# Joinery



## TimC (Sep 17, 2009)

*The Butt Joint*

Learn your types of joints. First up….The butt joint.


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## bnoles (Aug 25, 2007)

TimC said:


> *The Butt Joint*
> 
> Learn your types of joints. First up….The butt joint.


Great job on the video and thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of us.


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## TimC (Sep 17, 2009)

*"The Ugly Dovetail"*

I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.

FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


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## StumpyNubs (Sep 25, 2010)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


WOW! I admire your willingness to show your mistake! It was a little hard to watch 

Check out my hand cut dovetail episode of Blue Collar Woodworking. I'm no expert, but the tips I share were learned from people a lot better at it than most!

Keep up the good work. I enjoy the videos!


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


You get points for the attempt-- and now you know your mistakes so the next one will be lots better. When I was first learning to cut dovetails, I probably watched a 1000 youtube videos and each one had their own distinct approach. You'll soon find a way that works well for you.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


O.K., I've watched this video 5 times now, and the only thing I see that could be considered a mistake is that you needed to sharpen your pencil. Right?


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## TimC (Sep 17, 2009)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


Hey oldtool, thanks for chiming in. I know one of the biggest mistakes I made is in the part I stated "lesson being learned". I held the pins/tails (haven't figured out which is which yet) on their ends instead of placing and marking them on the end of the board. Does that make sense? I cut the second set of pins/tails and attempted the fit (off video first) and noticed something was drastically wrong and figured out I marked it wrong.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


Actually, and I'm saying this with tongue in cheek, while your dovetails are not the "traditional style", they could be used on a project if you wanted.
Think of it this way: finger joints works well, because there is plenty of side grain to side grain contact to glue together, and all those boxes don't come apart. So I contend that just because you don't have the additional mechanical strength of a "traditional" dovetail, if your reversed designed joinery is tight and the glue can do it's job, and you like it, then do it.
March to the beat of you own drummer, don't be one of the sheep that follows the leader. Just sharpen your pencil for a tighter joint.
Thanks for posting the vid, I enjoyed,
Tom


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## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


If you're just doing it for practice, one way to recover from this is to just cut the bad tails off and cut a new set using the pins (which look OK) to lay them out.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


The tails are the pieces that angle from wide at the end grain to narrower at the other end… so it looks like you cut yours Pins first, sort of.

I cut tails first, because I find it easier to mark the pins on the end grain than I do marking the pins on the tail board.


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## StumpyNubs (Sep 25, 2010)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


The easiest way to remember is that the "tails" are shaped like the tail of a dove, narrow at the base, wide at the end. The "pins" are the other parts.

When I was watching you cut the first piece and you colored in the waste with a pencil I immediately thought "he's coloring the wrong part, those are the parts he is supposed to be saving, not cutting away!" Which is why you ended up with a backwards joint.

I've done the same thing more than once!


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## TimC (Sep 17, 2009)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


Thanks guys. Now I know a little more. Maybe I'll get some more practice tomorrow and see what I come up with.


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## REK (Aug 30, 2009)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


Everyone starts from somewhere!!!! Great attempt, and the more you do it the better you'll get. I'll be waiting for your big pro lesson next year


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

TimC said:


> *"The Ugly Dovetail"*
> 
> I've always been amazed at the dovetail joint. The way it locks in together and that the dovetail was used to build houses back in the day. Well instead of just staring at them, I decided to give it a go.
> 
> FWW Disclaimer- I'm not an expert, don't copy me. (it's a joke)


I loved it. That was the most entertaining thing I have seen all day. Great lesson and a wonderful video. Nice!


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## TimC (Sep 17, 2009)

*The Half Lap*

I needed to make a sign for local church. I first started out just constructing using butt joinery, but it was way too weak. I changed to using a half lap joint so I took the chance to film what exactly a half lap joint was and how to make one. Enjoy.


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