re: Dovetails: How to Fill In Gaps?

I also use the sawdust and CA method, and with practice you’ll need it less and less. There are craftsman who make dovetails effortlessly…but they’ve also been doing it longer and more often than you’ve probably been driving a car. That ain’t me! A couple things I think were important for me to learn when I was first learning dovetails: 

1) Dimension all your woods carefully. In reality this doesn’t matter, but when you’re learning you want as few variables as possible, and trying to make up angles due to uneven woods is trouble you don’t need. 

2) The blue tape method was a game changer for me. The idea of cutting to the line but not over is much easier with a tape edge than with a line…for me. 

3) Steady saw movement. Changing anything about how the saw is laying or moving through the wood will create gaps in the finished product. You need perfectly flat walls on all cuts to have perfectly gap-less dovetails. 

4) I use a coping saw to remove waste first. Hacking it out with a chisel makes it harder to control the edges for me. 

5) Chisel sparingly, and only with a razor sharp chisel. Take only the thinnest shavings a test fit regularly. You can’t put wood back on the tails. Hone your chisel often! 

6) Soft woods and hard woods act differently. I think too much practice in soft pine has its disadvantages. I like poplar because it’s easy for me to get and it’s a good middle of the road density. 

Practice practice practice!