Dovetails
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- This topic has 6 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 6 months ago by Anthony Rich.
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20 October 2017 at 3:31 am #337489
Hi All, I finally got a set of dovetails to look and fit good, Still seems like Im having a tough time chopping the waste material out, the success I had is a practice piece, 1:4 angle,
Im wondering if the bevel needs to be modified ? Maybe Ill spend some time resharpening again. Tried a new mortising chisel, lie nielsen, cut better than the other ones out of the box.Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.20 October 2017 at 3:19 pm #337726Looks nice! Are you working in a soft wood like pine? I find those woods difficult if my chisels aren’t truly sharp, especially chopping and paring end grain. The dull chisel will just compress the fibers instead of cutting. I have heard that keeping the bevel angle closer to 20-25 degrees helps with soft woods but I haven’t tried it yet.
20 October 2017 at 6:37 pm #337803Hello Harvey,
This is just a practice piece using some soft and hard maple, they are both maple, one works alot like pine, the other is like concrete, lol
I think I may have rounded over my bevels, when sharpening, on some of the smaller chisels, I am going to try to resharpening them today, also just read about butt chisels, being easier to work with, idk, about that, makes sense shorter handle, Still trying to figure out layout, also want to make those fine needle points, but it seems you need larger pieces to do that, Hounds Tooth Needlepoint Dovetail is the joint i’m shooting forI have some 01 tool steel ordered for a plane iron I made, I may make my own custom Chisel.
Thanks For the Kind words
AntHi Ant, you did not say what the problem was in chopping out the waste. Is it just the hardness of the hard maple so that the chisel dulls quickly? I am new to handtools but have one thought. I found at first that my hollow ground chisels dulled very fast with chopping. The edges visibly chipped. I then starting using Pauls sharpening technique which provides a stronger edge for chopping. I still seem to sharpen a lot more than Paul does but have no chips at all. Of course, the hardest wood I have tried so far is oak so hard maple is outside my experience. Sanford
22 October 2017 at 7:16 pm #338750Hello Sanford, We’ll I resharpened and fixed the round over I put on the smaller chisels ( bevel )
25° Bailey Chisels, Polished them look good now, about 3/16″ into the work, it seems like the texture of the fibers changes and is really hard. Wondering about Moisture Content, or Like you said Half way through the job they are getting dull,
Could be Im not putting a sharp enough edge on it, using Arkansas Stone, Course Medium and Washita
Starting using a leather strap and a polishing compound, much better.Seems like it takes a long time to chop through. I will try a different wood species and see if that changes anything.
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.24 October 2017 at 11:47 pm #340194Is it possible your chisels have lost their temper and are too soft? This would cause them to dull very quickly. Just a thougth…
25 October 2017 at 9:04 am #340458I dont think so, I think part of my struggle was not knowing how to use them, removing waste material properly, technique, I’m doing better with them, paying more attention to details, and just practicing.
Watching the box making series now, have part 6,7,8 to go.
Making a box with a sliding lid, first joint came out very good,using Maple 3/8″ stock for the long pieces, and 5/8-3/4 for the short ones. -
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