Dovetail

I must be cheap (ish) too... I use two chisels. The one that does the majority of the work is slightly wider than half the width of the socket, and then I have no qualms about plunging a 1/4" chisel into the socket corners to clean them out. You're obviously more hesitant to dig a wider chisel into the corners.
 
Pam, Hi Thank you for the link. I have seen these and I do like them. Me being cheap I would go for the smallest one. But as I post this I could see where these could be useful in many circumstances
 
Talk about cheap, I use a reworked 50 cent rusty triangular file made into a chisel to clean out the dovetail corners.  I annealed it in my woodstove, filed it smooth, rehardened it and then tempered it to hold a good edge.  Works great!
 
You're welcome, Jeff. I only have the smallest one, and it does the jobs I need done; but I also have a 10mm (3/8") bachi nomi (fish, tail, also at that link as a custom chisel Tasai made me, but it was much cheaper years ago when I ordered it) that's come in very handy, too. In fact, I used it all the time on hidden dovetails before I got the 6mm type 1 chisel.

The only potential problem with the 6mm is that Tasai refused to make me a 6 mm bachi nomi because he had problems making the shank strong enough; so I'd stick with the quality makers, like Ouchi, Koyamaichi, Tasai, and anyone else high quality sold by Iida or Stu Tierney or Hida.

I'd also give LN a try if I were ordering today. Their fishtails are O1 and look real good, about half the price of the Japanese; but the smallest is 3/8".

Pam
 
Today's economy could be like period joinery and sawing to the line. I am talking about the base line. The bottom of the dovetail.  The bottom line! Do you saw to the line or past the line. Which will produce the most proficient and expedient joinery and hold true over the years? If you saw to the line your joinery will look good but might take a little longer to produce. But who can say how well the internals fit. If you saw past the line then will it hold over the years? Do you want your joint to last? No matter what joint you produce there are always circumstances to challenge that joint. Will it hold up? Only the years will tell. What should we call pieces produced today Obamaethain or Elizabethain  or AMR   American External reflection all could be a Bushism. Romney, WV is only 20 miles West of Winchester, Virginia
 
When cutting all of the drawer dovetails to fit a case.  I will use two cutting gauges. I am not cheap. One for the reach of the dovetail ( how far into the drawer front the tails reach) and one for the thickness of the drawer side( Depth of the drawer side thickness). This way I will not have to reset after each drawer layout.
 
I like my overshot saw cuts almost as much as the tight-fitting dovetails themselves. Their existence, fineness of cut and straightness/angularity speak volumes about the joinery. Plus, they're period correct.

For many years I have considered changing my forename by deed poll to 'George' so anything I make is genuinely Georgian.

I also use two individual (and very different) cutting gauges for the two marking procedures. The different looking gauges reduce the possibility of making mistakes.
 
I'm a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to my work (I used to develop software, loved writing stuff that ran perfectly the first time), so I saw to the line for dovetails. I know that for hidden dovetails it's historically correct to over shoot, but I can't bring myself to do that intentionally. Of course, I don't build period furniture right now, so I guess historical correctness isn't an issue.

Pam
 
Dovetails, mortise and tenons, glued rub joints for feet and case, it is all about surface to surface contact. No more no less!
 
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