I made my first couple joints this weekend and I learned quite a lot. (A mortice and tenon and a dovetail.) Most of you will probably say, “Well, duh!”, to most of these things, but really I’d like for you to say, “Now that you know that, this is the next thing you will learn.” 🙂
First, I can see why people like Lee Valley tools. I ordered a morticing/marking gauge and a couple sharpening stones on Thursday and they arrived on Saturday. I didn’t expect them until later this week. They included instructions and catalogues. The prices are good too.
The morticing gauge is a godsend. Trying to layout a mortice an tenon with a pencil doesn’t work well. (I made the mortice an tenon before the package from Lee Valley arrived.)
A flimsy japanese style pull saw with a plastic backing is not a dovetail saw. It’s too flexible to make a good clean square cut. I think a Lie-Neilsen dovetail saw may be in my future if I continue to cut dovetails by hand. (Or maybe a Pax dovetail saw from Lee Valley?)
Go SLOW! No matter how slow you are going you probably need to slow down. If you rush, you are going to screw up.
No matter how much lighting you have, you need more.
A beginner shouldn’t try and use a 1″ chisel. Its too big and takes too much wood. 1/8″, 3/8″ and 1/2″ are probably all a beginner can manage.
Don’t forget to bevel the mark with a chisel. It makes it easier to see the mark and leaves a cleaner cut. It also gives you a mark to aim for when sawing and chiseling.
A mallet is important when using a chisel. Sometimes you need a bit more force than you can generate by pushing the chisel through the wood.
Use a coping saw to clean out waste in a dovetail. Trying to clean out dovetails using just a chisel is a LOT of work. (I couldn’t find my coping saw and will probably need to buy a new one.)
A basic wooden handscrew clamp along with a bar clamp makes a reasonable substitute for a bench clamp if you don’t have one.
I also found an old Stanley 110 plane in some stuff I got from my father-in-law when my wife’s parents moved to Florida. I’ve started to clean it up. The bottom has a pretty deep indentation and will require a LOT of sanding to make flat and smooth. My wife has an old marble bread making tray. (A 1’x3′ piece of marble with rubber feet.) It seems pretty flat. I’ve been using it as a flat surface to sand the plane and prepare the backs of the chisels I got. Seems to work pretty good.
Be sure to check the tool before buying parts for it. I got a new blade for my table saw. I’ll be returning it today because I didn’t bother to check the saw. It takes 8″ blades and I got a 10″.
Power tools, especially ones that may be dull, don’t do a very good job of cutting clean ends. I’m really becoming enamored with hand tools for woodworking. Especially planes and chisels. They just feel good to use. Anyone just take a board and plane it for the fun of cutting wood?
Mark with a knife, not a pencil. Make sure you mark deep enough so that you can see the lines. (Getting old is no fun.)
Cut tenons and dovetails a little wide. You can always take off the extra, but it is hard to put it back.
If you are using a chisel to shave end grain, do not cut off the edge or corner. Cut in from the edge or corner or you will split off a chunk of the side and have to start over. (Or repair it.)
Oh, I almost forgot. Cleaning out the waste in a mortice with a drill press may work well, but a hand drill is not so good. If you do use a hand drill, use a smaller drill bit than you would with a drill press.
I guess that is enough for now. I need to get some wood and build something else. 🙂
Edited 8/15/2005 1:56 pm ET by baldmountain
Replies
I tried to make a couple more dovetail joints by hand last night. Here are a few more things I learned.
Always scribble over the waste that you plan to remove. (Yes, I removed the wrong parts.)
Make sure that the cut you are about to make is the one you really want to make. After messing up the above joint I was going to cut off the pins and start again. Instead I cut the tails off. Grrrrrr.
The pins are fragile. Don't try to jam the joint together or you will snap the end ones off.
I need a good dovetail saw. The cheap one from home depot isn't working. (Of course it could be my lack of skill too.)
Sharp chisels are a joy.
Slow down. If you try to hurry you WILL screw up.
Sometimes it's better to go to bed and get some rest. Leave the woodworking for another night.
I might add one more:
Learn how to sharpen a saw. Your cheap Home Depot saw will cut better than you think, and even a L/N saw will need sharpening eventually. Practice on your Home Depot saw, first.
It sounds like you are well on your way to Galoothood.
Regards,
Dan
We have all, at one time or another, learned these same lessons. When I started out, I made what seemed like a 1000 dovetails out of poplar... as I recall #443 fit #807 perfectly... the others were near (or not so near) misses. I had no shortage of fire wood that winter...Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Doh! I have 997 to go!Actually, #1 fit and looked acceptable. (Well, sort of. Not acceptable to a customer, but to me.)#2 and #3 were complete failures.Woodworking seems to be one of those activities that you have to figure out all the wrong things and then do the opposite.
I think it was Churchill who said "[I admire Americans...] they inevitably do the right thing. After exhausting all the alternatives." Sounds like WWs to me.Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
baldmountain,
Practice in and of itself is not necessarily going to get you to the outcomes you desire. I mean, let's be honest, we're inexperienced and probably lousy woodworking teachers too.
Ian Kirby's, The Complete Dovetail, book is excellent in providing process for executing dovetail making. Also, Ian incorporates a bit of wiggle room to help correct minor issues. I personally like Phil Lowe's instruction and proper body position for executing the cuts. Cutting dovetails is like shooting pool...proper position is critical. In the final analysis, however, I think everyone developes their own little tricks to help them overcome some of their own particular weaknesses. Eddie, a knots member from Aussie land, critiques every effort of his students...and writes it on the stock so the next time they know what to work on and avoid.
One little suggestion of Ian's is to buy a couple of mahogany boards...18"x5-6"x1/2-3/4"..cut the dovetail, slice off an inch or so and repeat process. It helps to have a consistent feel from the wood while learning.
My personal "bible" on cutting perfect dovetails is Tage Frid's book on joinery.
I prefer to make drawer sides of 3/8ths curly or tiger maple.
When I teach woodworking basics, we start with proper sharpening and measuring techniques .... dovetails are a demanding joint to make and require not only the proper tools but especially you want to be confident and comfortable with the tools and materials. Maple is a very strong wood and clean, accurate dovetails can readily be repeated with consistency. As a final test on the course, a carase of 48 inches width by 28 inches height by 18 inches depth is built with dovetailed joints. The carcaes is vertically divided into four graduated levels, the deepest at the bottom and each succeeding level is one inch more shallow. The carcase is also divided into three equal horizontal columns. Dovetailed maple drawers are then made to fit the twelve spaces. One third of the dovetails are through dovetails, one third are half-blind and one third full-blind. At this stage, the woodworker is confident and having great fun!
Be patient with yourself and enjoy!
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