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Hello all , I'm trying to find literature on hand cutting a neat fitting traditional compound dovetail joint . Searching for the secret ..... and don't say experience and practice , I'm way past that story . Its the finer points and the tricks learned over a lifetime that I'm interested in . So , how to hand cut a tight fitting neck joint every time . Peace .

There is no"secret"-Even though you don't want me to say I am going to anyway....

Are you ready...

Experience and practice!


Although I use a dovetail jig now I have cut them by hand in the past.
So here is how it is done:

Cut the dovetail first with a saw then transfer those dimensions to the head block and saw as much as you can then chisel the rest out.

I never try to get a tight fitting dovetail (whether cut by hand or with a jig) because I get all the geometry correct-Centerline, neck angle, tight shoulders-then use a shim to make it tight.

Thanks , that's exactly what I'm doing now ....

Good quality, SHARP tools, and again, practice...

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John Hall has very helpful videos on this.

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