Success at a Dovetail class

[Trevor Walsh]

I took a Hand dovetailing class at the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop run by Mario Rodriguez and Alan Turner. It was a blast, and I turned out some pretty good dovetails, if I do say so myself. Here are some pics...

[Gary Hodgin]

Nice dovetails!! Sounds like a great class.

[Peter Cobb]

Congrats on the joinery!
Pic number 2 looks like a great "Moxon double screw" joinery station....
Cheers,
Peter

[Don Dorn]

Very nice - glad you enjoyed it and you learned a lifetime skill in the process.

[Trevor Walsh]

Thanks, guys. Peter, they call them a bench on bench, it doesn't feel like it would be a stout as a Moxon. I'll be able to tell you soon, I'm building one out of beech. I'm waiting on a tap to cut giant threads, then I'll let you know.

The class certainly broke down the mystique of cutting dovetails, and I'm totally hooked, they are fun to cut!

[Gary Hodgin]

Thanks, guys. Peter, they call them a bench on bench, it doesn't feel like it would be a stout as a Moxon. I'll be able to tell you soon, I'm building one out of beech. I'm waiting on a tap to cut giant threads, then I'll let you know.

The class certainly broke down the mystique of cutting dovetails, and I'm totally hooked, they are fun to cut!

Trevor,
I'm also interested in the bench of bench. Let us know how it goes.
Gary

[Jim Koepke]

I am interested in what was taught that you felt made a difference.

Most recently here a thread was talking about the influence our eye(s) have on sawing. That and a discussion on another forum made me realize my eyes can switch dominance. Understanding this has me correcting a little for this and sawing a bit straighter. I have not cut any dovetails since then, maybe it is time to try a quick set.

jtk

[Trevor Walsh]

Jim, There were a few details that made a real difference. First off the space, everything is there and out and ready, benches. clamps accessries, sharp tools, an array of saws to test out, sharpening stations everything. Because the home (basement) shop is small (and my parents) I have limited space for tools out and worksurface. I recently got a stout but small table together to make planes on, and it works well with some things, at home I clamp work mostly with handscrews in various configurations. A bench with vises made a huge difference in how I worked. There was no fussing with the workspace, all the attention was on the wood and the tools.

Another thing was the teaching, they demystified it, we didn't use fancy fishtail chisels or specially ground dovetail chisels; tight, cleaning work was done with a chip style carving knife. And having someone there co call you on your bullshit was good, I know I'm supposed to "handshake the saw" and keep certain things in line, but you drift and alone, you can't see that. You develop bad habits. After being corrected you are more aware, and if you slip up again, they tell you again.

Working with other students was good too, we were showed how to lay out the tails with dividers or with shopmade templates. I like dividers, used them exclusively and did some irregular sized tails. Someone asked me to show them how I did it. It's fun. That was the other big part, you saw, you talk, about shop and tools, if something interesting came up, you'd stop and go over to join the conversation, then go back to work. We learned a lot really quickly, but it seemed relaxing and peaceful.

Number one thing, was that the took the thought of "dovetails are difficult, this is going to be an ordeal" out of my head.

[Pedder Petersen]

Hi
I like this picture, but I wonder: Are people told to clamp the wood that long? Like in filing it is much better to clamp as short as possible in sawing. Prevents any shatter.

Great job on the dovetails!

Cheers Pedder

[Andrae Covington]

I've just started practicing dovetails. I have some videos, but I think the main advantage to taking a class, out of all the things you mentioned, would be having someone knowledgeable looking over your shoulder while you work.

Back when the Schwarz showed his Moxon-esque twin-screw appliance to put on the benchtop, I didn't give it much thought. Same with a couple blogging woodworkers who built a separate "joinery bench" that's taller. Now that I'm stooping over to saw dovetails in my leg vise, it's starting to look like a really good idea!

[Bruce Page]

Nice dovetails.

Is that White Lightning in the mason jar?

[Trevor Walsh]

Pedder, that shot was at cleanup at the end of the day, so the height of that board is high. The bench on bench was a little tall for my height, so the baseline was nearly level with the mini bench to be comfortable when sawing. However with about 3 inches below the baseline showing during the pairing, I could sit on a stool and pare all day without problems.

[Joe A Faulkner]

So after taking the class, have you settled on which style saws you want to use for dovetails? Any particular brand you are leaning towards having had the opportunity to try several different ones?

[Trevor Walsh]

Well Joe, I know the Veritas has a bit too big of a handle for my taste, it cuts well, but I just don't like the handle. The Gramercy feels small in the bottom of the handle. It needs to flair out at the bottom, like the kenyon doevetail saw, and I'd like a coarser TPI on it too.

I really liked the Gramercy 12" carcass saw, I found a kit on eBay and ordered it. It will be my go-to for larger carcass dovetails and other joints. The other saw I really liked I've attached a photo of. It may look rough, but it was really comfortable and cut like a dream, I believe it was 13 tpi.

I've ordered a shop notes saw kit from Mike Wenzlof, and will build that like the kenyon saw if my handle mock ups go well. on thin stock, 1/4 inch or less I think I'd use a zona saw. I like how they handle.

If I was pressed to buy a standard saw without specifying particulars, I'd get the gramercy dovetail for small work and make a handle like the kenyon, and buy the gramercy carcass saw for larger dovetails.

[Charles Bender]

Trevor,

The dovetails look great. Glad you stopped by Ball & Ball last week. Still wish you had taken my dovetail class but it really looks like Alan and Mario got you on the right track. Keep on dovetailing.

Chuck Bender