The great thing about running a national woodworking school is that I get to see the techniques of every different instructor who comes here to teach- and there have been a lot of them over the last 25 years!

In woodworking- like a lot of things- there is no one “right” way- there are bunches of different ways to accomplish the same thing and that is what this class is all about. I will not be telling you what I think is the "best" way- that is for you to decide- and you will have the opportunity to learn a number of different methods. This is a class that is designed for woodworkers who have cut dovetails and been frustrated by them but those who have never cut dovetails will also get a lot out of it.

Cutting dovetails entirely by hand can be intimidating to a lot of people. When cutting dovetails I see students typically making the same mistakes and hitting the same stumbling blocks each time- so that is what we address to start; using a cutting gauge, paring to (and not beyond!) a line, cutting straight lines with a handsaw- and using a sharp chisel! These are all skills that you will practice (and hopefully master) in this class. But this class is much more than just cutting dovetails by hand. This class will show you a number of ways to make “machine assisted handcut” dovetails that will only require a little bit of paring with a chisel to make them fit perfectly. The idea of is to use the strengths of each machine and apply those strengths to the dovetail process. We will be trying out techniques that use the tablesaw, a trim router, bandsaw, scroll saw and coping saw along with the traditional handsaw and chisels. The goal is to get you cutting great looking dovetails using a combination of machines and handtools until you are comfortable enough with the process that you realize doing it all by hand is not that big a deal!

This class is a combination of demonstrations and hands-on practice. There is no project for the class- you will be working on a series of practice boards. It is great to see the difference between the first dovetail you make and the last dovetail you make the afternoon of the second day! Router dovetail jigs like the Porter Cable or Leigh jig will NOT be a part of this class- I have no idea how to use those tools…

Sign up today and lose your fear of cutting dovetails once and for all.

Material: $20 paid to the instructor directly at the class.

Tool list:

Dovetail saw: I highly recommend the Lie Nielsen Tapered Dovetail saw

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/products/tdscherry?path=tapered-saws&node=4168

I do NOT recommend the Lee Valley Dovetail saw or Japanese saws

SHARP chisels- ¼”, ½” and ¾” is enough

Wooden mallet

Exacto knife,

Straight chip carving knife (Pfeil # 1)

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/pfeil-swiss-made-1-knife-chip-carving

combination square & bevel gauge

machinist depth gauge

Yes Folks- There are more than 10 ways to cut Dovetails! with Bob Van Dyke