Ep 3: Dovetailing on the tablesaw
Mike Pekovich begins his dovetailing master class at the tablesaw, where he creates the tails quickly and efficiently using a sled and a custom-ground blade.
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Videos in the Series
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Ep 1: Hanging Wall Cabinet with Mike Pekovich–Intro
December 17, 2019
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Ep 2: Laying Out and Rabbeting the Case
December 17, 2019
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Ep 3: Dovetailing on the tablesaw
December 24, 2019
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Ep 4: Hand-cut pins with a twist
December 31, 2019
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Ep 5: Fitting the dovetails
January 7, 2020
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Ep 6: Through mortise and tenon–Blue tape layout
January 14, 2020
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Ep 7: Drilling and chopping mortises
January 21, 2020
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Ep 8: Cutting the tenons
January 28, 2020
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Ep 9: Prefinishing and gluing up the case
February 4, 2020
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Ep 10a: Making the door frame
February 11, 2020
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Ep 10b: Creating the door panel and dry-fitting
February 11, 2020
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Ep 11: Sizing the kumiko grid
February 18, 2020
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Ep 12: Door glue-up
February 25, 2020
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Ep 13a: Fitting the door
March 3, 2020
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Ep 13b: Mounting the door hinges
March 3, 2020
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Ep 14: Door details
March 10, 2020
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Ep 15a: Half-blind dovetailed drawer – part 1
March 17, 2020
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Ep 15b: Half-blind dovetailed drawer – part 2
March 17, 2020
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Ep 15c: Drawer grooves and glue-up
March 17, 2020
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Ep 16: Shiplapped back boards
March 24, 2020
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Ep 17: Fitting the drawer
March 31, 2020
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Ep 18a: Kumiko–Asa No Ha pattern part 1
April 7, 2020
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Ep 18b: Kumiko–Asa No Ha pattern part 2
April 7, 2020
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Ep 18c: Trimming a kumiko panel to size
April 7, 2020
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Ep 19: Simple shellac and wax finish
April 14, 2020
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Ep 20a: Installing the shelf supports and hardware
April 21, 2020
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Ep 20b: Installing a bullet catch–Conclusion
April 21, 2020
Comments
I can appreciate that using the tablesaw to cut the dovetails is pretty fast compared to hand cut. However, where does one get a specially ground blade? And what if you want to do something other than the 8.5°, do you get multiple blades ground? Seems to be a pricey thing for a hobbiest.
I can see shares in the 8.5degree saw blade company skyrocketing.
You can buy that blade straight from Forrest. Or you can buy a FTG blade and have it sharpened that way. I think most of the time people just use one bevel angle.
It's not that expensive to get them ground. And it's a good use for the stock saw blade that comes with your saw. Most folks upgrade their blade to a Forrest or a thin kerf.
LOL - Forrest website is already saying they have an unexpected increase in demand. The new Pekovich Effect
Hello Mike thanks for the table saw dovetail demonstration. Looks like a cool way to get an accurate dovetail with a narrow opening on the tail. unlike the tail opening on a router cut tail.
https://www.forrestblades.com/saw-blades-for-finger-joints-square-cut-box-joints-rabbets-grooves-and-dovetails/10-custom-woodworker-ii-saw-blade-for-dovetail-cut-40-teeth/
Yes, as predicted ... “Please Note before you place your order: Due to an unexpectedly high volume of orders, you may experience a shipping delay. We will notify you of your expected shipping date after we process your order.”
I hope Mr P is getting something for his sales assistance: I will just have to go to my local blademaster in Townsville should I feel the need.
I messaged Mike to see if he would recommend 8.5 degrees or if he would pick a different angle blade and this is what he said.
"I ordered an 8 degree blade, but it turned out closer to 8.5, which is not a problem. It's a somewhat shallow angle because I cut a lot of dovetails in thicker casework. A school I teach at has 10 degree blades which are fine as well."
After doing some research online I've found pictures showing the difference of angles with their respective ratios.
10 degrees = 1:6
12 degrees = 1:5
14 degrees = 1:4
By that logic 8 degrees would be 1:7 which as Mike said is slightly shallow. Most dovetail guides offer 1:6 for softwoods or 1:8 for hardwoods.
*Picture credit to David Barron Furniture
I have always wondered why Forrest produces this blade in a ten inch configuration. It could easily be made from an eight inch blank because you're not making a very deep cut with it. A smaller blade might save a few bucks - less material, fewer teeth.
As an alternative to dropping $166 for the Forrest model, some years ago I used a diamond wheel on a Dremel to roughly fashion the beveled teeth on an old 7-1/4 inch blade I had for a circular saw. It actually worked pretty well, and I used it for a number of dovetailed drawers.
Zolton
Thanks Mike for the dove tail technique.
Ridge Carbide Tool Co also makes a dovetail saw blade. Delivery was quick. Ordered on line, Ridge called the next business day to be sure I wanted right tilt (yes old Unisaw). 3 days later the new blade arrived to the angle requested and I am building a dresser with Mike’s techniques
Where did you get that multi dividers. I check Garrett Wade and Lee Valley couldn’t find it. But if you ask my wife I never Can find anything.
The closest I can find is the M-Power point 2 point. https://www.m-powertools.com/point-2-point-mk2-layout-divider.html
Thank you those will work fine
A cheaper alternative to the Forrest blade is to buy a flat-top rip blade and have it sharpened to the angle you want. I just bought a thin kerf Freud blade for around 45 dollars that I plan to have ground for skinny dovetail pins.
I've got one from old Bridge City Toolworks. The new Bridge City Toolworks does not seem to have one. I found one for $11 on Amazon by searching "dividers" in "tools and home improvement." The search for multidividers didn't find it, but found dozens with cutting wheels on them for bakers. Apparently crust strips is a thing.
My local sharpener charged $25 to grind a Freud 8" full kerf rip blade at a ten degree angle, which cost $50. Just make sure to specify left or right tilt TS. Also, I think you need to be careful when using anything but a 10" blade on a sawstop.
Another alternative is the “DCT equal space divider”, if you search for this you can find it on multiple shopping sites for about 30 dollars. I didn’t post a link because I don’t want to choose one vendor over the other. The advantage of this one over the MK2 is 4 nuts vs 2.
Mike: I'm mystified about why you left the tiny nibs in the gaps between the tails. These could have been removed by offsetting the board a trifle and making an additional pass over the blade.
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