# Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment



## Woodhacker

*Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*

After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.

In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -




*Materials.*
For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
 Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
 Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
 Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.

*Construction Keys.*
The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.

The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side - 


I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.

Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.


The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)


*The Tails.*
Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -


I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.

These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea - 




Below all the saw cuts are made - 


Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood - 


In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.


Ready for pins - 


*The Pins.*
The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins - 


Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.


For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.




Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up - 


In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut. 


Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -


The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -




These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.

On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled - 


*The Completed Joint.*
If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces - 


Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood - 


Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails - 




This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood - 


The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails - 


Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood - 


In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:


This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:











*At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*


This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -


This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -


Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit - 


The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result - 



And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… - 


I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.

Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


----------



## davidtheboxmaker

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wow!
What a combination of determination, skill and patience.
That is one fantastic piece of work.
I realised that the double dovetail could theoretically be made by hand, but never thought that I'd see it done.


----------



## sbryan55

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Martin,

This is a nice blog and a wonderful looking box. I truly admire your patience and perseverance in building this piece. I have trouble enough with just single dovetails and would never fathom trying to pull off a double.

You documented the process well too.

Thanks for the post. I found it informative and clearly demonstrated the process involved in the construction effort.

Well done.


----------



## TheGov

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


really nice technique


----------



## trifern

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Very cool stuff. I admire your patience and attention to detail. Thanks for the great tutorial.


----------



## gizmodyne

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wow. I never knew how that was accomplished. Great post.


----------



## SteveKorz

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


I stand applauding your craftsmanship, Sir. Very well done, thank you for the post!


----------



## BelleCityWW

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Man oh Man!

You have got some serious skills. Thanks for the tutorial. Great job!

John


----------



## lew

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


This explains soooo much for me. Thank You!!!

I wish I had your skill and patience.

Lew


----------



## PurpLev

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


that looks awesome! definitely takes lots of patience, and precision - nicely done!


----------



## Radish

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wow, Martin. I couldn't imagine doing these without the Incra. Great job.


----------



## gwurst

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Looks great, but that was a lot of work! I wish I had the time to try those kind of things.


----------



## LeeJ

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Hi Martin;

This is some spectacular workmanship.

I'll bet your on some kind of medication, or should be! lol

(I am too).

Great photos as well!

Lee


----------



## Praki

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Inspiring and very educational. I will attempt this someday 

Thank You!


----------



## damianpenney

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Woah  Seriously cool, well done! Now lets see if you can do a triple….


----------



## Ampeater

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


I just added it to my "favorites" list. I want to make one of those after I have practiced for about two years.


----------



## bfd

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Just added this to my favorites as well…You are 90% Highly Skilled Craftsman & 10% Crazy! I am blown away by this blog. As someone who hand cuts dovetails (humble half blind and simple through dovetails) I can totally appreciate what went into this. Thank you for this blog. I also added your walnut coffee table to my favorites.


----------



## mot

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


A well documented and beautiful project. You obviously have the patience and skillset to create tremendous handcut joinery. Thanks for taking the time to document and post this.


----------



## Chip

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wonderful craftsmanship and wonderful that you took the time to show us how you did it. Terrific and thank you.


----------



## Dorje

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wow. That's bold!


----------



## Woodhacker

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Goodness! Thanks to each of you for your comments and encouragement! This was such a fun and satisfying project…I guess because it presented new challenges.

Lee - you're on to me. I know under HIPAA rules I don't have to divulge personal medical information, but my current medication is 200 mg of rosewood sawdust 4 times daily at meals and bedtime.

Damian - Hmmmm a triple dovetail…I might have to increase that dosage to 300mg…but that would be pretty cool (the project not the "medication"). Also, I've never used a houndstooth dovetails in a project yet, but during this project I've been wondering if it's possible to do a double houndstooth. Regardless of which of those I end up doing first, I'm pretty sure BFD has those percentages he mentions above reversed. 

Thanks again for your encouragement.


----------



## JohnFry

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle.  Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Your hand cut double dove tails, or inlaid dove tails as they are also known, are very impressive. That is some exacting hand tool work. I've done several sets of inlaid DT's and I am in absolute awe of your precision….........But, Man-O-Man!! I think I will just keep using my Leigh D4 for this process. ;-)


----------



## AlNavas

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Martin,

You have done a TERRIFIC job on these inlaid / double dovetails! Now, please understand where I come from: I have never made dovetails by hand (I might try them in the future…); I have made them only with a D4 jig, and I can make the inlaid type on the D4, too. But you have shown us that it can be done, and done beautifully, by hand as well.

