We now have 1:6 / 1:8 Dovetail Templates back in stock, and we have 40 of the 1:4 Dovetail Templates for those who like a more bold look. Both are machined just down the road in Nicholasville, Ky., by Machine Time.
I’ll be using my favorite angle (1:6) this weekend as I teach six folks to make a dovetailed Shaker tray.
The following articles on lapped and double-lapped dovetails (aka “half-blind” and “blind” dovetails) are excerpted from Volume 3 of “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years.”
The third book in our “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years” series covers all types of woodwork joints, including how to design them, cut them and fix them when things go awry.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of the book “Woodwork Joints” by Charles H. Hayward (1898-1998), which was first published in 1950 then reprinted many times and in several different editions of varying quality.
The compact 168-page book is beautifully illustrated by Hayward and contains the kind of spare prose that made him the best woodworking author of the 20th century. Like a good woodworking joint, Hayward’s text contains nothing superfluous and lacks nothing important to the task at hand.
In addition to Hayward’s take on joinery, this volume also contains the perspective of other British writers of the day that Hayward published in The Woodworker, including J. Maynard, Robert Wearing, K.J.S. Walker and C.A. Hewett.
A WOODWORKER SUPPLEMENT – LAPPED DOVETAIL JOINT
This joint is used chiefly for carcase construction and has the advantage of being entirely concealed at one side. To enable the joint to be started easily the inner corners of the tails can be chiselled off. The ports should not be joined together too often before gluing as this tends to loosen the joint.
Editor’s note: The image at the top of this blog post corresponds with the numbers above.
HOW TO CUT THE LAPPED DOVETAIL
The great advantage of this joint is that it is entirely concealed on one surface and at the same time is extremely strong. This gives it a special value for carcase work since the joint does not show at the sides. The top and bottom surfaces where the dovetails are exposed are out of sight Drawer fronts are also lap-dovetailed (though the spacing is rather different), and here there is the added advantage that the wedge formation of the joint resists the pull which is the chief strain the drawer has to withstand.
It makes no difference whether the dovetails or the pins are cut first; it is mostly a matter of personal preference, though choice may be determined by other considerations. For instance, the top and bottom may have to be glued up to make the width, and it would then likely be convenient to cut the pins in the ends whilst the joints are setting.
Marking out. Trimming the wood to size is the first procedure. The ends in which the pins are cut are obvious; they are the finished size of the carcase as shown in Fig. 1. It is clear that the top and bottom must be short of the over-all width by the combined thickness of the two laps in the ends. This lap size has therefore to be decided straightway. In Fig. 1 the required over-all width is 18 ins. Assuming that the lap is to be 1/8 in. it is clear that the top and bottom will have to finish 17-3/4 ins. long.
Use the cutting gauge to mark the extent of the joint as shown in Fig. 2. Set the gauge to work from the inside of the ends, the required lap projecting beyond, and mark both sides of top and bottom as well as the edges of the ends (see A). In this way the pins are bound to be the same size as the dovetails. Since the top and bottom sink their full thickness into the ends, the gauge is now re-set the thickness of these and the inner surface of the ends marked as at B, Fig. 2.
Dovetail positions. The tradesman usually roughly pencils in the dovetail positions and then saws straightway. Practice enables him to cut the true slope without exact marking out. The inexperienced man should either make the simple marker given in Fig. 3, or set an adjustable bevel to the slope (5/8 in. in 3 ins.). The spacing for normal small work is given at A; B is suitable for a wide carcase in which the small end dovetails resist any tendency for the ends to twist away at the corners. Drawer front dovetails are given at C.
Sawing the joints. Fig. 4 shows the dovetails being sawn. If the wood is 3/4 in. or more thick it is advisable to cut each joint individually, but in thinner wood two or more pieces can be fixed together in the vice and sawn together as shown. Most men saw straight across dead square and it is necessary to mark out first with the trysquare. Some prefer to make a slight taper fit and then the saw is taken at a very slight angle as at A—not more than the thickness of the pencil line. If this is done it is obviously important that all face or outer sides are to the front. Otherwise, instead of showing a close joint there will be a gap. A, Fig. 4, is given in exaggeration for clearness.
