it

."**$ensue a goodfit.

. Usea smallsquareto
checkfor flat betweenthe
pins,a bumpwill prevent
the joint ftom seating.
. ff the squarerocks,you
will needto pareaway
the high spot.
Seepage44.

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com ROBCOSMAN
61
 S E C T I O N1 3 A S S E M B L Y

T/PS

Theassembly is the final makeor breakof the dovetailjoint. once you apply the glue the
I processmust move forward in an orderly fashion.Thewoodwiil im.eiiatelv b.nln r.,
g9-r_o,r?,-ok*e from the,glueandwhat srartsour asa rubricantw,in;";; d" #
fr
sequence thoughtout and anyneededtoolscloseby.on biggerjointsit "pi"r,i..
helpsto
11,"-.th.
nave an enrapanot hands.
\
I securethe pin board finnly in the vise soit doesnot moveasyou poundthejoint together.
At this stageyou needeverythingto work smoothly.
{
-\ If,somethinggoeswrong andthejoint needsto be takenapart,insteadof beating
i! use
4 t
heafguo blgw dryer to softenthe glue.youmay find it easierto usetwo guns,one
91
heatthe insidewhilethe otheris heatingthe outside.Yellow
ro
J temperahreseasilyreachedwith a blow dryer
andwhite glueswiflsoftenat

. Usea spahrlaor pallet

knife to gluethe long
gainsidesof the pins.
. A thin evenfilm works
best,don't gluethe
end grain.
 a
ft+
. Appl"va thin fihr on the
l.r*i"l .c, , o h r i n o h n l h n i n c e r r r l
F+
tr'*'''b
tailsensures a goodioint. )
. If vouassemble quickly
the gh,rewill lubricate
F+
thejointandhelpit go F+
together.
. Yoncanput a dabof glue F+
on the '/rpin endgrain F+
surfaces.
F+

It is safest
to usehand
pressLlre to startthejoint.

TAILANDPINALIGNED

. Usea fullwidth-pounding
blockto evenlyclosethe
joint.
. Poundthru the end
q:in for ihp hpqt iunqfpr

of force.

BLOCK& IIAMMER

www.r00c05man.(0m Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . Kt'cptht'assembllttven
br adjLrstine thelc r.oLr
hit rlith lhe hanrnrr.r.

ALX4OST
CLOSED

Sctfing tht nraiking

g.rliger/r lt'sslhanthc
tailboarrlallorvs thcjornt
to scatbctbr-e theblocl<
touches thcprns.Sce
pauc1(r

PROLIDTNLS

. Clitck ior sqr-iar.e

on the
jnsitlcoi the jolnt.
. Usc hand pressllfck)
makr.ant crtrrt-.cli
ons.
. It'sbestto re-seatthe
jointaftermaking
adjushrents.
-t*d$g

RESE,,%ry
. \Mpeoff anvcxcess
gluebeforeplaningthe
jointflush.

. Planetheedgesflush.

www.rob(osman.com Hand-[ut
Dovetails
 . If rou pressthe dividers
too clecpdunngthc 1ay
outtheymal'bedifficult
to eliminate1ater.

. A tighttittingshor_rlder
jointshorvs well.Thisis
rvorththe cxlrapracticc

I ftrT I
. Hopefullv

_vour
you'recom-
pletelrrsatisfi
edrvith
finishedjoint.If
not takea lookat somc
repairmethods in the
ll'or-rbleshooting
section

nF]NISHED
I

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.robcosman.corn (O5l\IAN
ROB
S E C T I O N1 3 N O T E S

Hand-Cut
Dovetails
 S E C T I O N14 T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G

IIPS

Bepatient and checkeachstagebeforeadvancingto the next.Mostrepairs

areeasierto
makebeforethejoint is assembled.
Rememberthat Jachstepbuildson th'eaccuraq,of the
prwiousone.

Youhaveto know when to repairand when to startover.In mostcases its bestto startover
if thereis anychanceth9 will detract
from the piece.
Repalrs
canbe
lePair time consumingin
a three-tailcomerit couldeasilytakemoretimeto repairthanto redo.

