Easy Dovetails for Beginners

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[TheJohnnyMiner]

Dude, I can't thank you enough for what you're doing here. I used to complain a lot about lack of good tools and space, ending up with no completed project whatsoever. But today, I finished making my vise like one in your video and it works perfectly. Very excited about the box project, definetly gonna follow along. Keep it up, Rex!

[ramingr]

I really love your attitude, Rex!
In my limited time up to now practicing woodworking as a beginner, there's one really important lesson I've learnt:

Quit whining and just try the damn thing. Of course it's gonna be flawed the first times. Just be proud of every little step of getting better and don't fear your mistakes; learn from them. That's my three cents of wisdom on the matter and I feel pretty strongly about it.
Whoever feels their work should be perfect from the beginning, they're doomed to get frustrated and quit trying.Cheers from Greece!

[Rottwiler]

10:04 "the dovetail is one of the most difficult joints in woodworking."


*Japanese woodworking* "hold my sake"

[alfredsmith]

Rex, Just a tip I found to made cutting the tails easier. Mount your tail board in the vise at a angle then you cut straight down instead of having your saw at a angle. Straight cuts are easier than angle cuts. I found this way a lot better and my joints have improved.

[kevinshannon]

Great stuff as always. Couple of notes, a shallower angle for the dovetail reduces the amount of short grain at the tip of the tail and can actually make the joint stronger. (1:6 for softwoods, 1:8 for hardwoods usually) When sawing the tail, it can be easier to start off with the piece angled in the vice so the line you are cutting is vertical, instead of trying to get the saw at the correct angle. You can use your Tri-square to line it up.

[TheTuneAce]

You and Steve Ramsey are like the perfect duo of woodworking content creators for beginners on a budget, tool recommendations, and woodworking techniques. I constantly rewatch your videos when I need a refresher (or just some white noise for falling asleep xD)

[BAGUBAou]

I love the fact that this is such a simple dove tail. Every other video I have watched has multiple dove tails per side. For a basic how-to video this is prefect.

[fngrusty]

There is no greater feeling than your first dovetails fitting, even loose it feels great cause you know they are going to get better. Great video. I'm 65 started carpentry at 14, seen lots of video most scare people off where they won't try it. Great video

[amyholderness]

I love how encouraging you are. Thank you.

[qualix]

Rex, your channel is easily the best thing on YouTube. Hands down. Thanks to your content, getting started w/ woodworking has been, more fun, exciting, easier, less expensive and most of all, more satisfying than it would have been without! Thank you!

[markharris]

I’m one of those people who expects the same level of quality from myself as you’d expect from one of Chippendale's journeymen. The trouble is cabinet makers who have been doing the same joints for forty years make it look so damned easy! I should be doing perfect houndstooth dovetails by now, I am in my second year of woodworking you know! That’s despite the fact I’ve only just started conquering sharpening my chisels!

Thank you Rex for bringing some realism and common sense to my somewhat addled brain, it really is appreciated. Another great video Rex!

[schm]

This kind of attitude towards the iconic dovetail joint will be much more valuable to most woodworkers than seeing Frank Klausz doing them at warp speed, or Rob Cosman doing a perfect set blindfolded with one hand on his back or something.

[ikust]

I truly appreciate the fact that you are honest . Like Wood by Wright and the M&T guys. Bravo

[doncooperjr]

Rex, thank you for sticking to the poor man's approach with this series. It is wonderful to have the mix of knowledge/experience and limited resources. I haven't seen this elsewhere on YouTube. Please keep it up.

[BlackCloudCV]

Like you say in the beginning of this video series. I work out of my one car garage. But that's not the reason for this comment. I made my very first dove joint thanks to you. Thank you for all of the teaching points.

[johnford]

IMO, your explanation of how to do dovetails is the clearest, most encouraging of the 6-8 youtube guides I've watched. And I like your attitude - your 8x12 workshop is even smaller than my 8x16 basement space (although I have a lolly column you lack). Nicely done and thank you, sir.

[ErikBongers]

Pine is often used as a beginners' choice of wood, but it's a horrible material to do some accurate work on with hand tools and may end up discouraging a beginner. So my advice is, get your hands on some small pieces of hardwood to try out these techniques.

[justkirk]

As all the other comments point out - your attitude toward woodworking is awesome. Just what people need. All too often maker videos move into CNC and expensive equipment (sponsors) that the average hobbyist just can't afford. I'm introducing your channel to anyone that is interested in starting with the basics. Keep up the great work!

[mr.b.w.]

Thanx for the tips! I tried hand cutting finger try that one again. Haven't quite got my router finger joint jig quite right yet either. I'm lucky to have half a garage for my shop and keep my various machine tools on boards with caster wheels and drag them out when needed. It's a bit of a pain but hey - I'm lucky to have what I got.

[JamesKelly]

I think you're my favorite wood working channel followed by Stumpy Nubs and Woodworking for Mere Mortals, Woodwork Web and Matt Estlea. I love how it feels like I'm there in the shop with you and you're teaching me.