Thread: Dovetail saw

Hi Chris, I asked the same question a while back in this thread, and you'll find some of your answers there. You'll also see towards the bottom, the Veritas dovetail saw which I bought, and love. Carbatec have them for $75 at the moment.

Hi Chris,

Welcome to the QUITE side, Had a Pax dovetail saw for over 15 years, great saw. However, have since changed to a Japanese back-saw with 24 tpi fantastic for Dovetailing very seldom use the pax anymore. The plus side is once the jap saw is blunt replace the blade for around $20.00 mark.

When your eyes start to go a bit dim that is a huge bonus for me.


Cheer

Steve

I recently had a rush of blood while buying a present for my dad - I purchased both the Adria (which is exemplary) and am still waiting on the Pax to arrive from England. I thought I'd best buy and try both to compare quality........ I suspect that the Adria will be hard to top.

cheers,
gav.

Originally Posted by rhancock

Hi Chris, I asked the same question a while back in this thread, and you'll find some of your answers there. You'll also see towards the bottom, the Veritas dovetail saw which I bought, and love. Carbatec have them for $75 at the moment.

I would have to agree with Richard that the Veritas at that price is probably the best value to be found in a dovetail saw anywhere at the moment.
Cheers
SG

The Veritas sound the go, I would have bought one but I'm not into the space age Veritas shapes so I picked up a LN progressive pitch which is fantastic. The Adria should be just as good too. I get suckered for LN fast service, I order today and they are here within one or two days.

I have 2 dovetail saws...1 x Lie Nielsen and 1 x Japanese (with custom made handle).

Both have fine blades, I use both for joinery, both cut nice fine lines.

Admittedly...since making the handle for the japanese one (uni project), I havent used the Lie Nielsen

Oops yes forgot the pull saw, I have a realy nice hand made one I got from So at Japan Tool which I do use a lot but on dovetails I still prefer a push saw.

Thanks for the advice everyone practice + a tool upgrade.

Aestetically I'd love a LN but financially it will have to be a Veritas.
SG you said "Carbatec have them for $75 at the moment."
Where?
We are $89 down here in Tas.

As I thought, I need to go shopping and get more shed time.

Originally Posted by haggismuncher

Thanks for the advice everyone practice + a tool upgrade.

Aestetically I'd love a LN but financially it will have to be a Veritas.
SG you said "Carbatec have them for $75 at the moment."
Where?
We are $89 down here in Tas.

As I thought, I need to go shopping and get more shed time.

I haven't checked.
It was Richard who nominated that Carba Tec had them at that price. Send him a PM for the information on it.
I was agreeing that they have an excellent reputation and are a bargain at $75.
From memory they used to be $119 at Carba Tec.
A good saw.
SG

Just to add my 2c - I agree that the LV is probably the best bang for buck. I don't like the space age look either, but have to admit (grudgingly) that is is very comfortable to hold, and I found it cuts nicely, and I was able to hold a line with no effort. It also comes sharp & ready to go, unlike the last new Pax I tried, which was a) as dull as dishwater, b) had a pathetic excuse for a handle which is about as comfortable as a rock mattress, and c) cost considerably more than the LV.

Another good reason to buy a LV is that they do seem to understand hand tools. The tpi of their saw is about ideal for cutting average stock sizes (i.e. somwhere in the 10-20mm range). There seems to be some idea developing out there, that you need ultra fine teeth for d/tailing, but think of them as little ripsaws. You need about 1/2 dozen teeth in a cut, minimum, but too many fine teeth does not make for good sawing - they simply clog with sawdust and make for slow cutting at best, and a wandering cut at worst.

Cheers,

I see North Island Carbatec stores, such as Melbourne,
offering a twin pack of Dovetail and Cross cut saws for $139.

And me with a birthday next week.......
I wonder what I am going to ask for

Mind you, the LN does just look so damn good,
maybe when I'm rich......

yes, no matter how well the Veritas works.... I was over flash gordon and buck rogers by the time I was twelve.

Remember that HNT Gordon are the local stockists of Adria saws. I placed my order on a Sunday, and the saw arrived on the tuesday, which is fine service in anyone's book, surely!

I've also just found out that the Pax is at the post office - it will be interesting to compare, as this was made to order (hopefully a family link to Sheffield pays off; they were great to deal with directly as carbatec et al don't stock this model) and is their flagship 1776 model (I know the date is meant to correspond with their founding, but I sometimes suspect that it is to thumb their nose at Disston). We shall see at the workbench this evening)!

Waiting for the results,,,,,,,,,

Sorry, the $75 must have been a special for the Veritas dovetail saw, as its $89 now - still a bargain though. I think I'd buy the two for $139 too, as I'm going to go back and look for a cross cut saw.

As to the handle, I'm a traditionalist too, but all old designs were new once. I think that the light weight, lack of sweating, robustness all make it a great handle. It fits nicely in my (large) hands and makes lovely cuts.

At the moment I'm looking for out of the box and straight to the workbench, with decent value. Veritas is it, for now.