im making a foldable bar and i need to use traditional joinary techniques and have no idea on how effective some traditional joinary techniques are. could someone help me i thought about dovetail joints but dont really know.

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wooden boy

G'day Wooden Boy,

Good on you for wanting to use traditional joinery

However, there IS a learning curve to begin on (very, very few ever quite reach the top), and some tools are required to make the joinery (eg some chisels, a plane or two, a small handsaw, some marking out kit, and whatnot).

The first question that springs to mind is: have you ever made hand-cut dovetails or mortice & tenon joints before? These two, possibly with the addition of bridle joints and mitres are the staples. There are many more of course.

In all honesty, if you haven't made these before, then do some browsing here, on the 'net generally and in the library, and then practice before committing your new found skills on a project.

If I make that sound like hard work, well it is a bit, but it's also a hell of a lot of fun, and hand made joinery is an excellent precursor to using power tools should that need ever arise.

Good luck, and let the forum know how you get on mate!

Cheers!

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Steve B
File-aholic
"Steve departed this life after a number of very successful years as a member of these forums, he will be sadly missed by all" - Woodworking Australia's Woodwork Forums - April 2007

my passion for woodworking started at high school also so i hope you get right into it.
the questions you are asking seem very fundamental and are difficult to answer over this forum.
the most important step i found was good people to help show me how. if you can join a woodworking association you will find heaps of old codgers more than willing to give you plenty of pointers and encouragement.
in sydney the nsw wwodworking association meets up every two months.

Some good books on the subject will also be handy for you.

"Encylopedia of Furniture" by Ernest Joyce is a good start. See if you can borrow it from a library.

A little bit of effort to make these joints but well worth it both during the journey - you never get to the destination.

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- Wood Borer

thanks mate, yes i have done dovetail joints, motise and tennon joints by hand b4 it is a little hard work but i enjoy it

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wooden boy

could u tell me a litle more about the nsw woodworking association? like where they meet? and wat time please?

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wooden boy

thanks Wood Borer i will try and find that book

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wooden boy