# dovetail bit for house building



## frenchie (Jan 19, 2012)

Hi.
I need a dovetail bit for house building, so a big one.
A brand in Europe called ARUNDA sell it, but the price for the bit is 330 euros, so 425 dollars. It's very expensive for a dovetail bit, isn't it.
I'm sure a similar product exist in US, cause you have lot of brands, but i don't know the US Market. Help me please.

Shank Diameter: 1/2 Inch
Overall Diameter: 4 cm, so 1-9/16 Inch
Cutting Edge Length: 3 cm, so 1-3/16 Inch
Angle: 14°
It's not a problem if the sizes are not exactly the same.

You can make: industrial buildings, chalets, log structures, interior fittings, renovations, circular roofs, and more... 
You can make all common and special joints, for example, joist to stringer, skewed joist to stringer, beam connected to corner post, rafter to chamfered ridge purlin, end-to-end beams, etc.
Please, have a look to their website to well understand: Arunda - Système Arunda et machine à bois pour charpente. Assemblage de charpente à queue d’aronde. Arunda

Well, if someone know a product like this, he is welcome to give me some information.
I come in Ny for 2 weeks on 30 january, 2012.
Thank you by advance for your help.:fie:


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## gav (Oct 12, 2009)

I've seen that system before and I am pretty sure they are the only ones that have a bit like that.

I could be wrong though.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Before using that type of joinery here in the US on a structural part of a home I would check the local building code first. Looks clean & neat.


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

According to the Arunda site, thats a 12mm _threaded_ shank, and the recommended router is $1070! Too rich for my budget.

I also agree with James, may not meet code in the States. Does look like a neat system, though!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi antoine

The biggest one I have is a 1" one but I'm sure you can find one on the Net we still put up Barns and Log building that way in the states and they use the Big dovetail cutters..it's been a year or so ago I saw a show on TV and they used a big 3 1/2HP router with one of the big dovetail bits and a shop made fixture, so to say you just need to dig a little bit for one. 

MLCS dovetail, candlestand router bits

Magnate

Really Big Dovetails…but Why? | Anthony Hay's, Cabinetmaker

CMT Dovetail Router Bits

Whiteside Router Bits from Woodworkersworld.net--Dovetail, Leigh, Incra router bit

==



frenchie said:


> Hi.
> I need a dovetail bit for house building, so a big one.
> A brand in Europe called ARUNDA sell it, but the price for the bit is 330 euros, so 425 dollars. It's very expensive for a dovetail bit, isn't it.
> I'm sure a similar product exist in US, cause you have lot of brands, but i don't know the US Market. Help me please.
> ...


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## frenchie (Jan 19, 2012)

Thank you for your help.
I know some new brands now.
I don't find exactly the dovetail bit i want, but i discover some bits much bigger than those i knew before.
Never give up. I wish i'll do it.


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## ggom20 (Feb 1, 2012)

Hello!
Strange to speak english to a french guy..

Arunda looks a great thing , i have been studying this in 2009, but never tried it .
They give a good pdf about how it works and trenght of assemblies, maximum
loads and so on, hope you got it.

About dovetails cutters got a bigg one from Bordet, montreuil 93 France.
Its made for the woodrat.Its made in massive HSS steel, no carbide.
You will have to re-sharpen it. 
Bordet catog extract: 
Les fraises spéciales HSS pour « WoodRat » à queue-d'aronde 50.30 euros
Pente : 1/6 (good for soft woods)
Ø : 28 (bottom of cut)
Lu : 50 ( usefull lenght)
BORDET - 3500 outils, machines et accessoires pour le travail du bois

That's the biggest one i could find around, one other thing is to create a strong steel-made template, i would use at least 5mm plain steel for that.

Please, let me now if you make any progress in this matter.

Regards 

Gérard


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## garycurtis (Sep 17, 2007)

I've got a Dovetail bit that is 28mm. It is HSS, not carbide, and I've used it to make dovetails joining a 2x6" stretcher to a 4x4" leg. 28mm = 1 3/16"

Two companies sell this equipment for the WoodRat/Router Boss router machine.
Metric can be purchased at The Amazing WoodRat Makes Any Woodworking Joint
english measure at The Craftsman Gallery, chipsfly.com

the WoodRat and its tooling are manufactured in England. Cost for the 28mm was about $60.