Part of being a good craftspersonis to make invisible repairs.If your

repal
' is palnfully
obviousit is betterto startoverthan to haveto explainor apo'logize
r*u.rt

. Thisis oneof themost

commonsawingenors.
. Thetop of thepin is
markedfromthebottom
of the tail but when
assembled thetop of the
pin comesto restat the
top of the tail.
. If not sar.tm perpendicular
the transferof tails to pins
wiil resultin a compound-
ed error.

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.r0DC0sman.(0m ROBCOSMAN
69
. Tomakethisrepairyou 4
haveto resawthe side lr
of thetail.
. Pinchtheendof the
boardfirmlywith the
4
p+
bottomofyourfinger
andihumb. J
. Pressthe sawlaterall,v
against1'ourfingertiPs d
to preventthe sawfrom
t
beinginfluenced
errantsawkerf.
by the

. Thelateralpressure
t
againstthe anchoring
?4
fingersis thekeyto
startingthiscorrection. NEWKERF
REPAIRMTH
4
71
n
. On ; norm.rl sarrctttcach
?+
sideof thekerftouches
thebladeandforcesit to
cr-rtstraight.
. In thisrepairmostof one
sideof thekerf is missing,
. Lateralpressure fromthe
oppositefingertipsis
neededto pressthesaw
againstthe rightside
of the kerfto guideit
thror,rgh the entirecui.

. Thefinishedcut,on the
lineandperpendicular
acrosstheend.

(O5I\4AN
ROB www.robcosman.com Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . If tl-rewastebctr,veen the
tailshasalready been
rcmovedtheprevious
process will provetoo
difficult.
. Forthisrepairyouwill
needa sharpchiscl, a
blockwith a squareedge
thatis at least3/.'thickand
a rigd ciamp.

. Placethetailboard
on a
sacrificial
boardon the
benchwith thcrvideor
f' 'l!r^r! p^ ' dr - ' Lo] n
" bp
' *r- il n
] bo f r c i n o r" rT n'
. Clamptheblockwith the
squareedgeflushwith
thesideof thetailnccd
ine squared.
. Thcclampneedsto be
' - ' _ pnnrroh
tiqht fo' rrrorrr.nf
'_'""-" _ r'_ ' '
anv movement.

b-
CHISEL
CtilDE
h*-
. Youwill needa sharp
chiselwith a flatbackto
do thisproperly.
. \ M i h v o r r r 'f'i.n. oc-'.e" ,r s -k. ,- .- oT )
thechisellir:mlyagainst
thebbck.
. S
. -l": .r-i ' t n* ,r 'r"i n
bovifh fhp

cornerof thechiselusing
a sr'veeping
motion.
. Do thisto geta cleancut,
c n i n c "s' -l -r'.br"i' o l r f d o u r r r n r
5.-,''b
n c r n p r d"i"c_r' ^r' l' ^: r_ l' o
" l.h- 'e_
\ T' T'
\ fibcrsmaycalrsethem
b roilor tcar.
. It is bestto lvorkin liom
theoutsidecdgcsto
nrr)foat fhc Dprirrplpr ! 4

PARE
REPAJR T _ " _ _ "

tromsplintering.
T ! 4 ' '

H a n d - [0uot v e t a i l s www.robcosman.com ROBIO5MAN 71

. Now the sideof the tail is
perpendicular asshown
by the penline.
. Tofinish the job, trim the
wasteat the base.

. Thisis not a serious

problemunlessthe angle
is so far off it takesaway
fromthejoint.
. Thisis easierto repair
beforethe wasteis
removed.

. Startthis repairwith
the sawjust insidethe
existingkerf.
. Angle the sawto match
the penLineanduseyour
finser iinq
---'o-- *r " tn hnld i+
. Wth a light touc[ saw
slowlyso the teethcan
cutinto the sideand
establisha new kerf.
. Theteetharecuttingon
one sideonly andwill
havea tendencyto slide
towardsthe existingkerf
ifyou sawtoo fastor
applytoo muchpressure.
 . Thewoodon theleftside
nf the kerf eannni
"-
nrnrridp
"' T'"*'
asmuchsupportto the
bladeastherightside
becauseof the firstkerf.
. Forthisreasonyouwill
needto keeplateral
n r p q q r r r p r n r i l hr r n r r r f i n o o r
r'."""'.'''".-1"*'.''.tr''
' : *i n' 's' "i ' i h p l p f t q i d p
i.i'nTq" : c* a

of thesaw

KERF1/2WAY

On iho linp;nd rprdv

to go.

