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I am setting up to make
the socket on one of the sides. I am using a magnetic holddown to put pressure on the
workpiece against the fence. I am using the roller of the device so that I can pull the
workpiece back once I have cut the socket.
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In pine, this cut goes
quite smoothly. In a hard wood, I would make this groove with a straight bit first and
follow that with the dovetail cutter. Even with the vacuum connected, sawdust is thrown
straight out through the cut.
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This is my first dovetail socket. If I had the other three legs, I would do
those now with this same setup. I don't, so I will make the cut for the other side. I
can't do it from this position, so I will setup the holddown for making the cut from the
left.
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Unless I reset the
fence, I have to make this cut working from the left. Normally, you do not want to make a
reverse or climb cut. I will make the cut slowly and make sure that I keep the leg against
the fence.
If this were a hardwood, making the first cuts with a straight bit and in
several passes would be indicated. You do not want to let the workpiece have a chance to
get away from you.
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The leg is done. Both
sockets are clean and straight. I can now setup to cut the tails on the ends of the sides.
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For making the sliding
dovetail sockets in the leg, the router table was level (0o). If I were to keep
it that way to shape the tails, the sides would be difficult to keep vertical as I am
showing here. I would have to come up with a pretty good vertical fence. Thankfully, I do
not need to do that.
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Instead, I have tilted the
table so that it is at 90o. There is a vernier scale that can be used, but I
want to check it to be sure. It couldn't be closer.
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I have not touched the
router height adjustment, so it should be right on — and it is. It makes sense that
the dovetail depth is the same as the table leg socket depth. Notice that I have removed
the fence and will use the tilted table to run the stock against.
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Since the router bit is
under the workpiece, I have to make the cut from left to right. I have lowered the router
by use of the crossfeed crank so that the bit is just touching the underside of the board.
I will be making the tail by routing both sides equally — the same as you would do
with the conventional router. I make the cut on one side, turn the piece over and make the
cut from the opposing side.
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As each pair of cuts is
made, I try the dovetail in the leg's socket. I will turn the crossfeed crank clockwise to
increase the cut. Remember that each turn of the crank represents 1/16" — BUT,
since I am making the cut to both sides, each crank changes the width by 1/8". I want
this fit to be tight with just enough room for the glue.
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I have a very good fit
after two more adjustments of the crank. The last adjustment was 1/4 a turn — about
1/32" total width effect. It is one of the things I like about the RouterShop by Hawk
— you have very positive and accurate control. That means better and more repeatable
joinery.
By the way, I could have made the adjustments to the router crossfeed by
using the math — i.e. the width of the bit is 6 turns and if ....etc. Sometimes trial
and error is quicker and better.
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When I made the test
dovetail, I simply used a pushpad to hold the workpiece against the fence, or table, in
this case.
Here I have installed the miter gauge and am using that to help move the
workpiece through the cutter.
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Here is the
completed leg and side corner. The amount that is left at the top, is the amount I have to
cut for the haunch at the lower end. If you recall, I made the sliding dovetail sockets a
bit less than the width of the aprons for just this purpose. To cut the haunch, I measure
the amount on top, and use a hand chisel to knock off that much from the bottom of the
dovetails.
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