# dove tail in plywood



## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

Can dove tails be made in plywood? Or, should I ask are they strong in plywood? I want to practice making dove tails in cheaper woods. But, I also want them to be useful. I plan on making the dove tails by hand. Thanks for any info.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*don't use plywood*

There's too many grain directions. I'd use poplar, a nice hard wood usually without knots, cuts cleanly and easily. Reasonable also. You can get few pieces at the box store and that will keep you busy. :thumbsup:


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## mveach (Jul 3, 2010)

works well in baltic birtch but climb cut is a must.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I wouldn't practice with plywood. Routing plywood is hard on your router bits. If you do it very much it will make a ding in the bit from the glue line like you hit a nail.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*dovetails by hand fellas*



nbo10 said:


> Can dove tails be made in plywood? Or, should I ask are they strong in plywood? I want to practice making dove tails in cheaper woods. *But, I also want them to be useful. I plan on making the dove tails by hand*. Thanks for any info.


No climbs cuts, no routing........ AFAICT :no:


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

You can cut DT's in plywood by hand. For machine DT's Baltic Birch, or Apple Ply work well if you back it up. For practice, you could use some clear pine. But, if you go to hardwoods, it's a bit different (no pun intended).

Try to get a good DT saw...15 TPI (middle of the road for aggressiveness). You could use a back saw or a tenon saw, but DT saws are usually more compact. I would go to the store and handle one. The two popular grips are an open pistol type grip, and a straight handle. They feel entirely different in your hand. So, get a feel for it before you buy.









 







.


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

I did this using Baltic birch and hickory. I cut the pins first with the table saw then mark the tails and cut them with the band saw.









Bret


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## Handplane (Nov 28, 2012)

A lot of cabinet shops do dovetail joinery with 1/2" ply all the time for drawers.


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

It may be just me, but I don't think I'd try handcutting DT's in plywood. True enough, it can work with machines but you want to hone skills. That would best be done with poplar like woodnthings suggested. Hickory and maple can also be fairly cheap, but much harder to work. Poplar makes a nice starting wood....and they will still be useful.


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

Thanks for all the info. 

Bret, what are these pins that you mentioned?


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

Nbo10,

There are two parts to the dovetail joint, the tails on one board and the pins on the other. 

Breti


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*the pins are smaller than the tails .....*

On hand cut dovetails like Bret's, the pins are the smaller projections. The "tails" look like the dove's tail.
Here's some hand cut pins: http://www.thomasjmacdonald.com/content/howto/howt/step-by-steps/through-dovetails-cutting-the-pins/

Another example;
http://woodtreks.com/how-to-hand-cut-precision-dovetails-—-part-one-the-pins/75/


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

Thanks for the links. I was looking for a reference on making dovetails.


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