I really want to get proficient at joinery so I know I have to practice. This is my first attempt at hand cut dovetails.

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The gaps aren’t pretty but I need to sharpen my chisel and probably work with a less chippy wood (cheap pine). But I used no jigs or guides. Having said that: I’m considering the Katz-Moses dovetail guide to keep me square.

Any helpful critiques welcome. And tips on how you progressed down the dovetail path.

Looks like it would get the job done.

Beyond my skillset.

Nice job OP!

Check out Rob Cosman on YouTube. He has a bunch of videos on hand cutting dovetails and tools needed.

Rob Cosman

watch this and then the Rob Cosman video

enjoy

riftsawn or quartersawn board edges will probably help alot, and a wood species slightly higher on the hardness level. the species cabinetry are made from are selected for a reason, try walnut its easy to cut into straight

I have a proper jig and router bits.  I only used it once.

Not bad.

Tails first or pins first?  I cut the tails first and use the tail board to mark the pins.

Better wood will help.  A good sharp marking knife and gauge make a big difference too.

I did a furniture building thread a few years ago.  It shows some of the dovetailing.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Hey-ARFCOM-Let-s-build-some-furniture-A-little-long-and-lots-of-pics-/5-2064585/

I used to spend lots of my money on woodworking tools and jigs
I spent a considerable amount of money on the very nice but complex Leigh mortise and dovetail jig
It requires a good bit of adjustments to get everything fitting right
And then one day I was cutting half blind DT for a drawer.   And while cutting around the pins I watched my supposedly nice and expensive CMT router but designed especially to work with the Leigh jig just separate at he neck, and the cutting head/carbide part just wobble off and fall to the floor.   More surprised it didn’t get propelled across the room.  
So I got out my chisels and LN dovetail saw, marking gauge too, and cut them by hand.   And have stayed with cutting them by hand since.   I do a fair job of them most of the time.   Poor lighting in my shop and only having evenings most of the time to do any woodworking has been the biggest cause of poor fitting dovetails for me.   But I haven’t been able to do much woodworking for a while.  

Maybe someday will use the Leigh jig again.  It’s probably best suited for something like a “large scale” job, where you have many identical drawers to make.  

The LN dovetail saw is very nice, pretty Curly maple handle, but it’s too small for my hand.  It was the first new and good upscale Saw I bought, aside from a couple nice old ones like disstons.    I will just have to break out some rasps and open it up some, and then refinish it.  Need to find out what kind of clear coat they used to finish it, rather than sanding the whole thing down to bare wood

Since then all of my new hand saws come from Mark Harrell at Bad Axe.   He makes great saws.   And you can get a handle sized for small-medium - or large hands.   Plus pick the saw hardware and handle wood as you like.  Also pick the saw TPI to better match the hard or soft woods you primarily will use with it

If you are getting into hand tools, watch anything Paul Sellers on YouTube.

Same

OP,  your DT looks better than my first attempts.

There are a lot of informative videos on YouTube such as RobCosman, Jay Bates, Peter Sellers, Wood by Wright and others.

Practice, practice, practice

And keep your chisels sharp.