. Th rpnair ihis errant qaru

L e r f r u i l l r. p' 'a1r"r ,i r. p' ' 'c' h" 'a' nt rs'i,nl sr

thesizeof thepin.
. I\hile it will be noticeable
i_l "r'p i n i n f c a n s t i l l h p n p : l
I"_"'

andtight.

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com ROB
COsMAN 73

1i-GqniFry-.
I
. Usethe dovetailmakerto
redrawthe linesstartlng
wherethelastkerfmeets
the scribeline.

RE-DRAWTHELINE

. Startthissawcutasyou
normallywould,useyour
fingerandthumbto
anchorthe saw.
. It will behaveasnormal
until you getnearthe
bottomwherethe support
on theleftsideof thekerf
willdiminish.

. Slowdownandusea
light touchat the bottom
of the cutto preventthe
sawfromfallingto the left
a st h es r r p p odr ti m i n i s h e s .
. Tokeepthe sawtracking
useyourfingertipsto
pressthebladeagainst
the rightsideof thekerf.

NEARINGTHE
BOTTOM

(O5MAN
ROB www.robcosman.com Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 l

. Errenn.ithor-rtkeli sr-rppolt
at the bottom of the cut
voll can still finishclcan
and strarsht.

\A,EDGE
FALLSAWAY

. Salr,ingbelor'1,thescdbe
linc lookssloppr.ancl
nhile one or hvo canbe
ovcrlookecl, nore than
that lvi1lneeclto be
repairccl or-redonc.

SAMNGBELOWTHE
SCRIBE

. Thisrcpalrcanonlr,be
rlonebcioretheplirs
arecrit.
. Setthcnrarkinggar-rge to
jr-rst beloivtheilccpest
l<erf.
. ( . . r ,t u l h) (r i b ( ' Jn r \ \ l i l t ,
all aror-rncl thetailboarcl.
. Reurember to cloall the
pieccsthatareatTcctccl bi'
thisclirnensional change.
. Chiselthengr, scribe1ine.

NEW SCREELINE

wwwrob(osma
n.com
 ll

I
t
I'+
e
e
. A mispiaced
chiselmark e
l" h' r t i" 'n- -l*pr 'r" n r n l q :! ! " 'q- ' tt lrb:"i' o h i

line will sholv. e

q
}rD
\ II
v|
q
CHOPPING
BELOWTFIE
SCREE
e
e
. T' h i s r c' rn' -r-i r c : n o
}'D
" " - ' . -n- .l .r Jr h" p-
donebeforethepins },)
arecut.
. Ifl'ou canaffordto lose
thetailboard lengththen
e
gaugea new scdbeline
thatgoesjustbelow
thevoid.
. Besnreto changethe
lengthof the other
tailboard.

NEWSCR]BE
LINE

. Sawingbelowthe
lineis a
shor:lder
commonmistake.
. If lpft vnrurill
' ' ' - ' 'h:rrp
' * ' ' . . br " oan
T
on fhe pdop of thp inint
" _ " " ! + ' - !
v ' ' , \ - ' _ '

thatis veryvisible.

Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 t

. Setthemarkinegauee
for thelolcst partof the
sawcut.
. \'Viththervasteaheaclv
removecl thereis not
muchsurface areatcr
registertheheaclof
the gauge.

. \Alrththeheadof the
gaugeheldfirmh'aeainst
theendof thetailboard
makesever-al iightpasses
bv rollingtlrecutteracross
theedge.

. I V i r h r i l h p p l h' n , ' o r r o a
T- b'"b-

vouma-v
be ableto finish
theshouldcr
by slicingall
r r n r r n d l h e .p*r|]ro' *p' :' 'r'r , l

workingtor'varr1
the
mrdillc.
. Theoptionis to markthc
norinrolor rrrrl rrrr,. lhn

shor-rlder
r,r'rtha chisel.

