Best Yet
I decided I wanted to spend an hour a night working on dovetails, tonight I spent 2 hours, as I was having fun. Admittedly, some of that time was to give my chisel a sharpening, but that didn’t take too long as I hadn’t let it get too bad. Yesterday I got the pins cut for one side of my box, so today I cut the tails, and surprisingly they turned out pretty good compared to my previous attempts.
I decided to cut the pins for the front of the box, which also went well. Being that I was on a roll and hadn’t had a disaster yet, I through caution to the wind and cut the tails and then put the whole thing together. As a collection of dovetails, this is my most consistent yet. This reinforces the point that everyone makes, that it just takes repeatedly cutting them to improve.
I also did something differently with these four sets of dovetails, from a mental perspective. Because I have set a goal to cut a whole bunch of them, over the next 30 days, I did care about precision. I just did the best I could and was more relaxed. What was interesting is that when I had them all done, there were some gaps, but the problems were, to some extent, fixable with some chiseling. Getting the box together and then tweaking the imperfections led to a much better result than any of my previous attempts.
Because all the smart kids say to make sure each of the pins and tails are a little bit proud, I needed to sand them down a bit. I used a combination of my belt sander and hand plane to clean it up. This too was satisfying.
Now these are the absolutely simplest dovetails one can cut. One tail and two pins is not the same as two tails and three pins by any means. So I will probably cut another set of these simple pins, or maybe two, or three. I will cut until they are really good, then try a more complex setup. The fun part is that I now have a 4 box sides that I can actually make a bottom for, and have a finished thingy.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have chosen to photograph the best of the group, as that is the theme of tonight’s post. They aren’t all equal to the one shown.
I also want to take a moment and say how much I am enjoying using ‘Archie’ the mallet. He absolutely rocks. I tried a few hits with the old mallet, just to compare, and there wasn’t any comparison. Archie is heavier, better balanced, and feels more comfortable to hold. My decision to make things for woodworking, as a way to learn woodworking, seems to be providing both helpful tools, and great satisfaction, which are two key ingredients in keeping one motivated to continue.
Well that is all for tonight, nothing too funny or exciting, but I got some good practice and am now within striking distance of my first box.
Great work Brian, there is nothing like the feeling of fitting the joint and then planing it flush to really get a look at how it fits. It is these little moments that keeps us coming back time and again.
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LikeI can't imagine why you wouldn't be using some kind of fixture to help keep your cuts straight. You wouldn't consider that "cheating" would you?
Bill
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LikeI tried using a block of wood to keep my cuts straight the other day, and it didn't work well at all. I have a flat metal block I could use, but I worried about it damaging my saw. So I have tried to use a fixutre, but only once. I am getting ok at straight lines now, so I may be past the point of needing one. The nice thing about some sort of jig to help with cutting, would be that it might let me go more quickly. So I may still try to fashion something.
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LikeNice work Brian. You know, I once read that the really geeky woodworkers would leave the pins just shy of flush. The reason being that when the application requires a more precise measurement of the width, for example, you can cut the "pin" sides to exactly the finished width. Then, when you have the box, drawer, etc. assembled, you would only need to take your finest plane and take off a thin shaving from the "tail" sides to bring the final dimension to the exact length of the "pin" sides. Or, in the case of a drawer, to a piston fit. I've never tried it because I don't have a really fine plane like you and I don't make drawers. I use machinery and sanding like the rube I suppose I am.
Best,
Jim
6
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LikeThanks, that is an interesting tip. I would imagine that over the course of my life, I will make most drawers and such with machines. I just really want to learn how to do it by hand now. I imagine using a jig also requires some practice to get it right. Ultimately I want to just keep learning things until my tired body gives out. Woodworking is perfect for offering a lifetime of challenges. That is why I love it.
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LikeYou're right about machines requiring practice. I use a WoodRat for my routing and it requires that I use pencil lines. Do you know that pencil lines from a .5mm pencil are about 1/50th of an inch. That's just a little larger than the 1/64ths on your Incra ruler. That means that in order for me to make a tight dovetail joint, I have to be able to cut not just up to the line but half way through the line to leave room for some glue. Another way to say it is, I have to cut 1/128th of an inch off of a pencil line. The really amazing thing to me is that I'm getting pretty good at it too. Also worth pondering is the fact that you will need to be able to leave a gap of 1/128th of an inch, more or less, in order to produce what appears to be a gap free dovetail. And, with practice, you probably will.
Jim
7
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LikeWow, that sounds awful. You may have just scared me off of ever using machines for dovetails. I want to learn woodworking, but that is just frightening.
- spam
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- disagree
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LikeGreat work Brian, there is nothing like the feeling of fitting the joint and then planing it flush to really get a look at how it fits. It is these little moments that keeps us coming back time and again.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeI can't imagine why you wouldn't be using some kind of fixture to help keep your cuts straight. You wouldn't consider that "cheating" would you?
Bill
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeI tried using a block of wood to keep my cuts straight the other day, and it didn't work well at all. I have a flat metal block I could use, but I worried about it damaging my saw. So I have tried to use a fixutre, but only once. I am getting ok at straight lines now, so I may be past the point of needing one. The nice thing about some sort of jig to help with cutting, would be that it might let me go more quickly. So I may still try to fashion something.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeNice work Brian. You know, I once read that the really geeky woodworkers would leave the pins just shy of flush. The reason being that when the application requires a more precise measurement of the width, for example, you can cut the "pin" sides to exactly the finished width. Then, when you have the box, drawer, etc. assembled, you would only need to take your finest plane and take off a thin shaving from the "tail" sides to bring the final dimension to the exact length of the "pin" sides. Or, in the case of a drawer, to a piston fit. I've never tried it because I don't have a really fine plane like you and I don't make drawers. I use machinery and sanding like the rube I suppose I am.
Best,
Jim
6
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeThanks, that is an interesting tip. I would imagine that over the course of my life, I will make most drawers and such with machines. I just really want to learn how to do it by hand now. I imagine using a jig also requires some practice to get it right. Ultimately I want to just keep learning things until my tired body gives out. Woodworking is perfect for offering a lifetime of challenges. That is why I love it.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeYou're right about machines requiring practice. I use a WoodRat for my routing and it requires that I use pencil lines. Do you know that pencil lines from a .5mm pencil are about 1/50th of an inch. That's just a little larger than the 1/64ths on your Incra ruler. That means that in order for me to make a tight dovetail joint, I have to be able to cut not just up to the line but half way through the line to leave room for some glue. Another way to say it is, I have to cut 1/128th of an inch off of a pencil line. The really amazing thing to me is that I'm getting pretty good at it too. Also worth pondering is the fact that you will need to be able to leave a gap of 1/128th of an inch, more or less, in order to produce what appears to be a gap free dovetail. And, with practice, you probably will.
Jim
7
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeWow, that sounds awful. You may have just scared me off of ever using machines for dovetails. I want to learn woodworking, but that is just frightening.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
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