Paul Sellers | Dovetail Technique - Part 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Paul shows a pattern he has developed for making accurate, repeatable dovetails on a project that is so consistent that they are interchangeable. It provides a way of getting evenly sized and spaced dovetails. He then cuts his dovetails using the backer piece and uses a cutting gauge and chisel to mark and remove the pin recesses.
To see a step by step version of how to make dovetails for beginner woodworkers, visit our sister site:
commonwoodwork...
For more information on these topics, see paulsellers.com or woodworkingmas...
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I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Paul's Camera Man...Phill I think Paul said. You do a great justice to this channel. I just watched another dovetail video and the guys hands were all I could see. Love all the different angles and zoom ins.
The only teacher I need.I cannot understand why this man would get ANY dislikes on his instruction.
Fantastic as always, Paul. I will be making this jig and soon. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with everyone and making the woodworking community better.
Outstanding as always sir. The epitaph on your head stone will read "Here lies Paul Sellers, dead square." lol.
In a coffin of sapele, no doubt.
Haha. Buried with a Stanley #4 no doubt
Also he wont have any socks on .
coffin planers, anyone?
@@gdogbert001 with knife walls!
Woodworking Hero.
Mind blown!
You mention the health/fitness aspects of hand tools in many of your videos . Another aspect just dawned on me - you've been wood working for 50 years, are 67 years old and can HEAR the subtle sound differences when sawing. I doubt your hearing would be that good if you worked 50 years with power tools! Love your videos and the knowledge you share. Thanks so much.
hutts57 I have worked almost 50 years with machinery and power tools and my hearing is shot, I have difficultly using a mobile phone ! But in a quiet environment I still hear me tools talking to me!
Paul needs his hearing as much as his hands when he's handtoolwoodworking.
This is such an incredible idea. I love the jig set up definitely going to try this in the future. Thank you for sharing this new jig.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and demonstrating your skills. What an amazing experience for you at this stage in your life. I am inspired. I'd like you to know that one of the most valuable aspects of your videos, especially these longer ones where we get to watch you work through the process, is your rambling commentary as you work. I get massive learnings from some of the off-hand comments you make. It's like they link the cause of multiple problems I am having in some simple comment you make about technique, process, tool, the universe! I am another very appreciative fan, and so grateful that you are sharing what you have learned and can do. You are changing lives Sir Paul. Thank you.
Paul you are the man. I'm a fairly new wood worker, mostly I make cigar box guitars, and a lot of your processes and techniques have been just so valuable seeing as I'm learning everything on my own. thank you very much for these videos. saved me a lot of time and even more material. great stuff and thanks again
i want to make a tee shirt off Paul pencil drawn with a speech bubble saying "can you see that"
That's so smart, so simple yet no one has done it before, thanks for the tip definitely will be using this one
I still remember watching you hand cut demonstration dovetails at a wood show in Mesquite TX a couple of decades ago. All while answering questions from those crowded around. Pretty amazing skill and caused me to lean much further toward the handtool side of woodworking. Excellent work on the template system.
I remember those days too.
I just can't help but laugh about the 11 people who thought this wasn't worthy...
Always some A holes out there. Lets hope their chisels are dull.
Likely bots (computer programs built to hit likes), do not bother too much.
I prefer to think those people have sloppy thumb accuracy and meant to hit the up but missed and got the down.
Paul you NEVER cease to amaze me. The "Old School" ways of doing things blows my mind. It makes me think of Craftsmen, Hundreds of years ago. I wish there was TH-cam 40 years ago.
“I want you think this through, and stay with me” thanks Paul, my Covid 19 workshop buddy.
I love this. You, sir, are the reason I got into hand-tool woodworking. I'm not anti power-tool, but it feels like it lacks the soul and artistry of working by hand. It's funny, now, when I tell people that I'm learning woodworking and I get asked questions like, "Oh, what kind of table saw do you have?" I just love the look I get when I pull out my phone and show them a photo of a small till full of hand-saws. Never gets old.
You're a treasure, Paul. Keep being incredible.
You’re a great teacher Paul, quick, deliberate, clear, thorough; if only your style was a standard across academia.
This is by far the best woodworking chanel on youtube, how comes only 164.623 people know about it. This is quiet sad I think!
Brand new to woodworking, and stumbled upon this guy. Found out that he is an absolute legend in the woodworking world. I am slowly going through every video he has on here (11 years worth!!!). Love how simple he makes things and how many tips and tricks he provides. Learning so much!!! Thanks.
