I picked up the “Dovetail a drawer with Frank Klausz” DVD a few days ago at the library. I watched it, and last night I went out and cut me some dovetails. Wow. What a difference. Twice the results in half the time. Even my wife was impressed (or at least made a good show of it). They weren’t perfect, but they beat the pants off my previous three or four feeble attempts.
It’s amazing what a few adjustments in your technique can do for the final product. Plus it’s always inspiring to watch someone who knows how to do something really well.
Replies
All of Frank Klansz' dvds are very well done and very helpful. I watch them on my laptop while flying cross country.
Joe
Watch out you guys. I hear the drums rumbling over there in Galgate.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
I actually have a Franz video, although it came free with a book. In it he does the DT thang by eye. Of course, he admits this is only really for softwood and/or non-fine furniture.
It is a good thing to see the experts do something as well as write about it. But let them drop them DVD prices and up the quantity therin. If you saw a book of 25 pages that cost $30 you would howl and go elsewhere for a calming beer, no matter how glossy the pictures!
Also, the point made in another post that these are experts and it did take them years to perfect their skill, is a relevant one. I do not wish to see a peformance or spectacle - I want to learn how to do something.
Lataxe, a theatre critic
I get my DVDs on sale or used.
Joe the tightwad critic
Lataxe,
Yes, yes. Quality not quantity.
For the most part I like the short ditties our gracious hosts put on the home page. They typically last 3-7 minutes and are full of content. It's just that my skill level is a bit short of theirs. But for what it's worth, they work for me.
And the price ain't all that shabby either.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Typically, I prefer books, although I'm not sure why--admittedly, it is easier to lug a book into the shop (with all its dust) than a DVD player. But every now and then, watching someone do it really clears things up. And Frank Klausz is just my style: his lack of wasted motion, his clear instruction, and his interesting Hungarian accent and stories of his father. Obviously, I would prefer the company of an expert, but they are expensive and don't fit into my schedule.
As far as cost goes, you can't be the library!
t,
I like a combination of reading and seeing it done. Like the old saying, pics are worth 1,000 words.
I live out in the boonies in northern NH and the selection at the library is slim to none for woodworking research. I pretty much have to rely on the WEB for the most part.
That's not a bad thing as there is a wealth of info. out there. Just have to separate the wheat from the chaff as they say.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
If you buy a book, read it and then donate it to the Library you can write it off on your taxes.
LataxeI recommend Lonnie Bird's video on dovetails. He breaks it down into a manageable process, and the videography is very good--nice close up views of what he's doing. Good layout instruction, etc. Very well done and a reasonable cost, though I'm not sure what shipping to the UK would be. Worth a look. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Master Lataxe,
Jump in that there plane, and fly out to see me. We'll wack some dovetails out, and spill a few pints of my favorite ale.
I won't even charge the $25.00.
Jeff, grinning ear to ear, and getting thirsty, too!
I love his "hey, it's woodworking, not rocket science" attitude.
Stuff like "You don't need a square. You KNOW square"; he doesn't meticulously lay out his dovetails, but does them by eye; he uses a storyboard instead of full-blown plans; he doesn't worry about tearing the end grain inside his dovetails (and, after seeing that, I KNOW his chisels ain't "scary" sharp!). But "somehow" <G>, he ends up with a nice finished product. Could it be he relies on the knowledge and skills he's developed instead of trying to compensate by buying more tools? (I know -- blasphemy!)
My kind of woodworking.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Your kidding, more tools don't make you better? I hope the sellers of micro-adjust-super-sharp-incra-mongo-jigs don't see this.....
I really enjoy him also, that is how I taught myself to cut DT's. You would really like tage Frid's DVD too. You can tell these guys were taught to do this for a LIVING. I really like their take on sharpening.
Evening...
I attended a seminar by Klaus years ago at Highland Hardware (now Highland WW) and the guy slashes through DT's without giving the impression he is even concentrating on what he is doing.
That stems from the fact he worked in his very demanding father's shop as a kid and his job at an early age was cutting the DT's for out-going cabinetry. He had to cut thousands a week at that point of his early age and it was sculptured into memory. Basically... auto-pilot as an aircraft has.
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
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