Reducing Dovetailer Tear-Out

Back up the piece with a block. February 9, 2008

Question
I recently purchased a 24 bit dovetailer and the manual is useless. I am having trouble with tear out on the left side. Any ideas for fine tuning it?

Forum Responses
(Solid Wood Machining Forum)
From contributor A:
I don't know what type or brand you bought, but I just got a second hand one myself. My manual is just about as useless. Although mine did state something about, if tearout occurs, simply add a backer block to the, in your case, left side so that when the bits come through, they cut into a solid backing, which should prevent any tear-out, or at least reduce the tear-out. I do this with my door rails. When the cutters come out on the back side there is something solid for the blades to cut into. I keep the block changed often so it remains crisp and sharp.