Tried router-cut vs chisel-only dovetails back to back last weekend

I've been doing dovetails by hand with just chisels for about 2 years now. They come out fine but take me forever, like 45 minutes per corner. Last Saturday I set up my router with a cheap dovetail jig I found on Craigslist for $30. Ran a practice joint on some pine and it took maybe 10 minutes total. The fit was tighter than anything I've done by hand honestly. I still like the look of hand-cut better for visible work, but for drawer boxes nobody will ever see, the router won by a lot. Has anyone else tried both and stuck with one over the other?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire_wells8723d ago

Actually, that 45 minutes per corner for hand-cut dovetails is pretty good for two years in. I've been doing them for about four years now and I'm still around 30-40 minutes for a decent joint (with my shaky hands and all). But here's the thing I noticed - you said the router jig cost you $30 on Craigslist. Those cheap jigs (like the Porter-Cable 4216 or similar knockoffs) usually only work well for half-blind dovetails, not through dovetails. So if you ran a practice joint on pine with the router, I bet it was half-blind, right? That's actually easier than through dovetails because the tails are hidden on one side. Hand-cut through dovetails are a whole different beast, so comparing them straight across isn't totally fair.

finleyw9922d ago

Started with the EXACT same problem, pine was just too soft and crumbly for my early attempts. Switched to poplar from the big box store and it made a HUGE difference. It's still forgiving but doesn't collapse like pine does when you're figuring out the saw angles.