Marking the pins. Before the waste is chopped away the pins are marked out. Fix the end in the vice, and place the top upon it in the relative position it is to occupy. The inner end can be supported upon a block of wood of suitable thickness. Hold the top firmly down with the left hand, and, placing the saw in each kerf in turn, draw it backwards as in Fig. 5, so leaving a mark which corresponds exactly with the dovetail.
Sawing. When sawing the pins be careful to place the saw on the waste side of the mark as at A, Fig. 5. Don’t overdo it, but just leave in the marks. This will ensure tight joints without forcing. Judgment on this point is probably the most important point in the whole procedure, and it is something which comes with experience. The thickness of the saw has to be taken into account, far less allowance being necessary for a fine saw than a coarse one. Beginners are strongly advised to cut an experimental joint using the same saw that will eventually be used for the actual joint, and try it together. They will learn more in this way than reading a dozen articles.
Of course, the saw can only be taken down diagonally as shown in Fig. 6, and here again the inexperienced man should mark down with the trysquare first. Part of the waste can be sawn away as also shown in Fig. 6. It all helps to lessen the chopping-out with the chisel.
Another way of reducing the waste is to bore it partly away as in Fig. 7. Except for the thickest wood it is seldom practicable to use the centre or twist bit because the centre point is liable to emerge through the lap, but the Forstner bit is ideal as shown in Fig. 7. It has scarcely any centre point.
Chopping. The procedure is given in Fig. 8. Clamp down the work on a flat, spare piece of wood to avoid bruising, placing it over a solid part of the bench such as a leg. At each socket make a small sloping groove against the gauge line, and then chop downwards about 1/16 in. short of the line. Ease away the waste at the end with the grain, and repeat the process. Finally put the chisel right on the gauge line and cut down.
For clearing out the corners a bevelled-edge chisel will prove invaluable because it will work close in. Many men keep an old stubby bevelled edge chisel specially for the purpose. A, in Fig. 8, shows how the waste is gradually removed. Note that if the chisel were placed on the gauge line at the outset it would be forced in beyond the latter because of its wedge formation.
The dovetails are chopped in the same way, but of course, the chisel is used from both sides. The waste at the corners can be sawn away. When the pins are cut first the marking of the dovetails is done with an awl as shown in Fig. 9. Once again the saw must be used on the waste side.
To enable the joint to be started easily the inner eDges of the dovetails can be pared off. This will permit the joint to be partly put together to see that it fits. It should not be driven right home until it is glued as this is liable to loosen it. Place a piece of waste wood over the joint when knocking it home and strike this. Otherwise the wood may split owing to the local pressure, and in any case it may be bruised.
THE DOUBLE-LAP DOVETAIL
THIS IS SLIGHTLY more complicated than the single-lap joint, but is simpler than the mitre dovetail in that there is no mitre to bother about. In fact, the experienced man can glue up the two parts straightway without first assembling them dry. This is risky in the case of the mitre dovetail because almost inevitably a certain amount of trimming at the mitre is unavoidable.
The joint can be in either of the forms given in Figs. 1 and 2, and to an extent it depends upon the stresses to which the joint is most liable to be exposed, because the dovetail shape resists the The joint can be in either of the forms given in Figs. 1 and 2, and to an extent it depends upon the stresses to which the joint is most liable to be exposed, because the dovetail shape resists the pull more in one direction than the other. The more usual joint is that in Fig. 1, in which form it is often used for cabinet carcases. At the top the joint is entirely hidden, and at the side shows only as a thin line of end grain.