SCREETHE
PERIMETER

wwwrobcosman.com ROB
TOSMAN 77
 . \Atththe boardsecured in
thevise,setthe chiselon
the scribeline.
. Undercutthemiddieof
the shoulderleavinga
qtrin nn oifhor ci,,le

. Thesenarow stripsare
easyto parewith a chisel.
. Becarefulto followthe
outsidescribe1ine.

PARET}IE
EDGES

Inspectthe pin board

aftertransfering the tai1s.
If severalof yourmarks
aremisplaced lt maybe
betterto startover.
Planethe endgrainto
removethe marks,scribe
a new line andre-dothe
tail transfer.

78 ROB
COSMAN www.rob(osman.(om Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . After transcribingthe tails
and beforeyou lift the
tailboard,checkwith a
benchlamp for any
errantknife marks.
. Re-doanysuspect tails
andnotetheinconect
marks.
. As soonasthe tailboard
is removedusea pento
identifythe correctmark.

. Thisrepairis easierto
makebeforethepin
wasteis removed.
. Thepin cutshaveto
be plumbfor thejoint
to work.
. Slopingkerfscreatea
wedgeat the top or
bottomof the piryone
causes a gapthe other
a split.

. Thisrepairusesthe sawto trim the side

of thepin.
. IMth sufficientlateralpressure the teeth
cancuton onesidewithoutsiidingout
of position.
. Startthis procedurewith the bladein the
enantkerfandwithyourthumbpressing
tnesawteethagainst thesideofthepin.
. Youwill haveto supportmostof the iaia/s
weightsotheteethcanestablish a,,shelf,
andnot merelyscrapethe sideof the pin.
. Slowlysawthis"shelf"downthe sideof
thepin until thefuli width of the bladeis
cuttingwood.
. At this point the sawwill startto track
by itselfandyou canflnish the cut to the
scribeline.

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.r0bc05man.c0m
. It\4tha plumb pin the
jointwillwork.

. Thismistakeis normally
fatalandthejolnt should
bere-done.
. If it mustbe saved,the
bestwayis to sawthru the
joint onceit is assembled.
Seepage83.
. Theextentofthe under
cut will determinethe
width of the sawkerf
neededto maketherepair

. A sawcut on thewrong
sideof the line is easier
to fix afterthejoint is
together.More than a few
of thesewouldbe reason
to startover.
. Thisrepairis doneby
sawingthru thejoint to
estabLish an evenwidth
kerf.Seepage83.

www.r0Dc05man.c0m Hand-Cut
Dovetails
 . Thebestwayto make
thisrepairis to pare
acrossthe graln.

. Paringacrossthe grainis
easierif the fibersareflrst
severed at thebase.
. Havingbeensevered the
wood fiberswlll fal1away
astheyarecut makingit
easierto controlthechisel.

. Usea sharpchiselthatis
widerthanthe pin is ta1l.
. Anchoryourforward
handagainstthewood
andsqueeze the chiselto
providecontrollingback-
pressure.

Hand-Cut
Dovetalls www.robcosman.com ROBCOSMAN
8I
. Aq \nr nprr lhp h:cl nf
l' h
- 'p- n in raise ihp chiqpl to
r-"/
qLprlr lhp tnn '"r anrnpr
-"'-'.-''
. Thiswill avoidbreaking
off the cornerat the end
of thecut.

. Forbettercontrolit is
easierto takeseverallight
-,.+- rL-- ^-^ l^^^--,
!utJ Lttalt urtc ltcdvy.
. Worktowardthe knife
markuntil the sideof the
pin is straightandplumb.

ACLEANPIN

. Althoughit appearseasy
to placethe chiselin the
knifemarkandpare,the
gralnis oftenrunningthe
\,!TOngway.
. Theriskis that thewood
fiberswill breakand
rrndormino tho nin
"''r'"
 . Thisis theresultof the
grainrunningagainstthe
directionof the cut.

-ionx
sTRFACE

. Ifthe grainis runningin

therightdirectionthe cut
is easyandfinishesclean.