*Well done!*


----------



## Taigert

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up.  I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Martin, 
Thank you for putting so much effort into documenting the process you did a fantastic job of of a very difficult job!!
You also did a wonderfull job on making this box. I had thought of trying this idea, after seeing it done on a Leigh router jig. Seen as I do not own a router jig my alternative would be by the old fashined method. You have made my thought process alot easier for me down the road.


----------



## boboswin

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


What a great talent!
Everything is so crisp.
Thanks for taking the time to show us all the steps and your technique.

Bob


----------



## tenhoeda

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


WOW, that is beautiful


----------



## rickbuddy

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


OMG!!!
Martin, people like you with so much creativity and talent blow me away. That box is awesome.


----------



## NICUTO

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


those look awesome!!!!!! i really like your idea with the coping saw to cut out alot of the waste. great job!


----------



## mohkev

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Beautiful work. Thanks for the step by step shots of the process. Really helps me out to see it that way.


----------



## JoeLyddon

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Woodhacker, Martin,

You're no Woodhacker!

That is the BEST procedure I have ever seen on Handcutting Double Cut Dovetails!

I FINALLY can understand how it's done!!

I Thank tou very much for your wonderful documentation of your procedure & skills.

Martin, I have a website where I save things that really interest me… Can I get your permission to post your work to my website?

www.woodworkstuff.net

Thank you.


----------



## AlNavas

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Martin,

I am SO impressed, I have posted a little something at my blog, to let everyone know about the wonderful job you did with these hand-cut inlaid dovetails!

KUDOS, Martin!!!


----------



## croessler

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wow, great how to…. Very informative. Was it fun to figure this out?


----------



## JoeLyddon

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Martin,

Thank you for giving permission to add this to my website!

I finished it today!

http://www.woodworkstuff.net/MeckAHandcutDBLDT.html

Hope you like it…

Look down in the Joinery Section…
http://www.woodworkstuff.net/woodidxjigs.html


----------



## sIKE

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Man that looks nice, hadn't seen it done by hand before!


----------



## GaryK

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Great dovetailing job and also a great blog on how you did it!


----------



## crookedshack

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Awesome! I agree with everyone else, you are a true craftsman. Nice work! And don't worry about working on your patience and precision too much. I think qualifies you for a phd. in both.


----------



## Partridge

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


this looks fun and frustrating all at same time.
nice work.


----------



## clem

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


really a great job

clem from delaware


----------



## flomp

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


military precision im impressed


----------



## lowbike1

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wow, thats very impressive, thanks for posting pics of all the steps!


----------



## Texasgaloot

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Martin, I appreciate the way you think outside the box…

I've been hand cutting dovetails for years, and have never tried a double. It never occurred to me to try a double. I might even go for a triple… too much coffee…

Tremendous precision. Well done!


----------



## Blake

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Um, WOW! and, er, uh… WOW!


----------



## haltman

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wow really interesesting job! Thank you for shareing!


----------



## grumpycarp

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Consider the lillies of the field (guilded) . . .

And I recently whined that making an end grain cutting board was doing everything twice . . .

Beautiful, thanks for the blog.


----------



## deucefour

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Thank you for sharing, very nice work.


----------



## patron

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


truly inspirational !
and thank you for the step by step instructions / pictures .

you are one serious craftsman ,
well done !


----------



## rob2

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


It has been said a bunch but, WOW. Amazing and beautiful. It is really more attractive than the machine cut ones because of the tiny variations make you realize this was done by some very skilled hands. Thank you for sharing!!!


----------



## Mars72

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Gorgeous! This would be a project for someone who really enjoys the wood and the process. Thanks for the detailed picts.


----------



## stefang

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


This was a fabulous blog Martin. I didn't see it when you posted it, but I was very glad to find it. I do good dovetails by hand but I'm getting lazy in my old age so I will be using my very good quality scroll saw for most of this except the chopping and paring with chisels. Nevertheless your 'how to' will be just as valuable to me. I have great respect for your well thought out methodical approach to this work and I can see you have some serious skills. Thanks much for sharing them with us.


----------



## SEE

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


I just found this tutorial on google after searching for a long time for information on to make these DD joints. This is the absolutely the best documented, step by step tutorial that I've seen. Thank you very, very much for taking the time to prepare this presentation. NOW, I know how they do it, how YOU do it!

Thank you again.

God Bless, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!


