With our new Dovetail Template almost ready for prime time (I think it’ll be live in the store next week), I have dovetails on the brain. But who am I kidding – almost everything I build, and everything I teach, involves dovetails – so they’re always on my mind.
I always use dividers to lay out my dovetails – mostly so I have to think only once about the setup; then, I can just pick up my dividers and easily replicate the same layout on every corner of the same size. Above is a video on how I do it.
– Fitz
p.s. One thing I didn’t include in the video: For the half-pins on both edges of the board, I typically use a tiny pair of dividers; that way it’s easy to tell the two sets apart.
At 4:30 p.m. Eastern today, March 24 (that’s 8:30 p.m. in the U.K.), I’ll be talking with JoJo Wood of Pathcarvers and the Bench.Talk.101 team about how woodworking and other crafts can be an aid to mental health. In particular, we’ll be discussing the Kieran Binnie Memorial Fund for Craft. This fund, set up in memory of our friend Kieran, goes directly to Pathcarvers to support their important work. No administrative fees. No strings attached. It allows Pathcarvers to offer and fund tuition for people who cannot afford it.
You can join the conversation by clicking on the linktree link @Bench.Talk.101 ‘s Instagram bio, which will be updated to include a zoom link 5 minutes before the meeting is about to start. If you miss the live discussion, it will be posted afterward here on YouTube. (If you click on that link now you can view the previous Bench.Talk.101s to get a feel for the format.)
There’s a lot going on in the world these days and as such, scheduled programming can sometimes be preempted. There is a possibility of this happening so Monroe’s live broadcast, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow, is being rescheduled for Thursday, April 7, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Pacific (12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern), on Johanna Wildoak’s “Wildoak Living” radio program on KZYX, Mendocino Public County Broadcasting. The broadcast will be live-streamed on the KZYX website here.
The program will also be archived in the KZYX jukebox for about two months. You can look for the program by date and time of broadcast here. It will also appear as a podcast on all major podcast platforms. Simply search for “KZYX.”
Below, a few journal entries from Dick Proenneke, beginning April 7, 43 years ago today.
— Kara Gebhart Uhl
April 7, 1979:
My arm and shoulder showing only a trace of soreness from the heavy gouge work so gave them another go at it by continuing with the burl bowl.
April 10, 1979:
I sanded more on my burl bowl. Nearly good enough and now if I had some Flecto wood finish I would see if it was worth the elbow grease that went into carving & sanding.
April 14, 1979:
From a poplar wood log I sawed, chopped and gouged out a holding device for holding spruce burls for hollowing. A wide notch with the end undercut to catch the lip of the burl and prevent it from tipping while I use the gouge.
April 20, 1979:
I wrote another letter and then after noon I would do a little sanding. I was surprised that it went so well. Maybe fifteen minutes work to finish the burl bowl that I then wrapped for mailing to the lady in Juneau who sent me the ceramic mug.
Shipyard sign or possibly from a shipwright’s guild, 1600-1699, Netherlands. Rijks Museum.
Although it is several days after the Equinox (sorry, I was busy), it’s still close enough to let you in on a dockside tradition. If you have spent any time around saltwater sailors you may be familiar with The Burning of the Socks. If not, the poem below will explain.
Eastport is a section of Annapolis, Maryland.
Here are a few more ship building tools to match to the tools on the sign board. It may seem the cupid in the upper left is holding a hurley, but that is highly unlikely.
Detail of a print by Mathias de Saltieth, 1779. Rijks Museum.
Register now for GreenWood Wrights’Fest in Pittsboro, N.C., April 22-24, 2022 – a weekend of green woodworking fun, camping and family friendly entertainment. Revel in greenwood camaraderie as you learn traditional hand-tool skills, carving spoons and bowls, timber framing, basket making, steam bending, post-and-rung stool making and much more. Roy Underhill and other talented green woodworkers from around the country will be leading hands-on workshops, lectures and free demonstrations.
In addition to 26 workshops, there will be special events including a marketplace, and music and dance. Weekend tickets include one workshop, demos, nature walks, free camping, music, dancing and special events. Additional tickets for workshops will be available once admission tickets have been purchased. Food will be available on site, and beer will be available – in the evening, after knives and axes have been stowed – by the Red Moose Brewing Company.
“What I wouldn’t give to be there! Shaving away at a Slöjd-infused spoon while listening to Master Underhill weave his yarns sounds like a dream vacation to this wandering mule. Please give him my best affection, cheer, and a moderate serving of the Devil’s Biscuits™.” — Nick Offerman
