Last year I bought the Lie-Nielsen carcass saw to help with my workbench construction, and last weekend I finally got around to buying it's smaller companion the dovetail saw. Basically just a smaller version of the same back saw, but filed for a rip cut. This saw has a very fine kerf, so it cuts very quickly with very little effort. But after making a few dozen practice cuts in some leftover mahogany scrap, I was feeling pretty confident so I marked out a set of pins and set to work. While it took a little fine tuning, I eventually got a good clean fit. And I have to say now that I have a decent dovetail saw, this process really is quite enjoyable. I can see myself pulling out the router-based dovetail jig a lot less often now. Between the setup of the jig, the adjusting of the bits in two different routers, and then the noise and mess, hand cutting seems a lot more appealing especially for a small box or a single drawer. This weekend I will be attending the giant Brimfield antique fair, and I think I'll have a new appreciation each time I pull open a drawer and see the telltale marking gauge line and slight imperfections in the joinery.
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