Thread: Leaving the baseline on dovetails?`

Think it just ends up coming down to personal preference. I don't mind seeing base lines or not really. Kind of in a way a signature of hand cut dovetails I like to think though. I'm unsure on the historic precedent but i'd stick with what you prefer. I have done limited dovetailing but I generally make my outside baseline marks a lot lighter than my inside baseline marks in terms of how much pressure I apply.

Yeah, I think it's a distinguishing mark, like leaving scrub-plane scallops, for that "hand-made feel" (TM)

I have known some actually score in the baseline to emphasise it was hand made. I think this is silly. Something that is hand made is evident is many other ways. One does not have to be blatant and put in marks (lines or scallops).

My preference is to plane away any marks, if it is possible. "Hand made" lies in the construction and method, not in the marks. The furniture I design and build falls into the "contemporary" category, and this is not sympathetic to rough finishes. I might do it differently if I was reproducing a vintage piece, where it was a common feature to be retained.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Excuse my ignorance but could someone show me what the baseline mark is?

Mark it all ..




... or just the sections that are needed ...




Regards from Perth

Derek

Ahh right. Thanks for the pics!

Luke, I'm a 'no vestiges of layout lines' person as much as possible. I suppose that's mainly because we were taught at school to use 'permanent' lines very carefully, so they would either become invisible on assembly, or could be removed at cleanup, and such indoctrination at an impressionable age tends to persist! Vestiges of gauge lines on drawer sides weren't considered a hanging offense, but I am still happier if they do go away completely on cleanup. I use pretty light scoring on D/T bases, anyway, just enough to 'feel' with the edge of the chisel. So most times the layout lines completely disappear after final clean-up, sometimes there are vestiges. I guess I build drawers pretty close to final size - I cut out fronts to be a tight fit in the opening and the backs a slightly looser fit so thet the drawer will have just a hint of taper. After glueing up, a minimal amount of planing usually gives me the desired gap, all being well, which may or may not remove the gauge lines completely.

A 'pencil' gauge can also be a very handy tool to have when you don't want permanent marks, of course.

Agree with Derek that putting score-marks on the work to show it's 'hand-made' is pretty silly. You can usually get a pretty accurate idea at a glance, of what's been done with hand-tools or by machine. That is, unless you use hand-tools only to make something that is normally done predominantly by machine. Not that anyone in their right mind would do that, would they? ......
Cheers,

At the Bungendore woodworks the dovetailed drawers there all have the baseline left on.

I assumed it was some sort of handmade wank.

To me they signify that the maker wasn't prepared to put in the time to not leave them.

Sorry, folks, I've been kind of in transit going home for the holidays for the last couple of days.

Sounds like it just comes down to preference and I, for one, prefer no traces. I guess I was just curious what others thought after seeing it on some very, very high end work.

Cheers,
Luke

If I had left the the base line or any any other marking out visible on a finished item when I was at trade school there would have been marks deducted a competent tradesman would never do this.

I have looked at tons (probably literally) of antique furniture of extremely high quality and you often see these marks left by the cabinetmaker on drawers made in the 18th and 19th century.

There is an old Shaker saying: Where there is no rule, there is no transgression.

There is one thing to say though, I aim for a piston fit so planing after the fitting will change the fit. I live with the marks.