The Last Dovetail

[Derek Cohen]

The last dovetail has been cut for the military chests. The drawer carcases are completed, and installed. I have the drawer bottoms to finish (they are 2/3 done), and then the handles to fit. That is for later.

In the meantime I thought I would prepare a "lessons learned" from the 12 drawers. There was too much to post here, so the article is on my website:

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/TheLastDovetail.html

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/TheLastDovetail_html_5042677f.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

I get a 404 for the link.

jtk

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I get a feeling Derek may have copy/pasted a post he did somewhere else, or a post he started here and then changed - a lot of times forum software shortens the URL with ellipses - the link works if you click it, but copy paste it somewhere and you have a shortened URL that won't work.

Regardless, I think he's linking this

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/TheLastDovetail.html

(That link will work if you click, [unlike Derek's] but again, you'll see the forum software may be showing a shortened text version that wouldn't work if you copy/pasted)

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks Joshua, your link works.

Derek, thanks for sharing.

The front and top of the cabinets together with the wood grain matched is amazing. Even if these are separated by something I think people will notice.

Great work.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

Watching Derek's work is like sitting in the surgical gallery.

I'm amazed at his skill, and appalled by the depth of my ignorance.
That kerf chisel thing still gets me - yet another "Why dinnae I think of that?"

[Bill White]

I'm selling all my chisels and my DT saw.
Great work there Bucko.
Bill

[Derek Cohen]

My apologies for the poor link early on. It is easier to paste to SMC from another site that write directly. I also find it very difficult to edit posts here - when I do all the origonal information disappears. Something wierd goes on.

Anyway, the military chests are about 2/3 the way. I am finishing off the drawer bases at present. Then it will be time to do the drawer handles. I have traditional brass ones which should look good, but to do so will need to be fettled and then aged. Fitting them is also a chisel-and-router-plane job. Finally, I have the back of the cabinets to do, and these will be frame-and-panel. The panels are to be tongue-and-groove. Lots of work still.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Terry Beadle]

Ahhhhh...the last dovetail!

It demands a ceremony. I remember reading a Dick Francis novel where in he described some Australian wines as a really good wine at a really good price.

Since it's dovetails, it should be a sweet semi-dry white served in a carafe with feathers around the rim !

Dem's a lotta dovetails !

Great job!

[Chris Griggs]

I really do need to give you some props for that. Its a great accomplishment and wonderful milestone in the your current build. Even if you've done 1.5 million dovetails before, getting to that point in a build, especially one so work intensive sure is satisfying. You must feel good. I just finished joining 9 dovetailed drawers with only 2 tails each. I am SICK of dovetails, but it sure did feel good when that last drawer was in clamps, really really good.

12 drawers, 4 tails per joint, in Australian timber. Yikes! You sir have lost your mind, but it sure looks like you had a good time loosing it, and isn't that what its all about. Congrats on a job well done, and thanks for sharing the process and lessons learned.

[Jim Matthews]

I'm selling all my chisels and my DT saw.
Great work there Bucko.
Bill

It's like any guitarist that heard Jimi Hendrix play for the first time - "How do you top that? Guess I'll take up the TUBA."
Reading Derek's posts has me swerving between admiration and despair (at my limited skill set).

[Tom Fischer]

I like that technique of using a router to set the depth of the half blind pins.
Looks like once you get your jigs right, should produce clean cuts, pretty fast.
I might try that next time around.
************
Also, would you have any info or link on how to make that Kerf Chisel.

Thanks Derek!

[Derek Cohen]

Many thanks for the exceedingly kind words one and all. However now I will have to work overtime to live up to them ...

Tom, the link to the keerf chisel is: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/KerfChisel.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tom Scott]

A question Derek...
If you're going to use a tailed router to clean out the pin board, is there a benefit to just defining the back line and not doing all of it that you can? I know it only takes a few whacks to clean out, but seems like that step can be skipped totally and then just go to clean-up if you take it all out with the router. This would be similar to the technique that was just in PW in the last month or so.

By the way, the chest (and dovetails) look great.

Tom

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Tom

I tried it both ways. It was more effort and took longer with the router removing all the waste. Establishing the endgrain baseline, and then a couple of chops to remove it was quick and stress-free.

Regards from Perth

Derek