Hand-cut dovetails looked rough in March, then I switched my marking knife and saw a real change
Back in March my dovetail joints had gaps you could slide a dime into, and I blamed my chisels for a while. A guy at the woodworking store in Portland told me to try a marking knife instead of a pencil, and after about 15 practice corners the lines got tight enough that the gaps closed up on their own. What did you change first when your joinery started looking sloppy?