----------



## measure2x

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


JUst found your double double post….Thanks so much for the excellent "tutorial" on double dovetails and the pics of the beautiful result.
cheers,
Terry (New Brunswick, Canada)


----------



## CreekWoodworker

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


I saw this post come up one the pulse, (thanks to terry). Very nice tutorial, I always wanted to know how double dovetails were make. Thanks for the post.


----------



## papadan

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Nice work Martin, thanks for showing us how it's done. Dan


----------



## kolwdwrkr

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Nice tutorial


----------



## Rickoman

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


*Am I the only one unable to see the images?* bandwidth exceeded  Any chance of posting them to a service less limiting like Picasa or anything? Thanks! looking forward to seeing this.


----------



## woodplay

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Thanks for the help. I needed it.


----------



## mafe

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wauuu, you knock my feet away!
Beautiful work, perfect fits, finish and I could go on - wonderful blog.
Thank you for sharing this experience.
Best thoughts,
Mads


----------



## Dennisgrosen

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


fantastic toturial very well explained and dokumented
and a beautyfull box you have made
thank´s for sharing your knowledge with us
my hat of for you sir

take care
Dennis


----------



## Hayabusa

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


you have made my day pretty happy, thanks a lot for sharing this
keep the good work up see you mate


----------



## Dennisgrosen

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


hello Woodhacker I just read this blog for the seven time 

I think you reposte this under skill and share forum or what the name is 
so more people will know about it your tecnic deserve to bee seen by lot of people
speciel those that has focus on the expensive touterjiig can see it can always be made 
with handtools

Dennis


----------



## Millo

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


genius! Gorgeous work, and like many other said, admirable skill and determination!


----------



## bigike

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


very nice,now that is what i call skillz.


----------



## NBeener

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


WOW !!!!

I don't know who dredged this up … a couple of times … but my THANKS to them !

AWESOME JOB !
AWESOME TECHNIQUE !
FANTASTIC HOW-TO PROCESS !

BEAUTIFUL RESULT !!!

Just a superb piece !!


----------



## Velez

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


wonderfull job and I learned the process, thks for posting!


----------



## rareair

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Nice job! have you seen Kintaro Yazawa's work with his dovetail joints?

regards, Steve


----------



## gervase

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Inspirational work Martin.

Then to have the patience to take & add the pictures for us mere mortals to look at in awe.

Thank you for the challenge, I'll keep working on single through dovetails for a while longer.

Gervase cheers


----------



## NateMeadows

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Amazing. Thank you for the detailed instructions. I love hand cutting dovetails, this was a big help for sure!!

Very Respectfully,

Nate


----------



## routertablehq

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


That is a really cool looking project. Seems like a lot of work that i dont seem to have lately. If i get some time i might give this a shot.


----------



## Dennisgrosen

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


waow just had to see this again and again …...... maybee one day … 
and I think alot of L J ´s just have to jump in from time to time 
have you seen the numbers of reads nearly 175 000 your blog deffently have some fans 

congrats 
Dennis


----------



## Sirgreggins

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Thanks!!!!!! i've been trying to see how this is done. lots of pics and detailed description really helped me understand. Can't wait to give it a try once i master regular through/ half blinds


----------



## HuonMyer

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


That's a stunning piece of work/ art. I have only been woodworking/ furniture making for 14 years and you have shown me a couple of things that will speed up a few of my designs. Cheers! Great read and a great display of workmanship and art. 
This indusrty truely amazes me you never stop learning, your work can only get better and more complex by design. An industry that gives you pride and that warm funny feeling inside when the project comes to completion, you stand back, crack a beer and sit their and admire. What a Job… I love it.

Great tutorial, Great pictures you have done well beautiful piece, great learning for the novice and experienced. Thankyou again.
Also found a few things that speed up a couple of my designs and handy techniques that enhance my design greatly. With knowledge comes brilliance!

http://bit.ly/woodworking-designs

Thanks for the tips much appreciated.


----------



## WoodGoddess

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Terrific!!!!


----------



## shopslave

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


You sir are an artist, im currently working on an urn box for my wifes passed mother, im making it from zircote with spalted maple scrolled and carved inside of the frames with a recessed zircote back drop.
I had some blood wood kicking around the shop amd just for curiosity placed the frame with the scrolled insert on the bloodwood to see how that would look as a back drop, wow! Looked beautifull, however i had allready made the small panels from the zircote and cant not use them now but my wife was adimant that we find a place for some of the red, i happened upon your post and thanks to you i have an answer, a challenge and a beautifull unique feature to add to this small but heavily detailed project, thanks again for sharing with the world and inspiring us all


----------



## Ron10

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


You did a great job with the joints. I definitely learned something from reading this. Thanks.


