Hand Production Techniques - Lesson Sixteen

Over the last week I have done quite a lot of work on the cabinet.

The first thing that I carried out wast dry tested the cabinet. This means that I put it all together, without glue to make sure it all goes together properly.

Dry testing carcase

Once I had dry tested it I then glued and clamped it all together, and then began work on the drawers.

Carcase Clamped up

Carcase finished gluing

To glue and clamp up properly you have to make sure you don't cover up the pins with the packing piece, otherwise the joint wont go together properly, and the packing piece should reach both clamps. Clamping up the carcase was relatively easy, as it was already square, and I just got someone else to help hold the packing pieces in place while I tightened the clamps.

I also planed and cut the sides to length and size, and also started the drawer fronts. Finally I also started making the drawer slips, which were made out of spare Walnut which I had left from the fronts. However during the week when I was finishing off one of the drawer fonts I cut it to small, and therefore had to make another one of of scrape would, which meant they were slightly different shades.

Slightly different shades of Walnut.

However once I corrected this mistake I started to create the joints for the first drawer.

Apart from the mistake at the beginning of the week, everything went smoothly, and I managed to get two joints complete.

Hand Production Techniques - Lesson Fourteen

Today was a slow day, where I completed one joint, and also made the divider so it fitted into the grooves.  I made the divider first, and this was just cutting it to the right size, which is shown below. this was quite easy, however I did have to sand it down and chisel the groove slightly larger to get it to fit correctly.

Divider cut ready to size

I then cut and fitted my first joint. This was a mitred dovetail, and was quite easy to get to fit. However I miss-cut one of the pins, which means that you can slightly see the groove from the outside. Also I learnt from videos on the internet how to get mitres to fit as tightly as possible by running a saw along the join, and then finishing the joint by tapping it together.

Mitre joint

Finished joint - Corner 1

Overall this lesson went really well, and now that I have done the first joint, it will be easier to do the other four corners.

Hand Production Techniques - Lesson Ten

I never realized how many different types of Dovetail joints there were, but I learnt another one today. This Dovetail Joint was a Mired Corner Dovetail.

This is very similar to the Through Dovetail, apart from (as the name says) mitered pins on each end. To help understand see below for diagrams of each piece of wood.

The Tail Board:

Above: Shows end of Tail Board with areas to cut out

Above: 3D image of Tail Board

The Pin Board:

Above: Shows end of Pin Board with areas to cut out

Above: 3D image of Pin Board

Above: Side view which will be the
same on each end of both boards

I think that aesthetically this is the best looking Dovetail Joint that I have made. It was very hard to understand how to create this joint initially, but with an example joint that I could take apart, I soon learned just how easily it really is. The hardest part of joint was getting the mitre correct on both pieces of wood, and therefore getting it to joint squarely.

 I will add some photos later, as they are on a different camera ;) .

Hand Production Techniques - Lesson Eight

This lesson was very similar to yesterdays lesson, however rather then a through D/T joint, it was a Lap D/T. This means that the tails do no go all the way though the other piece of wood. I started of by making a singular Lap D/T joint.

Step 1: 

To make the the Lap D/T, you first mark of 6mm from the edge along the top edge were the tails will slot into.

Step 2: 

Using the measurement of thickness of the wood left after the 6mm inlay, make a cut line all the way round the piece of wood that is going to be used for the tails.

Step 3: 

Use the instructions in previous posts to cut a normal tail into this piece of wood.

Step 4: 

Using the tail as a guide, mark out and then cut out the groove, making sure you leave the 6mm to create the lap for the D/T.

Step 5: 


Use a chisel to clear out any excess wood, and then it should sit together as shown below.

Overall the joint went reasonably well, all though there were some gaps and it was slightly loose. However before I had to try it again we were told to do a multiple lap D/T joint.

This joint went really well, and would be a really strong and aesthetic joint once clamped up. It is made very similar to to the previous two joints, so I will just include a few photos of the different stages.

The tails have been cut out and the waste cleared.

Marking out the pins to be cut.

Clearing out the grooves for
the tails, not going all the
way though.

The finished joint ready to glue up.

After making this joint, I will be spending more time to perfect it, as it will be used throughout future projects and pieces of work. Although for my first attempt I think it was very successful

Hand Production Techniques - Lesson Seven

Once I had successfully created a single Dovetail joint, the next was to make a through D/T. This involved similar cutting techniques, but very different marking out initially. Below shows all the measurements in one diagram. These are then explained in the step by step instructions.

