PDA

View Full Version : First dovetails. By hand non the less.



Patrick Walsh
01-23-2016, 8:26 PM
I have been meaning to build about fifteen drawers for some cabinets in my shop for well over a year now. The plan has been mahogany sides backs and bottoms with birdseye faces. I would like to do half blind dovetails for the faces and through dovetails for the backs of the boxes.

I figured before i jumped head first into very expensive stock i would practice on some spare scap i had lying around the shop.

I settled on a long and low box. The face and back are curly maple. The sides are teak and the bottom is walnut. It should be a pretty cool box when all is said and done. I may inlay some ebony into the sides to act as handles of a sort?

I left both sides of the box high as to act as a handles. This is where i indend to inlay and recess the ebony. Prior to laying out the tails leaving the sides high to act as handles seemed like a pretty nice design idea. When i finaly took the plung this afternoon and started cutting my pieces to exact size and then laying out my tails i quickly realised i had added another layer of complication to my first attempt at dovetails. I almost backed out and cut the sides even with the face and back. Then i said no i got this dont be scared just take your time and do it.

Anyway pictures bellow. I only got the tails cut. Hopefully tomorrow before the game i can get the pins done. I am really really happy with the tails. I had not one slip up or oops. That is not how i thought this first endeavor would go. Wish me the same luck tomorrow with the pins.

Also attached is a pic of my new collection of tools to assist as i venture from machines to hand tools. I also attached a picture of the sides and backs for the soon to be drawers all roughed up waiting for a final run over the jointer then through the planer. I am still deciding if i want to do plywood bases or glue up mahogany pannels. I am leaning more towards the mahogany pannles vrs plywood.

Frederick Skelly
01-23-2016, 8:57 PM
Lookin good. Be sure to post some more pictures when you get the pins cut so we can see how she comes together!

Patrick, I am curious though - why mahogany for shop furniture?

And I'm with you - I wouldn't use plywood bottoms if you're making the drawers with high quality wood. It only costs a little more to go first class, as a buddy of mine always says! ;)

Patrick Walsh
01-23-2016, 9:16 PM
I hope to have more pictures tomorrow by this time. Two football games could throw a kink in that plan but i hope not.

Why mahogany for shop furniture, why not?

My shop is where i spend most of my free time when im not working. I am carpenter by trade. My day job is building custom homes. Be it so i Monday - Friday i rarely get a chance to do the highly detailed work i so crave and would so much like to be doing. The company i work for builds fairly nice multi million dollar homes. But as most whom do residential construction for a living know its all about the bottom line and few know the difference between good work and good enough. Even fever people are willing to actaully pay for "REALLY GOOD" work.

The weekend is my time to shine. I have a background in fine arts. I am very driven by my surroundings drawing insperation from all sorts of things at times when i least suspect it. Its kinda like having quality music or talk radio on when in the shop vrs mumbo jumbo or garbage. I find insperation all around me so i figure why not create a environment that stimulates even more creativity.

Plus my house is small and already full of very nice D.R. Dimes reproduction furniture. I have room for a few additional pieces. I figure before i delve full bore into making my dream highboy dresser making myself a dream shop is not such a bad idea. If i screw up a dovetail on the back of a shop drawer no big deal. Plus i just see no poimt in doing anything half assed or half way. Thats pretty much what im payed to do Monday - Friday.




Lookin good. Be sure to post some more pictures when you get the pins cut so we can see how she comes together!

Patrick, I am curious though - why mahogany for shop furniture?

And I'm with you - I wouldn't use plywood bottoms if you're making the drawers with high quality wood. It only costs a little more to go first class, as a buddy of mine always says! ;)

Lee Schierer
01-23-2016, 11:12 PM
Those look really nice, but if that is a drawer front, don't you have the dovetails wrong? Normally the tails would be on the sides so that the drawer front won't tend to pull off.

Patrick Walsh
01-23-2016, 11:39 PM
Practice for a drawer front, not a drawer.

The pictures are of a decorative box but yes the tails are on the sides of the box and will be on my eventual drawers also.

Fifteen drawers at about eight hours of shop time a week maybe 10-12 on a good week and the drawers should be ready for finish just in time for spring ;)

Patrick Walsh
01-24-2016, 4:00 PM
Room for improvment.

Still need a bit of fine tuning.

I have already learnt a thing or two for next time.

330134

330135

Lasse Hilbrandt
01-24-2016, 5:10 PM
This looks very good. Im not sure I would have practised on such nice and expensive wood :)

Where do you guys get your hands on all that curly maple ?

Patrick Walsh
01-24-2016, 5:24 PM
Im just outside Boston.

Just about any specialty lumber yard local to me has curly maple. If not you can always order online..



This looks very good. Im not sure I would have practised on such nice and expensive wood :)

Where do you guys get your hands on all that curly maple ?

Lasse Hilbrandt
01-24-2016, 5:45 PM
Im just outside Boston.

Just about any specialty lumber yard local to me has curly maple. If not you can always order online..


I would probably have to import it from the states to Europe, probably too expensive:eek:

Frederick Skelly
01-24-2016, 8:21 PM
Looks good Patrick!
And, yeah, I understand your point about wanting nice stuff even in the shop!
Fred

Jerry Olexa
02-27-2016, 5:51 PM
Looks good...Much satisfaction in doing your own DTs..No jigs,,,,well done