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Any tips for scraping dovetails?

CountryBoy19

Stainless
Joined
Aug 14, 2012
Location
Bedford, IN
Having conquered scraping flats I'm now working on dovetails and it's a whole new ballgame. I'm currently having an issue that I think is related to not getting deep enough into the dovetail.

I have a Dapra blade that Rich let me borrow that he has already beveled the top edge etc. I have some relief in the corner but I'm not sure I have enough. I just don't want to over-do the relief so I'm hesitant to go further. What is the thinnest you can bevel the end of a scraper blade? Maybe I need to get my own (don't want to modify Rich's) and bevel it more?

Without getting too specific (yet) is there a youtube video or a good article I can read on corner relief for scraping in the dovetails?

On a side-note, I'm using a regular hacksaw blade to get my relief; I read that a power hacksaw blade makes a good tool for relief but have no sources for them without going to ebay and/or buying new. Unless I'm mistaken there really is no limit on how the relief gets in there right? I've heard some even use a cutting wheel on an angle grinder. Is that an acceptable way to get a bit more relief?

I'm currently unable to post pictures; having internet troubles.
 
The cut off wheel works, but you need to be really careful. It's easy to go too deep, or skip out of groove and gouge the flat surfaces.

A narrow scraper is helpful. I have a 20mm that I use. You can bevel it right down to maybe .03 if you need to.
 
If hacksaw blades are all you've got, double up on it. That is, mount two blades to your frame or tape two together to get a wider groove.

You don't have a photo of the condition now, but I'd consider one hacksaw blade width too thin for anything other than tiny instrument slides. For a machine tool, using only a single blade, spend some time whittling a wider slot by changing the angle and gouging around.
 
Might or might not be a consideration, but I really don;t like hacksaw blades for that, as I suspect they make stress raisers due to not being rounded.

I have used them, but I'd rather not, and I have made up scrapers from HSS grooving tools to round out corners and at least make me feel better about it.... might or might not do much real good. Hacksaw blade first to rough it, then the rounding tool by hand to finish. Items that go on a mill table could be milled to a nice relief if you have or make a cutter.
 
Ok, with little thought I came up with a reasonably fast & cheap way of cutting (scraping) in reliefs. I tried it out and it seems to give a satisfactory relief, with sufficient radius.

I took a junk carbide-tipped metal-cutting blade from a low-rpm chop-saw (got it free out of a scrap bin) and cut 2 strips out of it. With a bit of grinding on the teeth to a couple different profiles I put it to the test and I'm satisfied. I ground them at approximately the same 5 degree negative rake of a scraper blade. Gripping the handle with both hands and dragging it through the bottom of the dovetail with heavy force peels the cast iron out in piles. It took me maybe 25 strokes and 3-4 minutes to get what I believe to be .015-.025" relief in the bottom.
 

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