Step 1:

I first cut the board into two sections, and by using a plane and shooting board, smoothed off the edge so it was completely square.

Above: Shooting board being used to plane square edge

Step 2:


Once I had planed both pieces I then began to mark out the tails. To begin I measured 2mm in from both sides, as this would be the width of the pins on the other board, and any smaller would mean they would snap off. I then made a cut line all the way round the piece of wood, using the thickness of the piece of wood. Finally using a ruler, measure across the piece of wood until you can easily divide that by the number of tails you require. As I wanted four tails, I measured 120mm across, and then marked every 30mm.

Above: measuring and marking every 30mm.
Starting from 10mm as the end of the ruler may not be accurate

Step 3:


Once you have marked on the required distances for your tails, use a Try Square to draw them up to the edge of the wood.

Above: Lines meet the edge of board and cut line
is clearly visible

Step 4:

Then I marked on each side of this line 1mm, as this is where the pins will end.

Above: 1mm has been marked either side of the line.

Step 5:

I then used the Dovetail Marker to draw the angled lines from each 1mm marked points across the top edge of the board, and also from the 4mm lines. Mark all waste which is to be removed. I then used my D/T saw, and coping saw to remove as much waste between the tails as possible.

Above: Tails are clearly marked.

Step 6:

Then using different sized chisels, I removed the remainder of the waste, and used these to mark out the pins on the edge of the other piece of wood.

Pairing down the joins to remove waste.

Step 7:

The image below shows that I have marked the pins by using the tails as a guide, and I then removed this with a D/T saw, coping saw and chisels.

Above: The pins marked out.

Above: The pins cut out and finished.

Step 8:

After some adjustment and pairing, this joint should fit together perfectly, and be at a true 90 degree angle.

Above: The finished joint.

After finishing the joint, I had time to reflect on how I felt it went. I was really pleased with the overall joint, especially the edge you can see in the photo above, however the other side of the joint would need to be clamped up to get a neat finish.

Hand Production Techniques - Lesson Six

Today I used the Dovetail Marker made in the previous lesson to make a full dovetail joint. To begin I marked out the tail, using the normal tools such as the Marking Gauge, Marking knife and also the new D/T Marker. To use the D/T Marker, it is as simple as holding against the edge of the wood till the angle fits neatly, and drawing a line on either side of the marker, as shown below.

Once this was marked out, we cut off all the waste, include the half off of the back to just leave the tail.

 This was then used to make the slot where the tail would sit in the other piece of wood. This is done so even if the actual cut line is slightly off the marked cutting line, then it will still slot neatly into the joint. Once again to cut off all the waste I put the wood in the vice at an angle, which is how I find it easier to cut angled lines, and then cut straight down.

Once I had cut, chisel and smoothed of both section with a hand router, I put both pieces together, and found they came to be the best joint I had made so far.

The join (Although not fully pushed together)

 I was really pleased, and as I had some spare time I even made myself two bench hooks! This is because there isn't many in the workshop, and I had been using a left handed on, which made cutting difficult.

Hand Production Techniques - Lesson Five

This lesson was introduced that I was going to be making Dovetail Joints. These joints are one of the most decorative joints I feel you can make, but first I had to learn how to mark them out. I also learnt about a new tool, which is called the sliding bevel. This is used to set to a certain angle, and then use it to either draw or mark an angled line.

Above: Sliding Bevel

To produce the Dovetail joint we first had to work out the correct angle of the tails. This is either 1/8 for hardwoods, or 1/6 for softwoods.

Step 1:

Using a Try Square, draw a straight line up a scrap piece of wood, up to either 8cm (Hardwoods) or 6cm (Softwoods).

Step 2:

Measure 1 cm along the bottom of the board away from the existing line.

Step 3:

Join the the two lines together using a straight rule.

Step 4:


Using the Sliding Bevel take the angle from the wood.

After this, we were told to use this angle to make a dovetail marker. This allows you to quickly and easily mark dovetails on any piece of wood, without the need to use the Sliding Bevel.

Below I have included the dimensions and 3d view of the D/T marker.

This went really well and I completed the D/T Marker in good time, with no errors. I also had a chance to use my new saw, which was a cross cut saw and it was much easier to use.