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Flush trim or chisel? I switched after 12 years and I'm not sure I was wrong before
For 12 years I cut every dovetail with a flush trim saw and cleaned up with a chisel, and I always figured routers were for guys who didn't trust their hands. Then last spring I did a 40 drawer job for a shop in Tacoma and borrowed a buddy's trim router with a spiral bit, and I finished the pins in half the time with way fewer bruised tails. Now I'm the guy telling everybody to ditch the hand tools, and honestly I don't know if I got smarter or just lazier. So which is it, is a router cheating on a hand cut joint or is it just the sane way in 2025?
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jenniferw8225d ago
That 40 drawer job sounds like it burned you out, and I get why the router felt like a rescue. But half the time and fewer bruised tails doesn't mean the joint is better, it just means you got faster at one step. I've seen trim router pins that fit great off the jig and then show a hairline gap six months later when the wood moves, because the spiral bit left a fuzz you can't feel with your thumb. A sharp chisel and a bit of paring gives you a surface the glue actually grabs. You didn't get lazier, you just traded control for speed and haven't hit the job yet where that bill comes due.
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