In this episode Frank Klausz discusses the importance of undercutting below the base line, and his preference for cutting both pins and tails flush with the boards. Roy Underhill introduces the concept of “bishopping”, which involves leaving the pins proud and using a ball peen hammer to “spread out” the protruding wood to make the fit appear better than it truly is.

Later, both present several variations on the dovetails:

1. Half-lapped (or half-blind) dovetails: Look carefully inside this joint, as “there is room to undercut in every direction”.
2. “Secret” mitered dovetail: Most of the joint is concealed, so it is impossible to determine how “clean” the joint may be. Frank Klaus will cover more on this joint, when he actually cuts one in the Advanced Dovetailing session. I will also have this session on film.
3. In one segment Roy Underhill calls himself “The Rhinestone Wood Guy” - to the delight of the audience.
4. The Puzzle Dovetail, done on the diagonal.
5. The Rising Dovetail, used to hold mallet heads and highlighted on the workbench in use for this session.
6. The Swallow Tail dovetail - I am not sure if this one is accurate, but it is on the video. Klausz and Underhill agreed that this one is truly a scarf joint. And I believe it is a very interesting joint. Layout involves careful work with gauges, etc.

A short discussion ensued on chisels suitable for dovetailing work. Most important: Sharp cutting edges, and beveled edges, to allow the chisel to get in tight quarters! When asked about the best angle to sharpen the chisels, Klausz answers, true to form: “The angle is SHARP!”

In the last episode, Frank Klausz and Roy Underhill reviewed the basics, and why dovetails should be cut a certain way.

In this episode Frank Klausz actually cuts the pins and the tails, explaining in detail how the layout should be done for best results. Hilarious at times, but dead serious when it comes to the subject of dovetails, it is easy to see it is passion in its purest form that drives Klausz to be the master he is.

When asked if plywood would be OK for drawer bottoms, his response was “… I would NOT have plywood in my house - here, take 30 dollars and buy some decent hardwoods for those drawer bottoms…”

The through dovetails he cut during this session were perfect, without the need to do any “bishoping” (using a small hammer to fill in the gaps in the tails). This is explained in the video in detail. The joint Klausz made - consider he did this with a camera over and under his shoulder, and other fun interruptions:

.

.

This is Part 1 of 3 - the first session on dovetailing. I will have a separate video series for the session on Advanced Dovetailing, also with Frank Klausz. The introduction was by Popular Woodworking magazine’s Publisher Steve Shanesy.

Summary:
It was great to watch Frank Klausz and Roy Underhill onstage. For me it was a first, very educational, and a most entertaining experience. Unless needed, I will not edit the video much, to give you the best experience and the feeling of being there during the sessions. But I have divided this one into three Parts, to make it easier to watch at one sitting, and to download in high resolution (this means you can almost watch it full-screen).

In addition to the video above, I made the following short notes on items I thought important:

1. Session Survey (by show of hands - my estimates on the hand count): Approximately 7 people cut pins first; about 40 people cut tails first. The rest of the audience of about 200? I don’t know.
2. Frank Klausz used to cut tails and pins about the same size. Recently he has been cutting pins a little smaller than he used to.
3. When cutting out the waste, undercut by about 2° to 3°.
4. Always use the widest chisel possible to cut out the waste. This is most important to get a straight baseline.
5. “Make sawdust for the tails from the pieces we don’t need”. In the video he demonstrates this to mean “cut on the waste side of the pencil marks.”
6. Klausz uses a pencil to mark, because he can’t cut a knife mark in two; and he can see a pencil line better!
7. On the tails board: Cut the half-pins with the side teeth on the saw (i.e., those closest to the marking gauge line) really tight to the base line.
8. Use white Elmer’s glue for all joints - this gives us best chance to be able to properly glue the joint without the glue starting to set.
9. Reserve hot hide glue for furniture refinishing.

.

.

Due to time constraints, I spent only a couple of hours on location. However, I took many photos I will post later this week. I hope to prevent duplication. The spiral staircase is breathtaking - I have never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world.

Should you plan to visit Shaker Village? In my opinion, this trip is a must-do, even if you don’t like the furniture style.

