How to Cut Dovetails by Hand – A New Approach (2020)

How To Cut Dovetails By Hand -A New Approach. In this video Rob Cosman teaches you his new approach method for hand cut through dovetails. Over the last 30 years Rob has taught thousands of students how to hand cut perfect through dovetails. He is constantly developing new tools and techniques to make hand cutting dovetails even easier. Watch this video and learn his current method which allows 90% of his students to hand cut a perfect dovetails on their first try.
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[thefishingveteran]

Just found your video. As an extremely novice woodworker, this has really inspired me to practice more. Thank you for a well laid out process to follow.

[thehobbyfanatic]

Hi Rob. I’ve watched a lot of videos and trued to cut dovetails about 4 times now. All have been an epic fail. It’s hard man! I’ll watch this video and keep practicing.

[nunya]

Beautiful, love the video and explanation. Awesome

[Timothy.Master.Artist]

Good work just complicated for some thanks for break down

[norm_olsen]

Yet another golden instructional video! Fantastic! For me, as I practice dovetailing, my greatest bane is my sawing technique..(saw lines are not truly plumb, my angles are off, etc..) I really look forward to your video specifically focusing on this! One thing that I found surprising was that at the around the 51:40 mark, you are using a dovetail saw (rip cutting) to remove the end piece from the tail board. I figured you would switch your joinery crosscut saw for this instead. Wouldn't a crosscut saw give cleaner results? In any case, thanks again for producing yet another exceptional video!

[jameswieser]

I was afraid that tap was going to break before he got through. A few drops of lube could have saved it, but then again maybe not. Sometimes your tap just isn’t sharp enough to get through and it snaps. I hope he eventually got the plate threaded.
I liked your brass light fixtures, I’m not so sure about that light strip. Kind of gimmicky, but who knows until they try.
If you have the space to add lighting in the engine room add the lighting. You can never have to much lighting in any engine
room. The molded control panel housing looks great. I hope you and your family have a happy Holliday. Keep plugging away Tony your getting closer and closer.

[KaregaAnglin]

What if the joint was not square after hammering the dovetails in.. how would you fix that?

[isaiahyoungbrown]

I just clicked in curiosity... watched the whole thing

[fredrichenning]

Why not make the cuts on a bandsaw which would automatically make them both plumb and level?

[ejd]

Great tutorial, it reminded of my grandfather teaching me to make dovetails. He always said "meet in the middle when you chisel". He apprenticed as a yacht joiner in a Glasgow shipyard in the early 1900's and could make anything out of wood; he never owned a power tool in his life. I still use a couple of his bench planes that were made in 1913.

[thunderjet]

Instead of using a marking gauge to set the offset from my dovetail saw I use a feeler gauge .024. Very similar to the offset gauge that Rob sells. I've watched the video at least 5 times and learn something new every time. Thanks

[chamberlandfill]

Astoundingly good instructional video. Im absolutely a rookie at hand woodwork and Rob’s video taught me how to make my first dovetails. I didn’t believe I could learn to cut accurate tails with just a video but his instruction is incredible and things worked out just like he promised.

Thank you Rob!!!

[Single_Handed_.]

Rob, I really appreciate your videos and especially your online workshop. We’ve spoken a little before when I purchased one of your dovetail saws and live YouTube text. I lost my right hand to an IED while in the US Army. I struggle quite a bit to get accurate, square cuts and hammering a chisel is difficult. But these videos help and I think I just need more practice and a suitable vise to hold the workpiece. I plan to apply for one of your PHP classes in a year or so. Thank you very much!

[t.e.]

This really is an exceptional video from a 'REAL' master of his craft. Too bad all of Youtube isn't of this caliber.

[micahshively]

I'm making a box and engagement ring for to make mine woman happy.
Thanks so much for making your knowledge freely available!!

[thecraftsman]

Excellent! Your instruction and camera work is as good as being in an actual classroom setting. Could not get any better than this! Bravo! Please keep your videos coming. You are an artist and an excellent teacher! Thank you for teaching me how to do Dovetail joints. Hopefully I can make them as nice as yours.

[jonasvandelsen]

Wauw, Thank you so much for this tutorial! I started woodworking a few weeks ago and this is the best explanation on dove tails I found so far. I can't wait to try it.

[musamor]

This is very convincing indeed. The result is the biggest argument. Certainly one of the best and most explicit Saturday night dovetail movies!
I just wonder how the old boys managed to do theirs!?

[MrGunner]

Although I was fortunate enough to learn Rob’s method first hand in one of his (training the hand) workshops, and I have since cut many hundreds (thousands?) of dovetails, I still love watching him teach it. I never vary from this method and it ALWAYS works.

[johnhennink]

I was interested in the plane that you use in most of your videos. Please let me know what planes to buy?