Dovetail drawers

[jonathanmahnken]

Which dovetail drawer gadget is currently the best. Id like to use 1/2" prefinished birch ply

[jonathanmahnken]

Thanks, but I don't have the ability to clamp boards off the end of my router

[Jimcad]

Clamp it on top of a spacer so it's up in the air by the required amount.

[Adrian]

Which dovetail drawer gadget is currently the best. Id like to use 1/2" prefinished birch ply

If you can't clamp boards vertically for "true" dovetails then the Vectric dovetail gadget would work for you as everything is machined flat.

https://gadgets.vectric.com/V11/dovetail

[jonathanmahnken]

I have seen advertised that there is a special cnc bit for doing "half blind" dovetails where everything is milled flat on the table. is this method applicable to any vectric gadgets?

[jonathanmahnken]

I have seen an example of the vectric gadget, and it seems to leave little pockets in the corners of the joint, which is not very desirable. is there a way to minimize this. Also is there an option for a dadoed bottom in said gadget?

[Adrian]

I have seen advertised that there is a special cnc bit for doing "half blind" dovetails where everything is milled flat on the table. is this method applicable to any vectric gadgets?

The gadget was made to avoid using those specialist bits but, as you've seen it does have some compromises.

You may want to look at the range of specialist CNC joints that are possible on the flat rather than sticking to dovetails unless there is some specific need to use that joint.

[jonathanmahnken]

Just hoping to offer a dovetail drawer option. for customers who ask/want. And I use undermount slides, so I need to have my bottoms dadoed .5" up from the bottom.

[TReischl]

As much as I like doing things on the cnc router, the simple fact is this is another one of those things that is WAY faster using a dovetail jig and a handheld router.

There is a sign in my shop: "Just Because You Can, Does Not Mean You Should"

Heck, by the time you figure out that you cannot do what you want you could have built several hundred drawers.

[TReischl]

Just hoping to offer a dovetail drawer option. for customers who ask/want. And I use undermount slides, so I need to have my bottoms dadoed .5" up from the bottom.

How about you cut a hole in the table since you cannot hang off the front? I have seen this done, works well.

[jonathanmahnken]

min is a vacuum table, sooo...

[ElevationCreations]

Just hoping to offer a dovetail drawer option. for customers who ask/want. And I use undermount slides, so I need to have my bottoms dadoed .5" up from the bottom.

A vertical work holding surface is beneficial for doing Dovetail Joints on the CNC with a Dovetail Bit.

Vacuum holding jigs are also a great benefit for the vertical surface

Jay Bates has a good video on how to set up dovetail cutting on Vectric.

For undermount slides you may need to adjust spacing on the rear of the box to avoid pins that break off when you notch out the back bottom for the undermount slides.

[adze_cnc]

A vertical work holding surface is beneficial for doing Dovetail Joints on the CNC with a Dovetail Bit.

That is probably quite true. If I were to do that I would do a variant of Ted's method for cutting finger joints to avoid edge blow out:

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But... Given the following:

Thanks, but I don't have the ability to clamp boards off the end of my router

min[e] is a vacuum table, sooo...

It's not really an option for everyone to keep suggesting a vertical solution.

My thought was to avoid the tell-tale signs CNC cut joints (little dog bones in corners) that are not wanted one could do a technique similar to the tapered inlay process by using a v-bit with a V-Carve/Engraving Toolpath.

A bit of searching (one of least used and most powerful features of the forum) came up with this post: "Through Dovetails cut on the flat using VCarve Pro 5.5" from 2011. I haven't fully read the linked articles at cnczone in the post but I suspect this is what the original poster might want.

Steven

[Tailmaker]

I have been chasing interesting joint solutions for a long time (guess where my forum name comes from...) and developed a software solution for vcarved tails and pins that I sold for a while with modest success. That method used a 30-degree v-bit but required a clamping jig that mounted the board at 15 degree angle to the table. Much better than vertical but still a hassle. Also, the pins were not straight like a normal Dovetail but a bit tapered. Oh well it was a good attempt.

Last year I came up with a totally different method for flat machined dovetails, using an undercutting ball end bit to achieve the required pin shape and posted the results here viewtopic.php?p=296508 and here viewtopic.php?p=296918. I picked that up this project last month and I am developing a general purpose solution for regular dovetails, half blind joints, pocket dovetails (in the middle of a board) and inlayed dovetails. This includes finger (or box) joints as a special version of dovetails with zero degree angle. It includes an output format that can be simulated (except for the undercuts) and used in Vcarve/Aspire. This method is not intended for large volume production (due to 3d carving of the joints) but for modest quantities or single projects. The UI may look something like shown below but still needs some weeks of testing and debugging. I am planning to post it as freeware on Joe Federer's web site. PM if you would like to beta test this sometimes.

Tailmaker2-UI.jpg

[Bobtail Farm]

Nifty (as usual).