Fusion 360 Woodworking: Dovetail Joints - Make them the easy way!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

F360 Masterclass for Woodworkers ➞ bit.ly/woodworkingMasterclass F360 for Woodworking Playlist ➞ bit.ly/woodworker-playlist TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Dovetail Joints in Fusion 360 00:30 - Fusion 360 Parameters for Dovetail Joints 00:55 - Creating the Tail Board 02:50 - Sketching the Negative Area of Pins 05:00 - Fully-defining the Dovetail Sketch 06:50 - The Proper Way to Model Dovetails 08:15 - Patterning the Dovetail Joint Cutout 09:30 - Creating the Pin Board 10:21 - Copying the Boards and Adding Joints 12:34 - Cutting Dovetails with Combine Command 13:34 - Testing the Parameters in Fusion 360

[@Mark-gx7jq]

Thanks!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Sorry I missed this earlier. I appreciate your support!

[@Schaub3]

Just love your Channel! Clear and Concise and I learn something new every time. Still the best!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Thank you, Tony! Appreciate you 😄

[@dadodovetail]

The best video on Fusion360 I've seen. You started with a goal that I was interested in and took me through all the steps to complete the entire thing. You explained the key concepts that underlie how all the Fusion360 tools work together. As others have asked I'd love see you take this through to CAM to learn the details on how to cut this.

[@charliemyers8353]

Thanks for the instruction & lessons that I've learned from your videos! This one was no exception. I went about it in a slightly different way. If you design with really thin pins (say 1/8" for example), then it's not all that realistic to have half pins that are 1/16". So I added a parameter for the half pin width and removed that much off of either end of the tail board to make sure the half pins were a reasonable size (1/4" or 1/2" for example). Then after push/pulling the center pin out of the tail board, I used the rectangle pattern tool to replicate the center pin cutout feature across the remaining space rather than the full width of the tail board. I hope this makes sense. Sometimes just because something can be designed and modeled doesn't necessarily mean that the final product will be functional.

[@darioboscato8326]

Useful tips about the use of the sketches. Thanks 👍

[@snarkfinder2621]

The way that you explained this made everything so simple. Now I just have to go into the shed and make it.

[@laurawerner]

I started using F360 a few months ago mostly for woodworking, so I was happy to find this video. It was really informative. It also mostly matched my gut instinct on how to do this, which made me happy. What I might have done instead of the Copy / Paste commands, though, would be to mirror each board across the corresponding midplane, or maybe instead do two rotational patterns about the center of the box, one to copy each board. That way I'd only have to do the joinery Combine / Cut operation once, and any other changes (eg a groove for the bottom) would get duplicated to if I put them in the right places in the timeline. The trade-off is that I'd probably have to make the whole box a rigid group rather than using joints like you did. I like the way your joints assemble it like you would in real life. I'm not sure which approach I like more. I need to add some drawers soon to an MFT-style outfeed table I'm designing, so maybe I'll do one each way and see which I like best. Thanks for the video!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

In general, try to avoid Mirror and Patterning in Fusion 360 (all parametric CAD programs). It often causes extra latency and other issues downstream in timeline. For woodworking sake, it will make your BOM/Parts list inaccurate, etc. For a "Small" project - either method would work :)

[@darioboscato8326]

Very useful tips such as "Auto projects edges on reference", "Feature mirroring" , "Ground" and "As-built Joint"😮😮😮thx

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Thanks for watching :)

[@tcratius1748]

Well I learnt a lot in that session, and no I can not think of a better way to do it :)

[@tegarsukmaabiyasa-pens6917]

When i started watching this video, I was so confused. You use parameters instead of number. Finally, at the end of the video, i understand what is parameter that you use.

[@OldePhart]

this was great - very encouraging to think I can do this :)

[@mereskimade]

Excellent video, thank for featuring some woodworking tutorials. A CAM creation video for cutting dovetails would be cool if you're looking for ideas.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Thanks for the idea - love it!

[@automaticprojects]

This is a terrific video and technique, although I’m unable to select the front board as either a target or tool in the Combine operation. The other boards work but for some reason it won’t let me select the front one.

[@EnchoMoskov]

Solid tutorial. Thanks!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Glad it was helpful!

[@fxsrider]

That was outstanding!!

[@prathameshthakur6789]

Thanks bro i got it. But i didn't understood how you gave the comands, is there any option to activate?