----------



## TerryDowning

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Adding this my favorites/going to try some day list. Thanks for the detailed tutorial.


----------



## BrettUK

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Wow dude! That's seriously awesome, well done!


----------



## Blackberry

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Great work, I've done the same with the Leigh and I've wanted to try the same by hand, thanks for the post


----------



## mrjosua01

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Absolutely beautiful. I hope to have that amount of talent and patience one day.


----------



## stefang

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Very skillfully done Martin and a great blog to describe the process too.


----------



## kmstrand

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


I loved your project, so I decided to do it! Here are the results! I think you did a GREAT job explaining how to do the box. I have a Dozuki saw, and got busy!
I also added an LED light that turns on when you open the lid.
[email protected]










































__
https://flic.kr/p/11420647115


__
https://flic.kr/p/11212621284


__
https://flic.kr/p/11212508785


__
https://flic.kr/p/10938329065


__
https://flic.kr/p/9885184816


----------



## JoeLyddon

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


*kmstrand:*

Beautiful Job!

Beautiful wood selections!

Really COOL!

Thank you!


----------



## kmstrand

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Thank you Joe! It was difficult, but very fun to make, & very challenging!
Not to take away from the AWESOME blog here about this double dovetail box, but I put a few more pics on my Wordpress page:
https://kmstrand.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/double-dovetail-box/


----------



## Aidan1211

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


I'd say you did a pretty darn outstanding job there looks great to me.


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## BrunoQ

Woodhacker said:


