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Subject: Re: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding

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Message Thread:

Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding

12/14/21       
gary

Hoping to get feedback from anyone using the Hoffman Dovetail Key machine on their bolection moulding for paneled doors ? Looks promising.
Thank you !

12/15/21       #2: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
Joe Calhoon

I’ve use one for years for both large bolection and small glass beads on doors and windows. It’s a good way to go and keeps the moldings tight. Makes finishing easier for beads on the glass side. And great for joining curves to straight.
I put a Instagram link that shows the process.


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https://www.instagram.com/p/CBtp68wD4DS/?utm_medium=copy_link

12/15/21       #3: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
gary

Joe: Knowing that you use it for those applications says a lot.
Thank you for your input and Merry Christmas up in those mountains !
Gary G.

12/15/21       #4: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
james e mcgrew  Member

Website: mcgrewwoodwork.com

I have had one for decade plus and have used it far mroe than i expected, recently it earned a new motor !

12/15/21       #5: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
Fred Frehner

Hi Gary,
We have used them for years as well, everything from mitered hotel mirror frames to bolection moldings on exterior doors.
Key is to have a clean accurate cut on your miters. The Hoffman key won't pull a miter joint together that was cut on a saw with the blade not cutting at 90 deg..

12/15/21       #6: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
David R Sochar Member

Website: http://www.acornwoodworks.com

Well, I am in the minority - I have never used one.

I am a firm believer in reinforced miter joints, though. Many of our molds are too large and thick to use one (or 2, or 3) of the keys. We typically cut a kerf (or 2, or 3) across the joint and add a well fit spline.

If I had to find fault, I would say I don't like the way any glue would be pushed out of the joint as the key is driven in. Or, I have even heard that there is no glue needed. Arrggghhh! That would prevent sleep for a good long time.


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12/16/21       #7: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
Joe Calhoon

I don’t think I have ever encountered a door situation where the Hoffman dovetail was not strong enough. My applied moulding always sits on a ledge, not the panel which further adds to the strength. Even on furniture doors. The biggest advantage to the dovetail is clamping of the joint is automatic. Glue does not push out to the finish side through the dovetail joint.


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12/16/21       #8: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
Joe Calhoon

I could not imagine trying to put a complex glazing bead together and clamping with splines like the one in the picture below.
When I feel the need for a spline on a larger mitered frame I usually dovetail the back then cut the groove for the spline with a simple shaper jig.


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12/16/21       #9: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
David R Sochar Member

Joe's method of seating the moldings on a 'landing' is one thing that goes a long way to making a superior product. The land gives more glue surface and also reinforces any miter.

We like to assemble our mitered frames with glued and clamped corners. My days as a picture framer solidified the methods we use to clamp moldings. I can see the Hoffman key coming in handy for that.

12/19/21       #10: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
pat gilbert

The Hoffman for this application works great, but really only this application

12/23/21       #11: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
BH Davis  Member

Website: http://www.bhdavis.net

Pat,
Are you saying you wouldn't use the Hoffman for unsupported joints? Can you explain further if I'm understanding that correctly?

I have a Hoffman and rarely use it. Not that I don't trust it, just that I never seem to come up with something to do with it. I bought it thinking it would be helpful with the curved mouldings but it really never got used for those. So in the end I brought it home and didn't include it in the sale of the business.

BH Davis

12/23/21       #12: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
pat gilbert

Mine was the one that tilts. I intended to use it on bevel mitered corners on columns that we did a lot of back then.

It worked ok if you marked out the index lines first but that would be too time consuming. The idea was to set it up with indexing pins.

The problem was that we had to index off the ends which doubled any error in pin locations (as the sides had to be flipped around to join them) and since the Hoffman indexing pins were poorly made it became impossible to line up the dovetail cuts.

We went back to using packing tape

The only thing I found it useful for was the picture frame type mitered moldings above.

Not much bang for the buck

12/23/21       #13: Hoffman Dovetail Keys For Moulding ...
Joe Calhoon

Mitered moulding corners large and small is about all it gets used for in my shop. Nice for window work and doors with glass beads. I did try it on a face frame once. It works but a lot better ways to do that. I do know a shop that uses one for small decorative boxes with mitered corners. They have a system in Germany where large dovetails are used to put windows together with mitered corners using long lengths of moulder scantlings vs the traditional slot and tenon method. I don’t think that ever took off.
Segmented curved parts can be done many ways but are usually fingerjointed here. I could see where the dovetail could work on some of these but prefer finger joints. The Hofmann excels at joining curve moulding to straight though.


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