orepass

The carcass of the small tool chest is held together with dovetail joints. Nothing very unique but a chance for me to remember some of the subtleties of ensuring tight joints.  Square boards, planed end grain, careful marking and sawing.  When I prepared to cut my first dovetail (tails first in my case), I placed a board behind to use as a guide for the opposite end of the board and the face board. This allows me to index my saw to the already cut tails on the board.

I enjoy watching the many methods that people use to cut dovetails, there is the obvious tail and pin debate, the coping saw vs chisel debate, marking with a knife vs a pencil and so forth. I’ve developed a style that I use on most occasions with subtle differences to add variety. Today I think that I will use a chisel rather than a coping saw for removing the waste material.

Communication with my coping saw is a little strained at the moment and I enjoy the rhythm of using a hammer and chisel. After marking the tails with a pencil, I used my marking knife to mark the bottom of the waste and a knife edge. I then chiseled into the board approximately midway and repeated until all of the tails were complete. Marking the pins, I used the same process, saw to the line and remove the waste, fitting each board. Planing the finished product smooth I am very happy with the final product.