I will leave Berea on Monday morning, but I wanted to give a little peek preview at some things to come to this blog, with both photos and video:

Modern Tools: Tolerances & Myths - left to right: Lee, Sauer, Economaki, Lie-Nielsen:

Dovetailing, two sessions on video - left to right: Klausz, Underhill:

Bevel-up vs. bevel-down planes, video - Schwarz, Lee, Lie-Nielsen:

Forgotten workbenches and workholding, video - Schwarz:

Hands-on clinic: Bench planes, video and photos - not shown here, Deneb Puchalski:

I do not show here some additional sessions I attended. I will have video on a terrific session on Furniture Design, with Kevin Drake and John Economaki.

I hope to provide close to zero or minimal editing to the video, so that you can get the most benefit from the discussions.

This was a great first conference, with a lot going on behind the scenes with the preparations, etc., which were pretty much not noticed by the attendees. But a super effort by the entire group in attendance from Popular Woodworking - a well-deserved KUDOS to everyone who participated in the organization, and to those in attendance!

Why? I will be working to bring you the latest from the Conference, including text, photos, and video. Bottom line: No promises for daily updates, as time and technology could get in the way…

At this conference I am looking forward to meeting in person all the speakers, the attendees, and the other bloggers. It should be a wonderful time!

Just for kicks, you might want to read in today’s blog post the questions that Christopher Schwarz’s has prepared for this event, 15 Woodworking Questions That Need Answers. In this post Chris also mentions he will have “some information about plans for next year”. Maybe this will become a yearly event?

.

Relevant post:
Woodworking in America Registration…

.

.

I finally made it! Sierra will soon be 8 years old, and this will make a special gift for her, on her special day. It is a little whimsical chest, not associated with any period furniture, but it does have the domed lid!

Sandy and I spent some time in the shop this past weekend, which gave me the push I needed to get started on Sierra’s chest. Sandy had not been in the shop for ages, as a result of her knee replacement surgery, and our daughter’s move to her new home - Nana helped with the move for months and months…

I finished the chest yesterday, minus the little sliding shelf. As a result, I spent some time today completing the job.

Here is Sierra’s treasure chest - it is 14 inches wide, 9 inches from the bottom edge to the edge of the domed top, and 10 inches deep. The wood is pine. It took less than one 10-foot long, 12-inch wide board to make the chest:

It is amazing that something like this will make a lovely 8-year old girl very, very happy. I can’t wait to give Sierra her chest, and watch her smile beautifully!

.

.

In this final episode I share the following tips:

1. Advantage of using router bits with perfectly-matched height.
2. For best results, align router bits with the fence using a straight edge.
3. Practice your router cuts doing “dry runs”.
4. When routing stopped grooves on the router table, use stop blocks when possible for best results.
5. When using a routing pin on the router table, always know which direction avoids climb cuts - this will save you a kickback!
6. Always do a dry fit prior to your final glue-up. It save you much cussing, and is likely to result in tight fit most of the time - unless you mess up something…
7. While on dry fit, measure distances if you need to fit something else within any space. Much better do do it now than to take things apart and having to do another dry fit.
8. Threaded metal inserts might work for you, if you don’t want machine screw heads showing on outer surfaces of a project.
9. Waterlox Sealer / Finish is a wonderful wipe-on finish on quarter-sawn sycamore. You will love it, too!
10. Always take photographs of your finished project, especially if you will publish the project somewhere.

Guess what?

Due to a tight deadline, I never took a photo of the prayer kneeler fully assembled, and with the beautiful cushion my wife made, in place - I had to meet the deadline to submit the kneeler to the church Silent Auction. But our daughter has promised to contact the person who submitted the highest bidder, to request permission to photograph it.

Thanks for following along this build, and for your wonderful comments and encouragement to keep producing this type of project on video.

I learned in late October that the kneeler had sold for close to the estimated retail price, which was most generous on the part of the winning bidder at the Silent Auction. This was truly for a great cause!

This month we will give away the 4-inch Mitered Molding Bit - one lucky winner in North America (sorry - cannot ship outside N. America at this time):

From the Sommerfeld Tools catalog:

Before now you had to pay high, custom-tooling dollars to get this elegant look on a mitered raised panel. After you’ve made your first set of doors with your new mitered molding bit, your work will be the admiration of all your woodworking friends.

Click on the image above to go to the catalog for a full description. Using this bit with the tongue & groove cabinetmaking set makes great-looking cabinet doors!

To register for the drawings, send me an e-mail to sandal_woods@bbwi.net with your name and full address. And please remember that if you have registered for the monthly drawings before, you do not have to register again. Good luck to everyone!

.

Related posts:

This is NW Missouri in the Fall - It is NOT New England, Dorothy!

.