8 Comments

    1. I asked Paul and his reply was:
      I’m not in favour of spring joints because you are technically building stress into the joint line. Personally think it’s better to have two straight lines and glue up. The spring joint was made to dispense with clamps. I see the value of using it if you don’t have clamps but if you have clamps you might as well use them.

  1. Thanks for the excellent video! Really enjoyed the exceptional filming and sound quality.

    It was nice to see the long sequence of stock prep, including the bandsaw, but without a blow-by-blow (given this is probably not a beginner project).

    Really looking forward to the next episode!

  2. Also curious if you would use a double sided dovetail with a taper in a given situation. The single sided one you demonstrate is so beautifully straight forward. Once again, can’t thank you enough. Couldn’t possible have advanced in woodworking to this extent from the comfort of home without your in depth instruction and demonstrations. So good.

  3. I have made this joint a few times, but I always have beveled both sides. I can see now that it isn’t necessary because one bevel pulls the pieces together in a mechanical joint. Secondly, leaving the offside flat allows you the leeway to plane it down for a perfect fit. As for gluing, I always put glue on the first third of the slot and the last third of the dovetail. The glue in the slot is spread down towards the front and the glue on the tail locks in the back end. Another thing I do is to cut the slots, place the pieces back-to-back and measure the 2x stock where the opposing slots meet. Do this for each pair of slots. The length of the joining piece for each pair of slots is the design length minus your measurement. That corrects for any variation in the depth of the slots and keeps the project square.

  4. I love watching the beautifully done closeup video shots of the waste wood curling up as Paul works. I find it relaxing — even mesmerizing to watch — and it makes understanding what he’s aiming for in the joinery so much easier.

Leave a Reply