Dove tail joints

[Creature]

I bought a dovetail jig from lee valley. It's for a hand saw, not for a router.

when cleaning out after the cuts, (my first try) I found the chiseling made the joint look sloppy, has anyone tried using a scroll saw for this? Or is it just practice, and the fact I was using some real old scrap spruce?

[imported_Kent]

Couple things that will help:

With a knife or marking gauge, score a line at the base of the pins and tails. Chisel out the waste, staying about 1/16" shy of the line. Then place the chisel right in the scored line and make a final clean cut. Ideally, the chisel should be sharp enough to make the cut with hand pressure only, no pounding.

And yeah, using softwood is part of the problem. Tends to crush and dent. Poplar is a good inexpensive wood for practice (and for real drawer sides).

[Creature]

thanks, I'm going to take a second shot at it today, having the day off and all :D

[Mike3206]

Oddly enough, I watched Norm make some hand cut dovetails a few weeks ago on a new show. It looked so easy to do and set up. I know Lee Valley makes some marking templates that can be bought for $9. I'm starting to think that doing something like one drawer by hand would be faster than using my PC dovetail jig.