New World or Old School Dovetails?
June 1, 2008 – 6:26 amWhile I have been busy trying to transform my garage into a workshop, I haven’t been able to do any woodworking whatsoever. Occasionally I will be so desperate to get my “fix”, I will be temped to do some hand cut dovetails. My lack of an appropriate bench usually prevents this from happening. What I mean by appropriate is a bench that does not wobble when you clamp a piece of lumber to it and try sawing or chiseling on it. My “workbench” has been doubling as a scaffold while I refinished the ceiling and unfortunately seen to much stress from me walking all over it.
This got me to thinking. With all of the new fixtures and jigs available on the market from places like Rockler, Woodcraft and even department stores like Sears, who actually takes the time to hand cut dovetails anymore?
Not to long ago I thought the dovetail jigs, especially the adjustable ones did an awesome job of cutting dovetails. I thought why would anyone bother to take the time and frustration to do this by hand when these jigs did the job so fast?
One day I tried practicing these dovetails by hand, just to see how hard it was. It was pretty bad. I posted it online. Check it out. Marc, The Wood Whisperer suggested a DVD by Rob Cosman that showed, in detail, how to cut these little jems with ease and precision. Of coarse this comes with practice.
So my question to you is: Do you find it worth the effort to hand cut your dovetails or do you just grab a jig and let the machines do the work?
4 Responses to “New World or Old School Dovetails?”
Hey Eric,
It’s absolutely worth the effort. But that’s because, for me, the handcraftedness of what I make is something I take great pride in. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m such a noob that anything I make is crap - but it’s handcrafted crap.
By Eric on Jun 1, 2008
Eric,
Are you talking to yourself now? Well, agreeing with yourself and also answering your question; yes, hand cutting dovetails would be worth the time in the right circumstance. Since I’m normally never going to have a deadline for anything I build, hand cutting would make sense. If I had a bunch of cabinet drawers to crank out,
I’d probably get jiggy with it. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
By Vic on Jun 1, 2008
Talking to myself? LOL I guess I am. It’s my only outlet right now until I get a project going. Which I hope will be real soon.
By MorningWood on Jun 2, 2008
No Eric, I was giving you a hard time ’cause your first responder’s name was Eric, also. You’re not wasting your time. So far, your posts are pretty good! Better than I could do, for sure.
By Vic on Jun 2, 2008