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#39. WIA: Advanced Dovetailing with Frank Klausz

December 16, 2008 By

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Run time: 1 hour, 51 min., 47 sec.

Frank Klausz returns in this episode on Advanced Dovetailing, to share how he makes half-blind and mitered dovetails. He shares tips that are crucial to get excellent joint fit with a minimum set of tools. I filmed this during his wonderful session, at the Woodworking in America hand tool conference in Berea, KY.

The session opened with Klausz talking about his background, and his search in America for “…others who made dovetails like his grandpa made them, back in Hungary…”. He later told the audience he has made “… a total of 12 of these, and now is getting ready to make his 13th mitered dovetail joint…”

Pins-first is the order of the day when making both, the half-blind, and the mitered varieties of dovetails. Klausz also uses a sharpened pencil to mark the tails from the pins; and, from the Pins vs. Tails dovetailing videos I filmed during his first session, white glue is what he uses to assemble the dovetails. He considers white glue a great stress-remover when the time comes to glue up dovetail projects – the longer open time of the white glue is good for these, he says. Of course, he is right.

If you decide to download the video: The file size is 570 MB. It will take a while, depending on your connection speed.

Relevant posts:
Woodworking in America: Pins vs. Tails, with Frank Klausz

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Filed Under: Berea, Blog, Conference, Dovetails, Joinery, Video, Woodworking in America Tagged With: , , , , ,

Hand-cut dovetails: “Cutting to the line”

December 11, 2008 By

This one is for Betsy, at Lumberjocks.com.

Betsy has had trouble cutting to the line when hand-cutting dovetails. Therefore, she would like to improve the fit, by making sure to better cut to the line. I promised I would try to document how I do it.

I found that using either the index-finger fingernail, or the thumb fingernail, to create a “fence” for the saw, works best for me. Therefore, I first place the fingernail exactly on the line, and then I place the saw on the board (click on the images to enlarge):

Once the saw is on the board, I sight down the cheek of the saw to the extent I can – the back gets in the way, as it is considerably thicker than the saw blade. By sighting down the cheek I get the best feel for the angle at which to hold the saw, thus giving me a good chance at being able to get the angle correctly. Note that the saw appears to be quite a distance to the right of the mark in this photo – THIS is exactly what it should look like:

Keeping my finger nail “fence” in place, and using a very light touch, I start the cut on the push motion (if using a Japanese saw, you must start the cut using a pull motion). Some people refer to this light touch as de-weighting the saw (I think this is the most-used term). This “light touch” also means that you are exerting on the saw *only* the force required to push and pull the saw on the board – no more, and no less.

Once the kerf is established, I remove my finger “fence” and complete the cut while sighting down the cheek of the saw. If the saw is not following the line, I do not try to correct it by steering the saw. It is impossible to do so with a dovetail saw, and it is also not recommended. The best thing to do: Start over.

I am certain that when I first started my hand-cut dovetails practice sessions I was tense, and therefore it was difficult to start the cut on the push motion. And I was amazed at how easy it was once I used as light a touch as possible.

It took me a while to realize this *is* the proper way to be to best cut to the line. With very minor adjustments it is possible to even “split the line” – provided, of course, that the line is wide enough to be “split”.

Edit to add: Dan, at WoodNet, said: The thumb is most definitely the rough cut fence and the index finger for accuracy.

During the Dovetails session at Woodworking in America (Parts 1, 2, and 3), Frank Klausz recommended to “…split the line when cutting the pins; and cut on the waste side of the line – the pins side – when cutting the tails…” Of course, Klausz cuts pins first.

So, Betsy, keep up your practice. And please let us know when you can cut to the line precisely. That will be your AHA! moment.

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Filed Under: Blog, Dovetails, Hand tools, Shop tools Tagged With: ,

# 31. WIA – Dovetailing: Pins vs. Tails, Part 3

November 20, 2008 By

Download Quicktime (*.mov)
Run time: 17 minutes, 04 seconds

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!”

Filed Under: Berea, Blog, Conference, Dovetails, Joinery, Video, Woodworking in America Tagged With: , , , , ,

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