Over the past 6 months I've done the same! As a result, I've built a workbench, a custom bookshelf, multiple salt cellars, a jewelry box, and a few other bits and bobs with only a small handful of hand tools and all using techniques I learned from these videos.
@@jeffneiman4635 That’s awesome! I’m really enjoying the learning experience.
He is such a wealth of knowledge and experience that is inspiring for even middle aged men like myself that are just starting
Hi there from Portugal,
Nice dovetails :D
Obrigado(Thanks)
For awhile I was wondering where is he going with this. Wow what a great jig, It really blew my mind when it became clear what he was making. Very talented Man. Great Teacher.
I need to start using a "sellers jig" for my dove-tails. 🌲🇬🇧🔨👌
Thank you Mr. Sellers for taking time out and explain dovetail technique, I am not a carpenter, but I play one on weekends, I discover this passion just about 9 or 10 months ago, and I'm really trying to learn as much as possible. I have an awkward petition if possible. Could you teach a quick lesson on the different types of cutting gauge, I've tried to purchase one about a week ago and lost my mind a bit when I saw a few different gauges, one if I remember correctly had two cutting or sharp blades set at a different distance from each other.
Thank you
Pedro M
Semper Fi
Just like popping out teeth :)
Hey Wesley, I watch your videos too. Paul lives in my town in Oxfordshire England, I keep hoping to bump into Paul and get some wise tips. So much experience to gain from him.
Most excellent Paul. Good to see old school is still the best school ;)
I usually understand what Paul does but I am sooo confused now. lol
simply amazing. You are a great master Mr. Sellers
Thanks for this tip. I have a couple of questions. First, if you wanted to make a jig that you would keep for many years, would you still use pine, or would you make it out of something less susceptible to warping, such as MDF or a hardwood?
Second, when you started, you said you were going to have 8 pins. How did you determine that number, and how did you decide that the end of the pin would be 1/2" (approx 13mm)?
One word ''Wow''
I think this is the first time I have watched a video and realized that he just single handedly both 1) eliminated potential blow outs on the back side with the 2) mitre box he just created for dovetails.
I am now wondering if that same jig would be just as effective if you added a side rail with a little top nub for the work piece to register against and/or be clamped to.
I’m new to this, and have never cut dovetails, so if anyone has input let me know
You have inspired me to begin woodworking, Im about your age or older. ty
Paul once again beautiful work and the Sellers methods are my standard for sure. One thing: I can’t see any of the marks you make. Either pencil or knife. And it’s hard to piece together what your saying to ‘which line is he working on?”. Any way to improve the camera POV and produce it again? I know that’s a big ask but it would solidify your method to my brain and hands
Paul. I watch you channel quite often and was wondering if you have any fixes for times when the two don't quite match,
all based on a simple template, nice. But as with any template work (router too) any error in the template will transfer to the workpiece. Preparation is key eh?
I have watched you here for over a year now. And learned so much. I can't wait to try this!! Thanks Paul!
Thank you for always taking the time and effort to show us what you're seeing. Like you said "instead of the back of your hand".
It looks like you could stack the drawer parts up and do 2 or more at the same time. Especially if they were thinner kitchen drawers. I assume the limit to stacking them is the saws ability to clear the saw dust.
It seems as though you could do 1 drawer at one go. (2 half drawers).
One can only pity the fools who give Paul a thumbs down.
I dont know why i keep blowing my phone screen everytime the sawdust accumulates 😅
Wow... this is the simplest and most accurate method I've seen. Very well thought out!!
What are the angles on that jig you use to outline the tails? What's the easiest way to replicate that without having the tool?
The angles are a 1:7 ratio. Paul has a video on how to make one if you search for his dovetail template.
That was amazing, Paul.
"Accuracy, sharpness and technique are so important, and these are the things we strive for in everything we do."
Mr. Sellers I love your videos and thank you for starting me in woodworking. You make everything seem so achievable. I'd like to see a video of you showing how to make a sliding dovetail.
I'm so fascinated by your work. True craftsmanship seems to be a dyeing art here in the states. I'm 25, when talking with my peers the idea of woodworking with hand tools is almost extinct.
+MisterTwoScoops trust me I know. I'm all for building things myself. And it seems like that's an old way of thinking, but hey it works!
I just love how Paul talks to himself. :-)
hermoso trabajo. siempre miro sus videos. gracias y saludos!
