Once all stock is prepared, I can start getting the dovetail sights made. About 2 inches from each side I mark out the spots and I measure them out to be about 3 inches long. I set a bevel gauge to the correct angle and use that and a marking knife to score the lines. I also set a marking gauge to mark the width of the sight and also the depth. The Walnut piece is 1/4″ thick so I set the depth to 3/16″.
Now that everything is marked, it’s time to start chiseling. The width of the sight is 3/4″ so that’s the size chisel I use. I slowly chop to the line all the way around and pair a little of the depth. I continue this until the housing is almost complete. I then pull out the router plane to clean up the bottom and use the marking knife to cut all the tight corners clean.
I take a Walnut piece and use the newly created housing to measure and cut it to size. I flip my Jack plane to it’s side, grab the Walnut piece, and run it down the sole of the plane to clean up the rough cut edge. I take a couple swipes and then test fit it in the winding stick. I repeat this until it fits nice and snug. Once they’re fitted, I glue and clamp them in place and set them aside to dry.
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