STL 363: More Than One Way to Cut a Dovetail

More Than One Way to Cut a Dovetail

Bob van Dyke demonstrates a variety of approaches for every situation.

The Modern Master: Allan Breed

After decades of carving, Al Breed still wants to know what the first cut a 18th-century craftsperson made in a carving.

Hand-Cut Dovetails: Pins First

Discover the pins-first approach to dovetails that the North Bennet Street School is known for.

Tall Dovetails with Mike Pekovich

Mike comes up with several brilliant solutions for cutting dovetails on a large entertainment console.

Splines, Dominoes, Biscuits, and Scones?

From Zachary

I was re- listening to some old episodes and you mentioned you used splines to register two pieces for a glue up, and it worked perfectly! A short time later I was listening to another episode and there was someone who wrote in asking how to flatten 100” plus boards by hand for a table glue up.

These got me thinking…

First, why don’t we talk more about using splines for registering boards when doing panel glue-ups? With all of the Festool domino haters out there (they have point, it is expensive), I’m really surprised I’ve not heard this idea sooner. Splines can easily be done using a variety of methods and tooling. Dowels can be frustrating with alignment and drilling, biscuits have their own drawbacks, and the domino is expensive. Why was this only snuck into a “greatest technique of all time” and not a feature article?! And most importantly, how come I’ve never thought of this before!?!

Second, given this “new” method, I’d be interested to hear when guests would choose each of these methods (splines, dominos, biscuits, and dowels) for registering panels or other joints and when they would specifically avoid them.

The ABCs of CNC

Despite initial doubts, the CNC has quickly become an indispensable tool in the Fine Woodworking shop.

Hung Up On Hinges

From Tim:

Im im the middle of building an ash tabletop and cabinets for a hight adjustable table base. I now need to decide on which hinges to use. I am pending between normal butt hinges and soss hinges. I don’t know if I want the visual accent from a hinge or just to make it invisible. Sadly I couldn’t find any detailed information on soss hinges on your website. What are the pros and cons? Why are they almost never seen in fine furniture, or did I just miss them? Besides the visual aspect, the only thing I can think of is the minimum thickness of the cabinet door. Are there other downsides? Do they tend to last equally as long? I would really appreciate some inside!

Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to [email protected] for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page. Join us on our Discord server here.