Gluing up dovetails
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I was gluing up some dovetails on a small box recently and couldn’t figure out where to clamp. The dovetails are too narrow for the clamps to apply direct pressure onto the tails. If one places the clamps next to the base of the dovetails, this causes bowing and distorts the fit of the tails into the pins.
Perhaps one should use a wooden bar with cleats that fit the size of the dovetails?
A couple of ideas that that comes to mind that may or may not help:-
How about using a softer piece of wood i.e. using pine if its oak. as a sacrifice piece that goes over the dovetails and under the clamps. When clamp pressure is applied any nubs of the Dovetails protruding will squash into the pine but still allow the pressure of the clamps to close the joint up tight .
The second thought would be to cut notches out of a sacrifice piece that matches the dovetails were you want to add pressure from the clamps but allow the nubs from the other piece of wood to push through. You could hold them in position with a bit of masking tape while applying the clamps.
Cheers David
Yes – It is a kind of caul. You cut it from scrap, notching as needed to give something that will apply pressure in the required places. See the attached photo (gluing drawers). There are a couple cauls sitting on the bench, too, behind the clamped drawer in the foreground.
You do want the cauls to be true, square, and parallel, or else clamping through them may introduce twist.