Preparation
It is immaterial whether the dovetails or pins are cut first in the joint in Fig. 1, but in Fig. 2 the pins should be cut first as otherwise it is difficult to mark the one piece from the other. Whichever method is followed, the first essential is to square up the wood to the finished size, remembering to allow for the lap when calculating the length of the parts. This scarcely arises when just an isolated joint is cut, but in the case of, say, a carcase the sizes are obviously important. The rule to remember is that the piece with the projecting lap is always trimmed to the finished size, whereas that with the flush lap is less in length by the thickness of the lap on the other piece.
Marking out
Assume that the joint in Fig. 1 is to be cut. The first stage in marking out is that of gauging as shown in Fig. 3, because until the thickness of the projecting lap is decided it is impossible to trim the wood to the finished length. Set the cutting gauge to the dovetail thickness (Z), which is the thickness of the wood less the thickness of the lap. Mark the end of the piece with the dovetail, the gauge fence working against the inner surface of the wood, and also the inner surface of that with the pins. Decide on the thickness of the flush lap (it is usually the same as the other), and mark the inner face of the dovetailed piece, and the end of that with the pins (see Y). Lastly set the gauge to the thickness of the wood with the pins, and mark the inner face of the dovetailed piece (X).
Cutting the dovetails
The outer mark on the inner face and the end mark give the extent of the rebate to be worked on the dovetailed piece. Saw down across the grain and remove the waste by chopping with the chisel at the end. It may be necessary to trim the rebate afterwards with the shoulder plane. Note the sloping channel chiselled on the waste side of the line as shown inset in Fig. 4, to provide a convenient path for the saw. Mark out the dovetails and saw down as far as it is practicable to cut as in Fig. 5, taking care not to let the saw touch the projecting lap as any such marking would show badly later.
The rest of the work must be done by chopping with the chisel as in Fig. 6, and for this a bevelled-edge chisel is desirable to enable it to reach into the corners. Follow the usual practice of chopping down first short of the gauge line (see top arrow), and do not bring the chisel right on to the line until the majority of the waste has been removed. The latter is done by chopping in from the end (lower arrow). Since the saw cannot reach right into the corners owing to the projecting lap, it is necessary to cut down on the line of the dovetail, but only light taps with the mallet should be given as otherwise the wood may split. Clean out the corners and make sure that the bottom is level.
Marking the pins
Transferring the marks to the pins is the next job. The one piece is held in the vice and the other placed upon it as in Fig. 7. A block of wood to the rear will make sure that the wood is level and is steady. Press firmly down to make sure that there is no movement, and pass a marking awl along each side of every dovetail.
The process of cutting the pins is given in Fig. 9. The saw is held immediately to the waste side of the mark, and is taken down as far as the diagonal. Part of the waste can be sawn as at (2), but finally it is chopped away as described last month. The stages are shown in Fig. 9, but it will be realised that each socket is not completed individually before the next is sawn. Rather, all sawing is done, then all chopping.
Finally the inner corners of the dovetail are lightly chiselled away to ease the assembling of the joint as in Fig. 8. Be sure to do this after the marks have been transferred. If the parts are lightly started together it will be obvious whether they fit or not. It is better to avoid knocking completely together dry before gluing.
In my last library post, I promised the second half of this cubby. So here we go. These books are mostly about furniture from the United States, and from this country before it was the United States. (We have many more books in that broad category, some of which have been covered in previous posts, and others that are to come.)
First up is “The Furniture of Our Forefather,” by Esther Singleton, first published in 1900; ours is the 1908 version from Doubleday, Page & Co. It includes furniture brought by colonists, as well as later work built in this country. Of interest is the provenance of many of the pieces – the inventory of Leonard Calvert, the first “proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland,” for example; and “Inventory of Mr. Gyles Mode” of Virginia, “worth reproducing because the articles are valued in pounds, shillings and pence, instead of tobacco which is customary, and this is more satisfactory, as the latter commodity was not constant in value.” This is mostly high-style furniture – the stuff of museums.