Hi Paul. How will you make a board shorter in one milimiter? (in case cut too long and nees accuracy)
hand plane it down.
Monopoly houses :D
Paul, quick question. How would you do this if you have the sides made from panels. So, let's say I want to make a chest and the sides are made of three joint planks. Do you do the dovetails individually by plank and then join them or you join them and then dovetail them?
Super useful once again, I'm a young self-taught woodworker and these videos are helping me a lot ! Thanks for sharing the knowledge Paul !
I was under the impression that British woodworkers all used coping saws, or fret saws, to remove the bulk of the waste. I'm curious to hear why you don't. I learned dovetailing from Tage Frid's book on joinery. He didn't use a coping saw either and I was surprised the first time I saw someone bring out a coping saw for dovetails. I've even seen some people ONLY use a coping saw for removing the waste, they didn't even go back and pare them clean with a chisel. I guess that's good enough for rough work, but it's hard to imagine someone bothering to hand cut dovetails for rough work.
Western Australian JARAH is indeed a hard timber to work with (both difficult and hardness), especially if full of curly grain and/or old 'n dry.
Rule is, sharpen tools 3 times - before, during and after.
I liked the guide template you created. It takes the difficulty out of making all those cuts, with your saw simply following the kerf in the template. I've tried making dovetails twice this past week on scrap pieces of pine. My first attempt was so bad. It looked like I used a chainsaw! My second attempt was much better though still not good. I still had more than enough small gaps but I'm getting closer. Some of my problems are likely my technique in using both the saw and the chisel. And my old chisel which I have been restoring still need a bit more work. I used a Japanese dovetail saw and I think this may be part of the problem. The blade is so thin I believe it wanders. I can't watch both sides of the board at the same time. I thought that once I got my cut started and true along my reference line that the saw would simply follow on the back side. It doesn't. Not with the Japanese saw. So, I have to get a Western dovetail saw and we will see how it works.
At the Marine School workshop, we have a board about 2' × 2' marked up with fan lines, emminating from a single point. Now, no matter what width your working material is (within one and a half feet wide obviously), we can mark up three tails and four pins. Excellent template jig. No doubt, you could do the same template fan \\ \ || / // to form more tails and pins if you like.
Hand tools seem slow at first glance but you can accomplish a lot with no rush ,and less fear of accidents from machinery ,and less noise too.Also FAR FAR less dust.
I am using a veritas saw and my main problem in doing dovetails is that the saw line goes not straight instead the cut differs from the sawline in the front slightly to the saw line in the back of the piece (sorry, english is not my first language). in other words I am sawing down slightly diagonally. what can I do to improve? (I am cutting a guiding line with the chisel as you suggest, but still...)
I admire this guys skill, but as I was trained in pattern making the dead-on accuracy Required was much greater. Why not use the dividers to mark out the half inch wide tails. He also didnt mark his datum face or his wastes. When you set the dividers from the rule, slide the points in the lines so they remove the dirt.For really acurate setting of the dividers, use a vernier gauge.
22:29 Oh my goodness! This is pure genius. I love your videos. You have a new sub which is why I'm commenting on such an old video. I do some binge-watching now and again to get caught up. Thank you for sharing.
As legendas tapam o trabalho
Paul, I enjoy the way you instruct. Your videos would be a great teaching tool for college students planning to enter into a teaching profession. I also believe this level of woodworking instruction should be made available to our youth as elective course work especially for students that do not wish to or have the skill sets to participate in a sport. This would not be any more expensive than a baseball, football, basketball or soccer and provide life long skills sets to be proud of. We spend so much money on sports but we only reach a fraction of our young students. Only the best make the sport teams! However creative skills such as woodworking are not a competitive events but enjoyable skill learning events . We used to have this in our middle schools for only two periods per week...not so much anymore.
Paul awesome video. You have solved my unanswered questions about how some woodworkers got the distance between the distance the dovetails mark at 7/8" and pins mark at 5/8". You have explain this demonstrations step by step about dovetails in great detail. I am new to woodworking and I have always been very interested in woodworking. I have a project I was working on but had to put a temporary stop due to not understanding dovetails on a lot of TH-cam videos. Now I'll be able to finish where I left off . I am very impressed with your step by step self explanatory on how to do dovetails. Thank you so much
Lovely video Paul, thankyou for sharing, it was a bit like having the secrets of a magic trick explained.
