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Cutting my first dovetails. After years of trying to find time I’ve committed to getting into the shop for at least a few minutes every day.

I’m starting with a simple single dovetail box. No lid.

Bought some quarter inch thins that are ready to go so I didn’t have to worry about surfacing the stock beforehand.

I spent 25 minutes in the shop tonight cutting the second pin. So far both are a bit loose, and I went past a line but they don’t look like a rabid beaver went after them so I’m happy!

Hopefully I can string together a couple easy wins and build some more complex things later in the year.



This gets better with time for sure. I started woodworking mostly by hand (due to space constraints really), and while I do a lot more power tool stuff these days, I still try to spend time practicing my dovetails and other precision joints. I still do most of my mortises and tenons by hand, unless they're large, in which case I route the initial hole in the mortise and finish it by chisel. Good luck, dovetails are fantastic!




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