I haven’t been just goofing around. I have started several things in the shop. One of which is resuming my dovetailing practice. It’s not a joint I have used much over the years; but I have done several in the past two years. The 2nd toolbox is well underway; I started the sliding trays the other day. This time in pedestrian tulip poplar. Oak clapboards for the bottoms.
Last time I put scrap carvings in as the bearers for these trays, I liked that result so much I did it again. https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/it-was-the-rust-that-got-me/
Cutting dovetails is much different than my usual mortise-and-tenon work. Much less physical. Here’s the deep drawer for the chest of drawers I’m working on. I pin the drawer front to the bench with a holdfast in the bench’s leg.
Last year I bought a knife & awl from Dave Jeske at Blue Spruce Toolworks http://www.bluesprucetoolworks.com/ . When I ordered the tools, Dave asked me what wood I wanted for handles. I said it didn’t matter…but was pleasantly surprised when I opened them and saw oak!
But dovetailing ain’t like mortising. The chopping is about the only time I sit in the shop. Feels funny. Back to mortising next week…
Here’s the mocked-up drawer corner. Good enough for me. I think of the translation of Felebien, https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/felebien/
speaking of joints “blind in one eye.” It’s a big drawer, about 10 1/2″ deep, by 36″ wide. I’ve made smaller chests! Pine front, oak sides. The front gets moldings & turnings. First, it’s off to Matt’s class this weekend…to learn moldings from someone who actually knows what they’re doing. http://www.lie-nielsen.com/documents/Workshop13_Bickford(April).pdf
Here’s the help, laying out carving designs on the next batch of spoons. They were like a hurricane; blew in, a bit of a concentrated frenzy, then gone to the next thing. Spoons soon.
PETER FOLLANSBEE: JOINER’S NOTES 
Those dovetails look great to me. I havent studied 17th century work, but those joints look better than most I have seen in 18th century work.
The Boston work I am studying in this case is quite good. Precise, crisp. good stuff.
Interesting! A lot of the Boston casework I’ve seen has pretty loose dovetail work. Most of the Philly stuff I’ve seen is a little better. Neither is in the same universe as Newport. What piece are you referencing?
My only critique might be that your DTS approach REALLY close to the outer surface of the drawer front. I am extremely jealous of your wife for getting this big chest of drawers. This reminds me, I’m going to get Mark Anderson to take me to the mysterious Gray Building storage at Winterthur to see the English inlaid CODWDS that I haven’t seen in maybe 25 years. I want to tear it apart and look at all the construction. I wanted to see it for our article but it was in the middle of the Pennsylvania exhibition frenzy so nobody had time.
Yea., that was as close as one could get. My drawer front came out a bit thin, but I wanted to keep the DTs long-ish. The moldings will help cover things up some.
HI PETER, DO YOU GLUE THE HALF LAP DOVETAILS?