Thread: Veritas dovetail guide

Another way of cutting more accurately is to lay out one set of lines only, the pins or the tails. This method borrows from that of Frank Krausz (God, watching his video is the next best thing to sex!).

Dear Derek,
You must be doing it wrong. (sex that is).

Maybe the choice can be govened by the reason for making the piece in the first place.
If meeting a deadline by making an item for a family member or a friend I would certainly use power tools and jigs( which I have done and will do again). However if I am in my workshop as a means of relaxing and relieving the accumulated stress of a working week(which I also do and will do again), I enjoy nothing more than sharpening the hand tools and emersing myself in the challenge of turning timber into a usable item without any mechanical aid. Who cares if it is not perfect? It never is but I made it with my own somewhat imperfect hands and that point alone makes me feel good. But then I don't make my lolly in this way so maybe I'm wrong.
Either way it has certainly been an interesting discussion.

Regards Bob W

Derek,

Except he begins with the tails

Did you mean "with the pins"? Apparently this is a subject of debate. I'm not sure which way I prefer, only having ever started with the tails.

I should have said "the method described by Gary Rogowski". I don't think he lays any claim to it.

Bob W,

It's an interesting point you make. In addition to my other vices, I often play drums with one of the local bands. Back in the 80's when drum machines became quite popular, a few of my ilk grew concerned that these infernal machines would replace us in the studio and on stage.

We need not have been concerned because the machines were TOO perfect. It is in fact the subtle 'mistakes' that humans make which give a thing it's aesthetic value: your "somewhat imperfect hands".

Some short while after people began to realise that 'canned' drums did not sound quite right, one or two machines were released that allowed the engineer to program in some 'mistakes'. It was a short step from this to hiring a real drummer again and thus the crisis was over.

Sequencers and drum machines allow anyone to create a convincing drum track but it will never stack up to a real live drummer with warts and all. In my opinion....

Thanks for that description Derek,

I feel like I should try it again.

I still find it hard to believe that cutting by hand will be quick that a machine. But there you go....

And to further the "discussion" on hand tools Vs power tools, the thoughts of the late Tage Frid

Although classically trained, Frid’s take on furniture making was forever practical, grounded perhaps by his time-is-money experience as a working craftsman. He was as equally comfortable using a belt sander as he was a handplane. “A lot of people get romantic about their tools,” he said. “I don’t care about the tools, I use anything that will get the job done… . The end result is what counts.”