HOW TO MAKE HAND-CUT DOVETAILSA personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of learning to hand-cut dovetails.BERENDSOHN, ROYPopular Mechanics
Video: How to Hand Cut Precision Dovetails: The Pins No matter what your experience level (whether you’ve tried making dovetails by hand in the past or you are interested in learning something new) there are secrets to getting easier and better results. In this complete two part video tutor...
It's pretty easy to set up a jig and cut a series of perfectly fitting dovetails. What about when you don't have a jig to use? Then, it's time to turn to the centuries-old technique of hand-cutting a dovetail joint. It only takes a moderate set of hand tools and careful layout ...
From time to time, it happens: You're cutting dovetail joints you either mis-measure or chop to the wrong line, and they come out looking like Swiss cheese. Well, don't sweat it, because as I'm about to show you, patching them is easy and invisible. In t
If you prefer to cut integral joints, such as mortises-and-tenons or dovetails, be sure to allow for seasonal wood movement. Sanding and finishing Before assembly, ease sharp edges with a rasp, file, or sandpaper. Hand-plane or sand smooth the slab's top face; if sanding only, ...
Hand cut dovetails are wider and cruder than dovetails made with machines starting in the mid-19th century. Nails tell their own story. Rose Head nails were forged individually by blacksmiths in the 1700s. After shaping the nail, the blacksmith placed it in a heading tool and delivered ...
Dovetail joints (wedge-shaped openings or dovetails that hold matching pins cut in the joining piece) are used in old or expensive furniture. Butt joints (joining pieces simply butted together either face to face, edge to edge, or face to edge with no integral fastener) are glued and h...
Determine the hand of the cutter by looking at the face of the cutter when mounted on the spindle. A right-hand cutter must rotate counterclockwise; a left-hand cutter must rotate clockwise. The right-hand helix is shown by the flutes leading to the right; a left-hand helix is shown by...
hand-cutting dovetails requires a high degree of accuracy to ensure a snug fit and can be difficult to master. The pins and tails must fit together with no gap between them, so that the joint interlocks tightly with no movement. Thus, the cutting of dovetails by hand is regarded as a ma...
The first two articles explained how to mill the cherry stock for the box and lay out and cut the dovetails. Here, we show how to put the box together and install the hardware; but first you need to cut the grooves for the box’s top and bottom. Grooves for Captured Top and Bottom...