[@Helixone1]

Very good video and an elegant workflow to modeling dovetails. I would like to use this as a basis for future works and one approach is to hand dovetail the 4 sides then after glue-up rip on the table saw the four sides releasing the top from the base. Do have a workflow on how to this? the saw kerf removes 1/8" of material. thanks in advance -Craig

[@sandran3798]

This was very helpful! Some things I would felt were missing: - A few sentences to what a parameter is and why it is useful to use parameters. also, where to click to be able to make your own parameters. - when you used the assemble-joint tool, I had no idea which point you used to align. It took me forever to find it; my board kept flipping, or at one point I almost had it, but it didn't align properly (it was off by 1 cm), and I didn't know why that happened. Also, maybe a few sentences to what the "joint" tool actually does. Otherwise, this was really helpful!

[@josephcassio5623]

Thank you for the tutorials they are so useful. You should make a surfboard video.

[@larrybrown9880]

Great tutorial! One issue that I'm having is when I create the copied components using "Paste New" and then try to change parameters the copies do not change. What am I doing wrong? - Thank you!

[@numerousactuary6640]

I can't even get passed @4:30 when im trying to enter the parameters in the box (they turn red, then divided by 2) for the dovetail height. i've been spending about one hour just on that single step, quite a finicky program.

[@bobcarolegardner]

Curious why you "flipped" the front of the box when copying and pasting it? Seems like it would have been fine either way, since it is a through dovetail.

[@snarkfinder2621]

Kevin, I had a problem when changing the parameters. Everything works as it should except one thing. I have my Fusion 360 design oriented the same as yours in the video. When I change pinNumber to any even number, the board in the rearmost position extends out a bit. When I went back to where you made the joints at 12:30, I noticed that the corner furthest away did not have joint icon in place. I have tried to create a joint at that corner, but the joint icon always appears at the far end of one of the two boards, away from the corner. Have I stuffed up somehow or is there a problem with using an even number of pins?

[@matthewhav]

Thank you for a great tutorial and some great concepts ! how would you suggest to include a parameter for tolerances in these joints particularly when working with steel ?

[@sateeshum394]

tried changing box height it did not change the pins plat of original... not sure if its only my model having issue...🙂

[@mechsavvy9067]

Kevin: I need a way to do this but with some tolerance (gap) added to one of the parts. When CNC'ing if one part is exactly the same as the other they wont' actually fit together. I wish the cut tool had a "+/- offset" option to add this tolerance. Any suggestions on how to accomplish thi sand maintain the parametric nature? Thanks, Scott

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Hi Scott. I agree, wish the cut had clearance built in. For now, the main way to do it is to use the "Offset Faces" command. (Solid > Modify > Offset faces). You can use a parameter defined as "Clearance" and set each offset to that parameter.

[@royalflush1964]

Kevin, how come at 5:58 your dovetail was all black - fully defined - yet you were able to add a symmetrical constraint. I sometimes have an issue where all my sketch lines are black, nothing moves, yet there is still a ✏️ on the sketch tree and so I can't figure out what other constraint or dimension is required.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Hi Damion. Great question. This instance is a weird use case. The bottom angled line already had the symmetry constraint (I added it prior). Consequently, that fully defined the entire sketch because the straight line on the right (below the symmetry line) cannot be moved - it would update based on how it is snapped to the angled line. So, in theory, the sketch is fully defined. I was still able to add the symmetry to the right line which essentially forces that line to not be altered if the other symmetry (angled) line gets changed. I hope that helps - generally, these edge cases are when symmetry constraints are used.

[@royalflush1964]

@@ProductDesignOnline thanks for your reply. You learn something new everyday, which is the whole point of your video 😀. Keep up the good work 👍

[@AlexParton]

Hey Kevin! I’ve been focusing on your 3D printing videos which I love and thinking of getting a laser cutter. Would going through the masterclass for woodworkers and such be good for something like that? Since it takes svgs just wasn’t sure how it would relate to each other.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Hi Alex. At the moment I don't have any laser specific videos in the Masterclass. I thank you it still gets some value, as you mentioned, because sketches can be exported as SVG. However, a lot of that depends on the types of projects you're looking to laser. If it's boxes and such then Fusion 360 is definitely applicable. If you're looking to do graphics like logos or full-on images then you'll need to use a graphics program like illustrator or Inkscape.

[@duncanbiggs755]

When using the PinNumber variable in the quantity field, it's RED in color and does not ever fully define or change when I put a new value in parameters box. What am I missing?

