sutton046

The kitchen I have been making by stages is completed structurally. It's time to make the drawers, before the doors and drawer fronts are made and hung. These doors and drawer fronts will be made with WA Blackbutt (Eucalyptus patens), as per the framing and end panels. One section of the big kitchen ready for appliances, end panels, drawers and drawer fronts and doors. My customer has a huge pile of New Zealand grown pine - either Pinus radiate or Pinus pinasta - which she picked up from a local furniture manufacturer who was closing down. Sadly, yet another furniture maker put out of business by the West Australian public choosing to buy cheap Chinese imports rather than supporting their local industry.  But that's another story... Somehow, the Kiwi's can grow much nicer pine than we can grow in Australia, especially Western Australia where we grow those same two species. I suspect it's a climate thing as well as a plantation management issue. Anyway, this awesomely...

Last night I was guest presenter at the North Metropolitan Triton Club. I called my presentation: "Five Good Reasons to Chuck Away Your Dovetail Router Jig", where I went briefly through the history of the joint and different types of the joint. I followed this with a demo on hand cutting a Through Dovetail Joint. Then it was time for them all to have a go. I had taken enough tools and timber for 20 people to be making their joints simultaneously. It was a lot of fun, with all the usual traps and pitfalls being experienced along the way, and lots of people being pleasantly surprised with what they achieved. For some it was the first time they'd ever cut a dovetail by hand ... for others it was the first time since they last did it at school half a century ago! A great night. The Club meets in a high school woodworking classroom. Busy cutting dovetails by hand. My demo worked well, despite the low light conditions! It's hard to see pencil lines on jarrah in low light. ...

What is it about the dovetail joint that it seems to have such mystique these days? In the past, it was just a standard every day method of jointing timber. Maybe it is the prevalence of new technologies and techniques better suited to mass production, man-made panel products and flatpacking which has lead to the growing fascination for this traditional joint. Most woodworkers creating dovetail joints nowdays use screaming routers aided by finely machined metal router jigs to cut these joints. Sure, they are sharp and crisp joints, but the journey is just not the same... there is something wonderful about using your hands and traditional hand tools to make a nice dovetail joint. If you are interested in how to cut these joints by hand, I invite you to follow through the process and come with me on the journey. Half-blind dovetails on the top edge of some sheoak bedside cabinets under construction. I am one of those people who does not own a dovetailing rout...