learn something new…
so last night I made my first dovetail joint to join two pieces of wood together. No planning, no research, just going from what I know them to look like.
clearly I didn’t think it through on the first cut, so lopped that bit off and started again.
after lots of sawing, chiselling, adjusting etc I ended up with a finished result. One dove tail. Ind it’s massive.
Mai what did I learn:
planning. “Measure twice cut once” is pretty apt, but also thinking ahead before even measuring. Next time, sketch it out first.
materials. The wood I was using as a practice piece was off an old palette. Although strong and industrial, it was quite pourous and had “gaps” in it - not ideal for a chisel - it’s was also a bit damp when I got into it - also not good.
tools. As I’m not a carpenter, my wood saw, my mitre saw and my chisels are all very much budget. Whilst I appreciate that a poor workman blames his tools, you dont see sushi chefs using tesco value kitchen knives - there is a point where things “break even”.
time. When learning something new, don’t be scared to put the time and effort in. Last night took me about an hour to do one dovetail, but I learned from a few mistakes…an hour well spent I say!
irony and comedy. After all that playing with saws hammers and chisels , I then went and cut my thumb on a kitchen knife whilst cutting food for the dog. Typical eh…