Next is “The Cabinetmaker’s Treasury,” by F.E. Hoard and A.W. Marlow (Macmillan, 1952), which includes techniques and offers plans for many pieces of early American furniture. But as Chris wrote years ago in a Popular Woodworking post, the authors must have cornered the market on 3″-long screws “because that is the primary way they join everything (except the chairs). No dados. No sliding dovetails. Fewer mortise-and-tenon joints than I would prefer. The lowboys in the book are all screwed together. Screw the web frames together. Then screw the web frames to the sides. Don’t forget to screw the partitions!” So maybe don’t run out to add this one to your library. It’s followed by “The New Fine Points of Furniture: Early American. Good, Better, Best, Superior, Masterpiece” by Albert Sack. Chris must have acquired this at the same time as “Cabinetmaker’s Treasury,” as in the same post he wrote:
The Fine Points of Furniture” seems a bit of a gimmick at first. Sack shows photos of three different pieces of furniture. They’re all the same form (chest on chest, for example). But one is labeled a “good” design, one is labeled “better” and the other as “best.” Then he offers some commentary under each photo explaining why.
Sack insults the piece labeled as “good” designs, and I was getting a complex at first because I kind of liked the “good” designs. They were usually simpler and less ornamented. Sack reserved “better” and “best” for pieces with elaborate carving, vigorous turnings and aggressive lines.
But after 300 pages of the stuff, I began to see things Sack’s way. The “good” designs started to look clunky and less refined. I was exercising my eye for 18th-century design.
Again, these are high-style museum pieces (particularly the “best” examples).
Wallace Nutting’s classic “Furniture of the Pilgrim Century” (volumes one and two) are, in Chris’s word, flawed – mostly because what Nutting lionizes as exemplars of a form are not what Chris likes – too high style, I suspect (Chris’s love for the vernacular will come as no surprise to most of our followers). But these volumes should be in every library of the serious furniture student and maker. They’re available for little money, and offer hundreds of images of period work. (Our copies were published in 1965 by Dover – reprints of the 1924 versions from The Old American Company.)
Harold L. Peterson’s “American Interiors: From Colonial Times to the Late Victorians – a Pictorial Source Book” (Scriber’s, 1971) is a lot of fun to page through – it presents period illustrations and paintings that include interiors (from single chairs to fully outfitted rooms). A lot of guesswork is involved in determining sizes and joinery of course – and what’s presented may or may not be faithful – but it’s a fun puzzle and a good resource beyond surviving furniture.
Jeffrey P. Greene’s “American Furniture of the 18th Century” (Taunton, 1996) is an old favorite of Chris’s, and I’m pretty fond of it, too. It’s not only a well-researched looks at the styles of the period, but includes techniques, notes on joinery and exploded drawings of some representative pieces. It is considered a must-have by many furniture makers (including us) – though not everyone agrees (do they ever?).
Next we have a trio of books with measured construction drawings: Lester Margon’s “Construction of American Furniture Treasures” (Dover, 1975 – a paperback reprint of the 1949 Home Craftsman Publications book); the Toolemera reprint of Frederick Bryant’s “Working Drawings of Colonial Furniture” (originally published in 1922 by the Manual Arts Press); and V. J. Taylor’s “The Construction of Period Country Furniture” (Stobart, 1978), which also includes the techniques for building the 28 included pieces.
Nestled alongside is “Made in Western Pennsylvania: Early Decorative Arts, a 1982 exhibition catalog from the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.”
Now we’re into our small “country furniture” collection, with Aldren A. Watson’s classic “Country Furniture” (Norton, 2006 – paperback reprint of the 1974 hardback edition) – his illustrations are gorgeous. It’s followed by a 1969 Winterthur Conference report, “Country Cabinetwork and Simple City Furniture,” edited by John D. Morse (UP Virginia).
Next is a gift from the Saucy Indexer. Suzanne Ellison found a copy of “Old Amana Furniture,” by Marjorie K. Albers (Locust House, 1970), which shows pieces from the religious colony that settled in Iowa (it’s where Handworks takes place this year, Sept. 1-2).
