teen age woodworking #8: Hand Cutting Dovetails

DENNY…...........................................................................................your awesome

-- check out my amazing woodburning , Pat

Good Job Dennis, In time you will have it down pat and be doing it with your eyes closed. I would have to say there is only a select few teenagers your age out there even trying to cut them. Your still to young to understand this (heck I am) but time is definitely on your side as a woodworker.

Justin

you made it look pretty easy – except for the chiseling part.. I’d be counting my fingers before and after :)

Another great job. Thanks

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Helped me quite a bit! I’ve certainly got handcutdovetailphobia and your demonstration might just have pushed me over the tipping point. Thanks!

-- Fritz Oakland, Ca http://www.muegenburg.com (dedicated to my other hobby)

Excellent Dennis, keep up the good work Lad and you may find yourself some partime work at a cab shop or as an apprentice for some guy who can teach you a lot of new tricks and stuff… And maybe make a few bucks at it!

-- --Chuck

Dennis,

This is a very informative post. It certainly helped me to move further down the road of hand cutting dovetails. But please be careful with the chisels. Those things are sharp (as I guess you found out). Clamping the drawer parts to be pared onto a scrap board and using gravity to help with the paring works better (and saves fingers as well).

thanks for the post.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I was honored to have a preview of this episode. I was very impressed and learned a trick or two that I’m going to try.

Thanks Dennis – you’re doing great.

-- Betsy - There is no strength where there is no struggle

Can’t see it here from work, I’ll check it out tonight.

-- Maplewood, MN

grovemadman – that sounds like a great summer job! Show a local cabinet maker the videos to show the skill and interest and I bet (s)he’d be thrilled to have TTWW as an apprentice for the summer!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Bro, thanks for taking the time to post these, but you really have to reconsider your safety aspects. I cringed throughout this entire video. Hope thats not too ‘reprimandy’, but I have seen too many accidents from such situations and would hate to see it happen to you…..

Best,

JC

-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan

in response to the carver. thanks for the concern. i figured out after filming that you should pare down witht the board lying flat, but the camera angle makes it look like my hands are closer and some other things but a lot of it is just the angle. thanks again for the concern.

That was a great video. I’ve tried and made an awful dovetail or two, but you’ve given me hope. Thanks. I’m going to get back at it and master it. -SST

-- You get no points when you punt

loved the video man. its great to see that you have such an interest in woodworking. i did notice something. as you were cutting and pairing at the pin board your hand was holding on to the workpiece verry close to the blade and chisel. just as i was thinking that you cut the video and it went to you marking out your tail board. i looked and i noticed you had a bandaid on you finger. was that from the chisel? lol. i cant tell you how many damn times that has happend to me. i have a tendency to hold on to my workpiece as well when im cutting. especially since my workbench is so light it rocks back and forth. i know that they teach you to hold your oposite hand behind your back but that never worked for me niether. haha. anyways do you like mark aka the wood whisperer. when i first started woodworking just a short time ago i did all of my learning from podcasts just like yours. it great to know that you are helping someone else learn on thiere journey in woodworking. keep it up.

-- i can do all things through christ who strengthens me

no it wasn’t from the chisel. i had a wood chip in the tail board so i went out to do some yard work while the glue was drying and i got it out there. i have done things like that with chisels before though. another thing with i think i mentioned above was the camera angle makes my hand look closer though but like you the workmate is light so you kind of need to hold it. thanks for the interest.

well it was a great video and i hope to see more in the near future. keep at it

-- i can do all things through christ who strengthens me

Hi Dennis;

You have quite a grasp on woodworking.

Anyone with a passion as strong as you have will always find success in your projects.

I hope you are headed to a lifetime career as a woodworker. If so, I doubt you’ll feel as though you’ve ever actually worked. A lifetime of playing, while someone pays you.

It just doesn’t get better than that!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Hey Dennis, I’m a young(er) wood worker myself. I love using hand tools, but keep putting off cutting dovetails. You have already mastered the hardest part of woodworking – getting over the discomfort of trying something new. Thanks for the inspiration.

I noticed you were wearing a Carolina tee. Are you in North or South Carolina? I live in Darlington, SC (near Florence) and recently mover from near Clemson.
-Eddy M.

well osageorange. I’m in neither. i just wear those different shirts because i like those collages. as you probably know from all my blogs the majority of my shirts are college shirts and they are colleges from all over the country. i can’t say were i live though for securities sake (my parents rule)

Wow, impressive. ‘The Complete Dovetail’: Ian Kirby starts with the tails; he then marks the pins from the tails. However, as your method seems to make joints better than I tend to manage, perhaps I should ignore him.

Just a thought with the saw. Try putting your thumb on the blade’s side (above the kerf and with all other fingers as far away as possible) to steady it as you make your initial, gentle establishing cut until the teeth are settled nicely.

I tend to use a gents saw but have got a back saw like yours, which I’ve been using as a flush saw. My Dad’s pistol grip dovetail saw is in his tool chest but it needs sharpening and I keep forgetting to take it to the saw doctor.

All the best.

-- Stanley generally struggling

I too am starting on my journey towards being a master dovetailer. It is harder than it looks isn’t it!! Full respect for the attitude and patience. It won’t be perfect the first try but I’m sure Michael Jordan missed his first jump shot. You have a long road ahead of you and it seems like you are off to a good start. Good luck!