Really a marvellous idea to build and use such a jig. So simple and elegant. It is so easy that you have only to pay attention once to accurately lay out and cut the tails. Even just half of the tails that is. Cutting the real tails, square and accurate is so easy and so fast once you have the jig. I am convinced that even for a single one-of-a-kind construction it pays off. Each cabinet or each box has 4 tailed sides, isn t it? Let alone if you build multiple drawers. I used it for the first time today, and will continue to use it in the future for every project. Thanks Paul.
Paul, a great technique using the jig. Why the heck weren't you my carpentry teacher at school? Did dovetails and they were hell difficult to do accurately even in pine for a school kid.
To mark the second dovetail board it is more practical to mark the cuts of the first one on the second one using the rib saw because it fits exactly in the cut groove and leaves already marked the cut guide.
Just brilliant Paul! This is really an outstanding jig. I've already made mine this morning and found it outstanding to use as a post-cut gauge to check my freehand cuts for accuracy... something that was a bit difficult to do until I actually assembled my dovetails. Works great to correct my mistakes as well. I was at one of your seminars several years back (Boston I think?) and found the accuracy of your freehand cuts something I wanted to achieve. This new jig gives me the ability to check my accuracy and clean up as I go. Thanks Paul for all you do!
Lol Paul makes a tool cupboard with dovetails from sapelle mahogany... Fancy xD
Paul, The cutting or slicing gauge at 26:20, is that a home made retro-fit of a standard marking gauge or a commonly available one that can be purchased?
IMPECCABLE CRAFTSMAN SHIP ..Thank You for the class
Excellent idea and jig Paul. Takes time to build but well worth it when doing a lot of pieces.
Phil seemed to be distracted because we didn't get as many close up shots as we usually do. Was there a female in the shop during recording? Haha
That's really smart! I'm going to us it.
Something I need to make the work consistent.
Top idea, I will be using it soon. Though I will add a bit of my own to make it a little faster. Making the template a couple of inches wider so I can put a batten on each side to make a tight and square grip, so the template can be slipped on quickly with no adjustment left to right and the stop batten can be screwed to the new side battens for even quicker lining-up (up and down).
I'd be failing this class.
I've never cut a dovetail in my life but I'm trying to learn. It seems to me that the first two chops that you take against the knife line you have the chisel angled a degree or two toward the knife line. Then with the deeper chops on the line you are at a perfect right angle to the board. I'm I seeing that right?
Paul you're my idol, you are a good teacher and communicating well to be understood by a novice like me. Thanks
I'm always awestruck watching you work, Mr Sellers. You're very much a renaissance artist transported to our time. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
The concept of the template is first rate and perhaps I'm missing something but doesn't the width of the pins and tails change the farther up you raise the template??
So much to learn, so little time.
Clever. The jig is a kind of patterned miter box. I love the method for ensuring square cuts with the doubler.
Now you know why quality costs.
Far better than any of the crap from Ikea etc.
Hi Paul, thanks for uploading this. Is it possible to make a template for the pins? Maybe use the first set of tails to mark a template for pins.
Again, thanks for sharing this. your template technique takes a lot of mystery out of it.
Paul, Since the saw cuts on the template go to the full depth of the saw, couldn't we eliminate the front piece glued on by setting the template up so that the bottom of the saw kerfs on the template are a little above the baseline?
I guess these 36 people didn't like woodworking classes back at school :P
I love watching you teach. The little wooden angle jig you use to make your marks is interesting. You called it a dovetail template. Please tell us about it or how it is made.
Amazing and very useful, thanks!
Master of dovetails AND monopoly houses. That takes some doing.
Great video Paul, I learnt a lot. I was wondering if you had a tutorial on how to sharpen a dovetail saw?
True master. I am so grateful for your videos and knowledge. Thank you Paul Sellers.
I like your chopping technique. I've tried the other methods such as cutting out the waste, then halving the left-over with the chisel until you reach the line. But this just seemed so much easier when I tried it.
Thank you again for your priceless tuition.
It seems a labour of love that will be missed by many viewers.
PURE GOLD LESSON.THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Great video Paul.The first house I built was all hand tools.Very clever and useful idea.
You are one of my heroes, but I've never seen this idea; it reminds me of the method you use to start new teeth on a dovetail saw!
Excellent, you're a woodworking genius.
Great instructional vid. Messy work bench is a sign of genius!
Awesome technique. Thank you!
wonderful piece of craftsmanship, almost mesmerising!
Thanks a lot Paul. The video was very interesting.
Thank you master teacher! Great video and instruction as usual.