Gary Curtis
California


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## ggom20 (Feb 1, 2012)

hello!

The great advantage of this system is to work on the spot. Maybee worth to pay the price for the system?

Have you got solution for making the template?

An other way, if not on the spot, or say at floor level
is a special 3D cutting mill that could make dovetails with a straight cutter.

Have a look on this:
http://www.routerforums.com/jigs-fixtures/33570-pantorouter-made-steel.html

Its a copy- machine that can dovetail .
Regards

Gerard


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## KUMZUM (Jun 19, 2010)

ggom20 said:


> hello!
> 
> The great advantage of this system is to work on the spot. Maybee worth to pay the price for the system?
> 
> ...


I used to do custom work a lot like this in Jackson WY, Big Sky MT and Island Park ID. We made jigs all the time. As far as making templates and jigs? My advice is just start messing with stuff and ideas. Eventually, you will come up with a good way of accomplishing an outcome you desire. Innovation usually comes through trial and error. Start the trials and expect the errors, and you will be that much farther ahead. Buy the largest bit you can find and start trying to build jigs around it. Maybe bad advice...but hey it's free.


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## ggom20 (Feb 1, 2012)

Hello Kumzum!

Your right about it.

A time for thinking ,and them time for action.

By now its cold and rainy around here, then for me it's time for the thinking
and little jobs I can carry in my tiny workshop.

Already got the big woodrat bit, been drawing a template for guide bushing.

By now :

1) its time to improve Arunda: the guide bush, lets make it with a groove so that, when engaged in the steel template, it could not come out before end of cut.
The router is about 6kg (12 pound) weight and I am not so strong...

2) I just realised that The pantorouter can make dovetails and could do this with cheaper cutters, just straight ones! 

My feelling at this point is that the bigest dovetail bit
is way too small and that building a new machine freely inspired from
"The Pantorouter made of steel" would be a lot better.


Regards.

Gérard


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## Doctor Atomo (Feb 23, 2012)

Interesting system. I would love to see what you come up with. As far as building codes, I appreciate that the government has the responsibility to regulate the industry for safety. The problem is that they are regulating the owner builder out of existence! How about some common sense and leniency for the owner builder.

In this article theis author states that to frame a large it would have taken him no more than a couple of months MAXIMUM now takes him over a year!

Carpenters of Steel | THISisCarpentry 

Here is a couple of pictures of the unpermitted schoolhouse I helped build as a kid. We learned skills and gained interest that still serves me today. Kids should be able to have experiences like this and building inspectors should help owners make important safety changes rather than drown them in red tape and regulations designed for commercial applications!

The schoolhouse was promptly redtagged by the county who said if we didn't continue to work on the building they wouldn't tear it down... it served for a few years before sitting with the barest minimum of maintenance for the last 25 years. 

The whole place was built out of reclaimed redwood. Beams are made from oldgrowth redwood logs abandoned on the forest floor by the original harvest around the turn of the century. Any logs shorter than around 20' were just left where they lay! Some of these logs are 4" in diameter. We have milled single slab doors 3" thick from these logs! The beams were hand split with a fro and wedge, posts shaved with a draw knife. 
The floor is reclaimed 2" t&g redwood decking. The shiplapped roof sheathing was donated by the local lumber mill.


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## ggom20 (Feb 1, 2012)

Hello!
Nice work, wood splitting is better than sawing !

About dovetails for house builing, The arunda system is to expensive for me.
They ask something like 4000 euros for router+cutter+jig

I' ll soon try making a jig for the big bit I got from Woodrat.

An other approach is to use a modified "pantorouter made of steel".
With a straight bit cutting at angles.
But that's an other story...

One of my friends got a 30' CNC in his workshop, I might ask for price of the works
made with it. Looks cheap to use,for he is making staircaises with it at lowest Market price.

Regards


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