First Successful Dovetail
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / First Successful Dovetail
- This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 4 months ago by jespiir.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Anonymous20 December 2012 at 4:18 am #5295
Yesterday I cut my first successful dovetail by hand. Thought I would share this as only a woodworker could appreciate that feeling of success. All I got at the office from coworkers today was “Yeah, that’s great, did you hear about the….?”. The truly impressive part is that it’s made from two pieces of 3/4″ x 2″ white pine (very soft like balsa wood), but I can stand it up on the floor like a teepee with the dovetail joint up, and stand on it without it breaking. The co-workers weren’t even impressed by my balancing act. All 200 lbs of me (14.3 stones for our British friends) no less. Impressive joint.
Anonymous20 December 2012 at 6:30 am #5298Way to go Jeff, it feels great no matter how many you cut. The first good ones though magic 😉
Anonymous20 December 2012 at 7:55 am #5301Thanks gents. The second practice one tonight came out better except for a slight split when fitting it.
Question for y’all: After planing the white pine I can see what can be best described as a birds eye maple kind of holographic look in the wood. You can also see a similar thing when Paul planed the wood for the tote. What is that and what’s it called? It’s quite beautiful.
Anonymous20 December 2012 at 8:45 am #5303Shimmer 😉
They’re medullary rays and I agree the effect can be both striking and quite beautiful Jeff.  In addition to the grain, quarter-sawn wood (Particularly oak) often displays subtle wavy patterns across the grain, as these rays spread/radiate from heart to sap wood.  Flat-sawing cuts across the rays, but quarter-sawing places them on the face of the board and often makes quarter-sawn wood especially desirable for use in furniture and decorative panels. 🙂
20 December 2012 at 9:20 am #5306My new year’s resolution is to cut at least one decent dovetail joint. Â At current rates of progress it might well take me the whole year.
Well done Jeff. Â Unlike your co-workers I really do appreciate your feeling of satisfaction!!!!
Jon
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.