Introduction: Hand-cut Dovetails With a Hacksaw !

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Don't have any fancy tools? all you need is a hacksaw and a chisel.

It turned out better than I thought with hardly any gaps !I did pins first and that turned out easer for me.I thought I would try it out of pine and give myself a challenge and also show that it can be done without expensive hardwood.

Inspired by john heisz

John Heisz video

Step 1: Mark and Cut the Pins

I used an angle gauge and marked my pins and also a line the thickness of the board as shown, you don't have to use an angle gauge you can do it by eye and get some good results.

I made score lines with a knife, I then went over with pencil to make it easier to see.

Start the hacksaw off slow and hold your thumb up to the blade to guide it in then proceed to cut it down to the line across the board.

Cut into into your waste to make it easier to cut it out later.

TIP: mark your waste (the opposite to what's going to be the dovetail) with an x so you dont end up getting mixed up.

Step 2: Finishing the Pins

Knock a strait line with a chisel along end of the saw cut. Then begin to cut away the waste and then repeate this to the other side, then once you are nearly though you can carefully chop through, do this with care otherwise you could chip the wood.

Then clean up the edge with a chisel by pairing away your chisel needs to be very sharp and a block of wood clamped on top can provide a good strait reference.

Step 3: Mark and Cut Your Tails

Place your pins onto what's going to be our tails. and mark out our tails as shown.

Then proceed to cut like we did before. For cutting the end I used two pieces of scrap to provide support while they are being cut and to prevent snapping it.

Step 4: Complete Your Tails

like we did before, make a line then push up to it (as shown in 2nd photo) then chop through.

A clean up of the saw cut maybe required but once done you cna go ahead and glue it up.

Step 5: Glue Your Joint !

Glue your dovetail and put a few clamps on to press the joint into place. then sand it down and admire your hard work !

I rubbed a quick finish to show what it looks like.

I hope I have inspired you to get woodworking even with the minimal amount of tools and be sure to check out my YouTube channel for weekly woodworking videos.