Tails on drawer sides

Re: Tails on drawer sides

Martin, from Granbury

>I don't do this, and here is why.

I cut tails first, and chop out the waste with chisels. Sometimes, when I get to the center of the chopout, the waste will "break" at the center. If you cut the tails first, then chop the waste, then resaw, that tearout area may be exposed.

However, if you cut the tails, but waited to chop the waste until the resaw is complete, I think you have a valid argument. You would save time with the cutting, but not with the chop out.

What I do is resaw, then clamp the boards together and draw and cut the tails with the boards clamped together. Then separate the boards to chop them individually.

Of course, I am fairly new to hand cut dovetails, and still have a lot to learn...

Martin, remove "5" for correct email.

Re: Tails on drawer sides

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>A variation on this theme exists. Some folks stack both drawer sides together and saw the tails on both boards at once. There are a few advantages to this approach:

The greater thickness can increase the accuracy of the cut (or make it easier to saw square).

The other advantage is that if your sides are thin, you can have a coarser saw. Said differently, you can probably get away with thinner stock if you double up the boards.

I don't resaw drawer sides typically, but I think your logic is sound.

Adam

stacking

bill tindall

>If the drawer sides are thin I often stack them before sawing to get two for the price of one. It mainly saves time marking.

Re: Tails on drawer sides

Bob Powers

>As usual, the information I received here makes sense. I usually make the saw cuts and chop out all the waste. Maybe I'll try the usual saw cuts and then cut out most of the waste with a coping saw, then resaw, then chisel out the rest of the waste on the individual sides.

Adam, I'm curious, why do you not usually resaw the sides? Most of the stock I use is about 1" rough when I buy it. Unless I am making a very large drawer, I prefer sides 3/8" to 5/8" thick. Do you just plane the sides down?

Re: Tails on drawer sides

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>I resaw by hand and I find it laborious, so I avoid it whenever possible. I typically use S4S pine from home depot or lowes for drawer sides (and bottoms). It reaches my shop 3/4". jJust removing the planer marks with a jack plane (I don't typically smooth drawer sides because I want them to look a little rough) brings the thickness down to 5/8 or so, so that's what I use.

The period I try to emmulate was characterized by its thick drawer sides. Pretty sure thin oak sides are typical of 19th century English pieces.

The only time I resaw is when I want thin, wide dust panels/dividers. That's a pretty good job resawing a 1x12 with a common rip saw. As I recall, it could take me as long as 15 minutes to get through a 3 or 4 footer. I should try making a long framed rip saw. I know others here have had good luck with them.

If I were you, I'd be inclined to saw the tails, then resaw, then chop. Be sure to check out Popular Woodworking's next "Arts and Mysteries" column for a more detailed (and hopefully clearer) explanation of why I think this is advantageous. (In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to try it several different ways. There is no one right answer.)

Adam

OT-

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>Bob,

I just wanted to add that I think its wise of you to be asking (yourself and us) such questions. Sometimes we can really improve efficiency or quality by simply changing the order of operations.

Or at least that's just my opinion.

Adam