. It is easierto repaira gap

thatis uniformin width.
. If thegapis narrower
thanthekerfof l.our
saw,simplycutthrougir
theloint scribelineto
scribeiine.

I
SAMNGTHROUGHTTIE
GAP

Hand-(ut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com
. A widergapwill needa
widerkerffiom a larger
saw,adjustaccordingly.

. T^ h" 'p" ' 1q *n*r 'r-e r p -e.d. bo 'c" 'n* { a

doesa goodjob
scraper
of deepeningthe corners
wherethe sawcouldn'
reach.
. A sharpor wedgedshape
couldeasilysplitthewood

. Select a pieceof wood

that closelymatchesthe
eroe ln ha reneiro,l

. If you'relucly you wl1l

find an off cut fromthe
sameboard.

www.robcosman.com Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . Sawa filler strip,a bit
thickerthan the gap.
. I usemy oppositemiddle
fingerto pressthe small
strip againstthe bladeto
supportit whilebeingcut.

. Determinethe shapeand
sizeof the filler strip from
the actualgap.

. Ratherthan try to drive

the filler strip all the way
to the bottom of the gap,
I trim the insidecomer
to ensurea tight fit.

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.r0DC05man.c0m
l

. On a flat metalsurface,
" ' ' - thp
rnnrrnd . ' ' ' fillpr ctrin fn
compress it.
. Taplightlyso\.ouwon't
splitthewood.
. T h p m n i s h r r p 'i n
' . 'l.h' p
t r ' o* l' r r p
''_--
-____-
will hrinq it hack in qize

andnicelrr
fill thegap.

POLNDTOCOMPRESS
THEFILLER

. Checkif the stripwillfit.

. A littlp prfr: nnrrndinq
r"''""'t)
wili makeit easierto
r'"^-'"-.."' ' ' - "qtrin
noqiiinn ilrp fillpr ' - ' r ,in' '
L
the gap.

CHECKTF{E
FII

. Orr fhin rpnrirq uzero,l nr

othercoatedpaperdoesa
goodjob of spreading
gluein the gap.
. Workit forth andbackto
getgoodcoverage.

www.rob(osman.com Hand-(ut
Dovetails
 . Dont pre-gluethe strip,
the moisturewill cause
it to swellbeforeit is
in place.
. Setthe fillerstripin place
andtap it asnecessary

. Youcanwait for the glue

to dry or trim itwhile the
woodis softandpliable.
. Useseveral passeswith
fhp enrncr nf r chem

chiselto shearoff the

evnpcc filler ctrin

. Therepairis well camou-

flagedandif is hardto see
thelonggrainbuttjointir
thewalnut.

I A FEWSTROKES
WTrlrTliEPL-ANE

Hand-Cut
Dovetails www.robcosman.com
 ----

{-i

fr
t
P
ry ABOTITTT]EATIII]OR
F
P
f) O0 COSV,INhasbeenwoodworking
I\\Aftile earning
lor mosfof hislife.
a B.Sc.rn InduslrialTechnoJoglrfurnifure P
Designat BrighamYoung
teachingassistant.
University,
he wasDr. DaleL. Nish's
Robhasalsoworkedwith manyof theworld's P
bestmastercraftsmen- includingAlanPeters,SamMaloof,
TageFrid,MonroeRobinsory andPeterKorn. P
Fl
Robfrequentlytravelsto demonstr"ate
woodworking techniques,
andhastauehthandtool skillsto hundredsof students.He has P
operateda customwoodshopsince1989,wherehe designsand
P
buildsmade-to-orderfurniturewith an emphasison usinghand
tools.Robandhis wife Km livein New Brunswickwith their
ten children. cd
c
i
"Rlb'scraftsmanshtp
is bestdescribed
assuperb!"
AUN Parsns

@2008ArvmnicaN
CnansnnqN
CoPt,
$hoP PlslrceroNs
lut ltovstri\s
Hand
. -, , . , 1 1r t.Irl l l I l l l l l MadeandPrintedin Canada
y'l80980ilg41203r1
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llfirr $.-.*
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