PROGRESS !! - Dovetailing the carcase.

During the week, since my last post, I have cleaned up the glued panels and have run them through the sander one more time to 120grit.  They came up really well, perfectly flat, with perfect joints.  I then worked out the final carcase size and cut the top, bottom and two ends to size on the Altendorf.

Next I was ready for the fun part  - Dovetailing the carcase.  I got out my marking tools and worked out my spacing on an offcut.  I just wanted something that looked pleasing to the eye, but it took a few goes to get it right.

I used my Colen Clenton marking gauge to scribe a line for the depth of the dovetails. This is one serious tool.

I find dividers are the quickest and most accurate way to make the spacings for dovetails.

On the blackwood however it was hard to see my small marks, so I highlighted them with pencil.

Next I used my Colen Clenton 1:8 dovetail gauge to mark the angle for each dovetail. I could have just used a bevel, but this tool is just so nice to hold and use.

Once everything was marked out I shaded in with pencil the areas to be removed.  I find this helps to avoid errors as it clearly shows the waste.

As the carcase is 1.8m long I had to stand on a ladder to cut the dovetails with my Japanese Dozuki saw. I found this did not work well as there was just too much panel unsupported above my workbench. Because this Blackwood is so hard, it was just too hard to cut to the line this way.

So what did I do ?  I reverted to the bandsaw.  It was just the ticket - fast and accurate.

The end of my panel was supported by a roller stand.

Here is how it is done.

I made a series of cuts in the waste area.

Next I clamped on a 32mm thich MDF guide, which greatly helps to keep the line straight and shoulders of the dovetails square.

Tap, Tap, Tap, I carefully removed the waste, working back to my line with my Japanese chisels, and then very carefully paring back the sides of each dovetail, right on the line.

Here are some of the Japanese chisels I used. 25mm paring chisel, 19mm Boxwood handle chisel, 6mm Oak handle chisel, 6mm paring chisel.  This Blackwood was so hard I had to sharpen these 4 chisels 3 times, for each row of dovetails. 

Here is the result

Dovetails are now cut, tomorrow I'll tackle the pins....