Thread: Dovetail practice - WIP

What a bummer! Looks like a nice clean break though, so it should be fairly easy to glue back invisibly.

And then finish cutting the socket? How does Mr Kingshott do it? I'd lay the workpiece flat on the bench to support the thin lap piece from behind (speaking as an armchair dovetailer here, since I've never actually done half-blind dovetails).

I've been making mistakes in the shed all day BTW, and they're not even interesting enough to document!

Thanks for this thread - you're doing lovely work on this project!

I was going to do a dovetailed carcass on my next project but given that will be my first complete piece of furniture I thought it a tad ambitious and will hold off until I've practiced on some smaller things. You make it look so easy!

Steph

Originally Posted by zenwood

And then finish cutting the socket? How does Mr Kingshott do it? I'd lay the workpiece flat on the bench to support the thin lap piece from behind (speaking as an armchair dovetailer here, since I've never actually done half-blind dovetails).

Laying the workpiece flat on the bench is the sensible thing to do. I guess you are too sensible for producing woodworking videos.

Mr Kingshott starts like that, pares most of the socket out, and then holds the workpiece upright in the vise to pare the lap piece. That's when the lap piece snapped.

Anyway, the fix is not as clean as I hoped, but it could have been worse. I continued with the sensible way and here is the first drawer. I will take some photos when I make the next one.

Originally Posted by s_m

I was going to do a dovetailed carcass on my next project but given that will be my first complete piece of furniture I thought it a tad ambitious and will hold off until I've practiced on some smaller things. You make it look so easy!

Steph, cutting dovetails is easier than it looks. Don't forget that I control the camera and usually show the best side of everything. If a dovetailed carcass seems a bit daunting try a small box first. It helps building confidence. Some hints on dovetails:
* Try with hard wood first. It seems to be very hard to get reasonable results in pine
* On the first try you are likely to get gaps of 1mm. That's normal. With practice it will go down to 0.95mm. Hitting the end grain with ball peen hammer seems to close most of the gaps.
* Dovetails are supposed to fit off the saw. You are not supposed to test them and take them apart. Ignore this. It may be good for Jim Kingshott, but he can also pare sockets upright in the vise. BTW, he does pare the pins.

Love your work mate.

More progress.

I have to do something about work. It takes too much time.

Anyway, I managed to build the frames of three drawers (photo 1). Practice does help. Photo 2 shows the second and the last set of lap dovetails. Still not perfect, but I guess there is some improvement.

I did manage to find a way of cutting lap dovetails without snapping the lap. Here is how I do it. (It may not be the best method, but it works for me.)

For marking the sockets I follow JK's example. (Some of the video is useful.)
First I hold the workpiece in the vise, and align its top edge with the side of a plane. Covering the end-grain with chalk makes the mark stand out. Otherwise they are very hard to see. (Photo 3).

Than, I take the plane backwards, clamp the tails piece on top of the plane and workpiece and mark the sockets (photos 4 and 5)

Even with the glare from the flash, the knife marks are visible on the chalk. (photo 1).

I extend the marks to the bottom of the sockets. The reason for using a pencil instead of a knife is that the lines are more visible. I know that it is less accurate, but noone is going to see that after the joint is glued. (2,3)

Sawing to the line takes some practice, and care should be taken not to cut too deep (e.g. as in the second cut from the left of photo 5)

JK now pares the waste out of the socket. I have tried that, and it does not work. His chisels may be better. The timber he uses may be softer. Maybe he is even a better woodworker than I am. He manages to pare the end grain and stop just shy of the mark. I also manage to pare the end grain, and stop when the chisel hits that scrap that supports the workpieces.

Instead I chop the waste (1) taking care not to cut too deep. After chopping most of the waste I pare the bottom (2), sides (3), back (no photo) and the corners (4), until the sockets are clean (5).

Hi Javali,
Very impressive and inspiring work, all Darkside!
And makes for a great tutorial....should this be placed in amongst the Best of the Best? It has my vote.
Look forward to the finished piece.

Cheers

Hi Javali,

Don't know how I missed this thread, but WOW.!! Great explanation, top thread mate. Really like the photos showing the tools in use as well.

Apparently a lot of people interpret pictures much better than words and I must be in that group so, words and pictures helps all of us understand quicker. Thanks.

Excellent work.!!!

Cheers
Pops

July has been a bit too busy, and I hardly got into the shed. Last week was a bit better. I completed the drawer boxes.

The drawer pulls are arranged in a trapezoid. One pull in the centre of each of the smaller drawers, and two in the large drawer. I marked the hole positions (pic 2) and drilled them (pic 3).

Pic 4 shows the drawer boxes after smoothing the face and applying a thin coat of diluted BLO. This will be followed by a few coats of white shellac, EEE and traditional wax.

The big question now is whether to apply the shellac to the face only or to the whole box. Any thoughts?

Hi Javali,

Thanks for the update. Mammoth effort there mate. Well done indeed. I like the drawer configuration and the dimensions work very well too, good design.

You have fairly snug tolerances on the drawers in the carcass there so,.. I would probably be inclined to shellac the whole box. Or at least seal the whole box. Might even consider leaving it in the house, (where it will live) for a while to stabilise the moisture and then seal it all.

Just my thoughts, and I would see what our brother (and sister) forumits have to say on the matter. (Finishes are not my strong point, followed by starters for that matter).

Cheers
Pops

Thanks Pops. Seems like the way to go. Had three coats of white shellac today. Three more tomorrow, EEE on Wednesday, and I'm done.

Javali, let it go mate, restore some more planes instead Man I have so much to learn but got inspired after seeing some of your work last week. Again thankyou.

This is such a superb piece, I think if it was me, I'd shellac the whole thing.

The trapezoidally arranged knobs are a great idea.