> *Hand Cut Double Dovetail Experiment*
> 
> After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, "Why not try this by hand?" So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I'm still working on.
> 
> In this blog, I'm focusing on the sides of the box, but here's a few pictures of the nearly completed box -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Materials.*
> For this box's sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. Two contrasting woods would work just as well. The woods I chose are:
>  Honduras Rosewood - front and back. Quite hard and brittle. Chopping pins was a slow process with many trips back to "Mr. Tormek" to regrind/hone. But it's beauty made up for it.
>  Caribbean Rosewood - sides. This wood is very close grained, although very hard, it's not quite as hard as the Honduras variety, and not as brittle. Has some "florescence" when changing the viewing angle.
>  Birdseye Maple - inlay (the first dovetails). It's really pointless to use birdseye in this application, but it's what I had handy at the time. Regular hard maple would probably work better, maybe even holly.
> 
> *Construction Keys.*
> The things I found key when constructing a box like this are:
> 1) Each side of the box receives a rabbet cut on the inside of each end.
> 2) The width of the rabbet equals the width of the side to be joined into it.
> 3) The depth of the rabbet equals the thickness of the initial (or "inlaid") dovetail - maple in this case.
> 4) You actually build the box frame (sides) twice, cutting the box apart leaving the first set of dovetails, then cutting dovetails within dovetails.
> 5) When doing so it's imperative that all the dovetails use precisely the same angle…all the time. To the degree they are not, the inlaid lines (maple in this case) will not be a consistent width, thus detracting from the overall appearance. You can see some of that in my try here.
> 
> The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side -
> 
> 
> I set the rabbet depth at 1/8" and cut it on my router table. The decision on the depth of this rabbet made here initially is what "sets" the width of the inlaid dovetail for the entire project. In future boxes using this joinery, I'll strive to go narrower, (maybe 1/16") but for the first time this seemed a little risky.
> 
> Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. In the center is the second of two of my practice joints I tried before starting the box.
> 
> 
> The close-up below shows in more detail. From this picture the steps I next took were:
> 1) cutting tails in the maple (note the sacrificial maple receives no rabbet joint)
> 2) cutting pins in the Honduras rosewood (the front/back pieces)
> 
> 
> *The Tails.*
> Most often I cut my tails first, pins second. The photos series below shows the tail cutting process in the maple -
> 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but for this project I used a small block of wood cut precisely at the dovetail angle for hardwood (1:8) and used this as a "guide block" to rest my saw against for all tails in the box, so they would all be as consistent as possible. This seems like cheating in a way, but it's critical that both sets of dovetails are all consistent. Again, this is necessary to have an appealing "inlay line" in the maple once I've cut the second set of dovetails in the Caribbean rosewood.
> 
> These pictures are kind of blurry, but hopefully give the idea -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Below all the saw cuts are made -
> 
> 
> Here you can see the relationship of the shoulder in the maple to the rabbet in the rosewood -
> 
> 
> In the picture below I've made a cut nearly through the waste, but I stop short of going through and finish coming in from the other side. This prevents any chance of the fret saw blade cutting into one of the tails.
> 
> 
> Ready for pins -
> 
> 
> *The Pins.*
> The next series of photos shows how I mark and cut the pins in the Honduras rosewood. These will accept the maple dovetails. Note again that the maple is sacrificial, meaning it will be cut off once glued into the Honduras rosewood pins -
> 
> 
> Below shows how I mark the pins. When I'm doing this for real, my free hand is applying downward pressure on the maple to prevent it from slipping during the marking. The first picture shows squaring everything up prior to marking. Notice that I like to use a light under the pieces when positioning the tails for marking the pins…so that the gap between the maple shoulders and the edge of the rosewood can be easily seen and closed very precisely.
> 
> 
> For this project I'm using a x-acto knife. I have marking knives, and I was a little hesitant to try this, but it worked out fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here I'm marking the full thickness of the maple (plus 1/64") on the rosewood so the pins will be a little proud after glue up -
> 
> 
> In this picture I'm cutting out the waste between the pins using a fret saw. Again, at the point of this picture I stop cutting and feed the fret saw down the left side of the waste to finish the cut.
> 
> 
> Notice how the pins look in combination with the rabbet initially cut into the rosewood. This is a key to the maple "inlaid" dovetail being visible from the outside of the box sides. Below is a picture of the finished pins -
> 
> 
> The next two pictures show trimming the inside edges of the pins/tails. Rob Cosman shows this techique in his video series and this helps remove some of the friction when fitting the joinery -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These shavings are then cut off cleanly using the chisel.
> 
> On this project I took this idea one step further and did a small amount of filing on the back of the sides of the pins/tails, to further relieve friction when fitting the joinery together. This photo below is blurry, but I think you can get the idea. Note that I'm angling the file to purposefully avoid having the file come in contact with the front side of the rosewood pin. I also will only do this at the base of the pin…never at the end where it will show once assembled -
> 
> 
> *The Completed Joint.*
> If you look closely you can see the pins/tails are slightly proud of the side surfaces -
> 
> 
> Even though it's really hard to "destroy" something I've just finished…here I'm cutting the box apart right after getting all the initial corners completed and glued. Notice the remaining maple revealed by the initial rabbet cut into the rosewood -
> 
> 
> Below, I'm re-squaring the rosewood to prepare them for the second set of dovetails -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture shows the relationship of the Honduras rosewood, to the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> The amount of maple remaining on the inside face of the rosewood is the same thickness that needs to remain in the walls of the maple dovetail, thus determining the size of the Caribbean rosewood tails. Here I'm rechecking this width (after sanding) and will transfer that into the marking of the tails -
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this turned out blurry, but this is how I transferred this width to mark the tails in the Caribbean rosewood -
> 
> 
> In this picture below you can see how the maple and Caribbean rosewood pins will overlay each other, once cutting and assembly is complete:
> 
> 
> This series of pictures show the second set of pins being cut:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *At last! The second set of pins/tails are complete!*
> 
> 
> This picture below shows the groove cut in the sides to accept the base…it also clearly shows my "screw-up" in cutting the groove on both upper and lower sides of one of the sides. My "cover-up" was deciding to place a ¼' strip of hickory inlay around the inside of the top of the box…whooops! -
> 
> 
> This picture shows the hickory base (and inlay) being fitted. The tongue and groove were done on my router table -
> 
> 
> Here's a partial "dry-fit" and I'm ready for glue up. I actually did completely dry fit each corner separately once, but did not do this for all four corners simultaneously, fearing I'd never get them back apart without loosening the joinery fit -
> 
> 
> The carcass portion of the box is complete. Here's a picture of the clamping and end result -
> 
> 
> 
> And here's one after sanding the pins/tails clean… -
> 
> 
> I'm currently just starting to apply the finish to this box. The top is 6/4 stock cebil with a contrasting maple stripe that runs across the top, "joining" into the maple in the double dovetail. I'll post this as a project once I get the finish completed. Thus far I've put on one oil coat, but I'm torn between a natural wood look and a multilayered poly/oil blend series of top coats that will end up filling in all grain pores. Any suggestions on the completing finish are welcome.
> 
> Even though this blog ended up quite lengthy, I hope you've enjoyed it.


Sehr schönes Kästchen. Ähnliches habe ich auch schon gebaut:










And this one:


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