Dovetail Markers

Dovetail Markers and a Saddle Square

Dovetail stuff

In preparation for starting to cut dovetails by hand, I decided to make (instead of buy) dovetail markers. These little doohickies allow you to draw the angle for the pin or tail while also drawing the corresponding plum line without having to switch between a bevel and a square.  Since I wasn't sure which angle I preferred, I decided to make one of each of the popular ones.

In order to determine the angles, I didn't use a protractor. I hate math. I just drew a few points on a piece of scrap wood. From the corner, I marked a point 1" in, and another point 6" up, and 8" up. Then I used my bevel gauge to connect those dots for the 1:6 and 1:8 markers.

For the 14 degree marker (a popular dovetail angle) I had to do a little more work. I don't own a protractor, so I opened up Sketchup and drew a 14 degree angle, then drew a guide 1" over, and figured out how far it was up the point where the guide meets the angle (just over 4"). So I went back to my scrap wood and drew that.

Using the bevel gauge, I transferred the lines onto these little blocks of wood. Then I lined them up with the miter saw blade and cut them. They turned out perfectly. That miter box is awesome.

Because I had extra scrap leftover I decided to make a 90degree saddle square. These are handy for when you need to draw a line that wraps around the edges of a board.