[@duncanbiggs755]

Found the issue, I had the units wrong in the parameter dialog box

[@Farmer_Pickles64]

Do you have any recommendations on a brand of a CNC machine for a beginner? 1500-2500 range.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

I would recommend the "Longmill" by Sienci Labs. The only downside is that there lead time is usually 4-6 weeks. Second recommendation would be Shapeoko. I would *not* recommend an Xcarve.

[@Farmer_Pickles64]

Product Design Online ok thanks I appreciate that. I recently ran across www.bobscnc. Have you any advice on bobs?

[@IBMClynes]

What about the clearances ?

[@OldePhart]

oooo thats a good point.

[@nemodude2]

You should be able to edit clearances on fusion's cutting/manufacturing tools.

[@gauravneupane614]

hello @product Design Online please can you make a video on motion study in fusion 360 I am a beginner and your videos have helped me a lot . I am trying to learn motion study with fusion 360 but being a beginner I don't even know if that is possible. By saying motion study I want to show how my design works in real-world. Please reply if this is possible or not.

[@jajaramillo5]

Do you this there is a way to cut the tails with a dovetail bit on the CNC? I mean with incremental depth, not on a single cut.

[@musoangelo]

My thought would be to fit an inexpensive dovetail jig to a cnc machine. It's designed to cut both pins and tails for a half blind dovetails. When the jig is loaded, one board is horizontal and the other vertical. Once you set the dovetail bit to the correct height then the machine will accurately mill both parts of the joint. At least it's something that I'd like to try. www.harborfreight.com/dovetail-machine-34102.html?cid=paid_google|*PLA+-+All+Products|All+Products|34102&*PLA+-+All+Products&All+Products&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjer4BRCZARIsABK4QeVxeA64bkLDpoMdSkydA3YZINurHOWlc6b9asxyH5PmxLZ9244-IHkaAvlcEALw_wcB

[@OldePhart]

I see it done often purely for strength not appearance. You can't get a seamless joint using a round bit to cut sharp corners. You can be creative though and design your pins and tails to accommodate this. KZbin has a few folks who have done this.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

There is a "dog bone" add-in that can be used to round the corners. Some other tricks out there too - perhaps a future video :)

[@chadbingham8069]

as soon as I add the 14 deg line (@4:38) my sketch then becomes undefined. Cannot figure out why. Anyone know?

[@chadbingham8069]

oh, I guess if I need to start the line again it breaks it? not sure why...

[@Oabie]

I know this vide is three years old, but when I press 'S' to bring up the shortcut bar, the rectangle commands are not options when I search. All I get is 'rectangular pattern'. What am I missing?

[@chadbingham8069]

Late reply, but you need to start a sketch first. If you have not started a sketch, the rectangle is not an option.

[@svensvenster4297]

Can you offer a tutorial on how to save the file in .svg vector.

[@Justin-fb7ni]

i did it. i followed along and now I understand how to do it. I am surprised because I have some mental health issues.

[@gerritbreukelman3847]

Hello Kevin I can not open the file ( Click the blue “Open in Fusion 360” button.) the button does not show up in fusion360 what am I doing wrong

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Hi Gerrit. Thanks - I just updated the file, it should work now (you should see the blue download option now). For your convenience, here's the link - a360.co/3kmguR2

[@gerritbreukelman3847]

@@ProductDesignOnline hey Kevin thanks you for the quick response , I like your video tutorials very much . Keep on doing this

[@chadbingham8069]

10:34 "As-built Joint" does not work like that anymore.

[@sammars8122]

When I try to grab the demo file it says that the model is empty : /

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Note: The hub will say the file is empty - don’t worry! This is because the parameters are the only thing in the file. Click the blue “Open in Fusion 360” button. Wait about a minute and you should be prompted by your Browser if you want to open it with the Fusion 360 Desktop App. Click Open.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

It would be nice if you didn't assume that your viewers already understand all of the features you are using and the parameters involved in each of them.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Thanks for the feedback! The parameters are listed in the resource page. There is (almost) always a resource page in the video description ➞ ProductDesignOnline.com/36

[@steveshaw3610]

This video is actually WAY better because it focuses on the point of the video: dovetails. If you don’t know how to use Fusion yet you need a beginner video; which this author actually has plenty of. This is an intermediate video and rightly so.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

@@ProductDesignOnline , Just saw your reply from a year ago. Don't know how I missed it! Thanks for the information!

[@tylertan166]

I hate this app. Though I love you Kevin

[@ProductDesignOnline]

What are your biggest frustrations/challenges? I'm always looking for good video topics and this helps me fills the 'gaps'.

[@Sborkin1]

I expected to see how to convert this model-box to separate details for CNC...