How do you?

How do you solve this little machining quandary?

Dovetails set at 90 degrees to each other cut in steel and brass.

Presumably it's a single dovetail, running at 45° across the square.

... unless, of course it's a neat bit of inlay work

MichaelG.

Could it be two dovetails parallel to each other at 45degrees across the square face.

Ian P

How about two dovetails in the form of a cross and a very large hammer?

Err, no!

[Sorry, I could not resist it]

JA

Edited By JA on 29/01/2016 19:45:58

If all 4 faces have a dovetail then it is 2 dovetails at 45°, if only the 2 faces shown then it is one at 45°

Mike

For those that want to know how to make one. This video will explain... https://youtu.be/a3V42KwLTeE

Graham

There was a 'how to' article in the ME quite a few years ago.

Brian

Think turning not milling. And taper turning at that!! Then twist to lock.

Bob D

Edited By Robert Dodds on 29/01/2016 22:34:28

Back when I used to write for Model Engineer I wrote up how to make one of these. Mine was done on a shaper since these are a good machine for doing dovetails without fancy dovetail cutters. The usual approach is the two dovetails at 45 degrees to the faces. You can also make them by setting up each block with one corner along the axis of the lathe and making the dovetails on each part as a quarter circle, then as Robert described above they twist in together. Either way the work wants to be accurate and close fitting, or else it becomes easy to see how it works.

I first saw this idea as a woodworking exercise in either Popular Science of Practical Mechanics back in the late fifties or early sixties, but would assume it is much older than that.

John

Clickspring has a video on YouTube showing how he made one.

A bit like this. Cut by hand from huon pine. I only had a saw, a chisel, and a couple of files. Very laborious!

Edited By Sam Stones on 31/01/2016 04:22:34

Edited By Sam Stones on 31/01/2016 04:22:56

Ya know if a ball dedent was positioned to make the parts snap together and offer a little resistance to disassambly, and possibly make it harder to figure out..

What it looks like now, but no spring-loaded detent.

Indeed. And tonight's Fusion 360 challenge turned(!) out to be relatively straightforward.

The woodworkers like the sliding version which is easier for them. But if you avoid the Brown Stuff, you can make stuff like this:

Murray

Fusion challenge part 2 - sliding version.

Murray

You guys are a dastardly bunch!