One of my favorite books lives in this cubby: “A Craftsman’s Handbook” by Henry Lapp (1862-1904). It’s “an exquisite reproduction of a rare notebook, illustrated in watercolor by Amish furniture maker Henry Lapp” – and it really is exquisite. At the time of publication (1975 by the Philadelphia Museum of Art), Old Road Furniture Company was making reproductions of the pieces shown in Lapp’s notebook, as evidenced by a flier tucked inside the book (and the internet tells me the company is still in the Lapp business, among other designs).
Another small book was hiding alongside Lapp: “Utility Furniture: The 1943 Utility Furniture Catalogue with an explanation of Britain’s Second World War Utility Furniture Scheme,” by Jon Mills (Sabrestorm 2008), is a facsimile edition of a 1943 catalogue for those who needed and could prove their need) during the privations of WWII.
Next are a couple books on important makers: Samuel A. Humphrey’s “Thomas Elfe, Cabinetmaker” (Wyrick, 1995) and “John Shaw: Cabinetmaker of Annapolis,” by William Voss Elder III and Lu Bartlett (Baltimore Museum of Art 1983 exhibition catalogue).
Then we have a handful of “comprehensive” furniture guides, one old, one new(ish). “Furniture of the Olden Time,” second edition, by Frances Clary Morse, “provides a separate history for each species of furniture, from the time when the first example is known to have existed in the United States to the latest date before this book is originally published” (Macmillan, 2017). Then it’s “An Encyclopedia of Furniture” (Quantum, 2004), a pictorial romp through furniture time from “pre-1600” to the end of the 20th century. We also have a ex-library copy (I now it’s ex-library because it’s a hardcover binding atop a paperback) of Edward Lucie-Smith’s “Furniture: A Concise History” (1979, Thames and Hundson).
Three to go.
First is “The Furniture Bible,” by Christopher Pourny (Artisan, 2014) , which gives a brief overview of furniture history, but is mostly about restoration and good stewardship. It’s followed by John Gloag’s “A Social History of Furniture Design: from B.C. 1300 to A.D. 1960” (Bonanza, 1966) and, finally, “Music in the Marketplace: The Story of Philadelphia’s Historic Wanamaker Organ,” by Ray Biswanger (Friends of the Wanamaker Organ Press 1999).
– Fitz
This is the 10th post in the Covington Mechanical Library tour. To see the earlier ones, click on “Categories” on the right rail, and drop down to “Mechanical Library.” Or click here.
If you have a question about woodworking or our products, this is the place to get it answered – today.
Here’s how. Post your question in the comments section below. If possible, I’ll answer it. Simple.
But (and as Pee Wee Herman says, Everybody’s got a big butt)….
I reserve the right to ignore questions that are troll bait. Also, if you post a comment and it does not immediately appear, it has been flagged for moderation. First-time commenters are always kicked to moderation. Also, posting a lot of links, using hateful language or a lengthy message causes the software to flag it for moderation.
Your comment will appear after I approve it.
In other words, there is no need to keep posting a comment over and over.
Comments are now closed. See you next Saturday!
— Christopher Schwarz
I have been negligent in posting updates to the “Sharpen This (the Video)” series. Apologies. I am back on the wagon. (Or is it “off the wagon?” Anyway, more videos to come.)
The new Chapter 14 shows how I sharpen the wacky cutters for the Lie-Nielsen Nos. 48 and 49 tongue-and-groove planes. And how to set up the Stanley versions of this plane for best results. I also show the plane in use and give some tips for how to make better joints with it.
And, because I have been so remiss, I also do a short video on how I sharpen pocket knives and bench knives. (Knife-makers, please look away.)
Plus, Bean comes for a visit!
If you bought the video series, you should have received an email that gives you links to the new content. If you buy the video now, you will have immediate access to all the videos in the series.
— Christopher “Shame-y Shame” Schwarz