Brilliant! I've watched dozens of dovetail videos by experienced craftsmen. This is far and a away the most efficient, elegant and inspirational method I have seen. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise.
Its great to see someone keeping the old skills alive. As an apprentice I met an old time proffessional dovetailer. He told me he could produce 8 drawers a day which is 32 sets of dovetails. He said that if you over ran with the saw you'd get fined.. Its always worth remembering that this kind of skill changes dramatically when you have to add speed. You get paid on production in the trade.
Beautiful shop, beautiful dog, beautiful home, magnificent dovetails... Quality and professionalism at it's finest. Great video.. Great smile as well.. i really enjoyed this video. Thanks for sharing
I can watch this video over and over, every few months, without knowing really I'm doing it; like great songs from the 70's...cheers...rr Normandy, France
Bad Boy Becksvoort strikes again. That is a man who has cut a lot of dovetails. Love watching a master of their craft work, so effortless from so much hard work
The 131 people that thumbs downed this video better have done that solely for the music. The guy is fantastic to watch and I’d love to study under him for years to learn I will never be as good as he is.
Fantastic work (I'm a pins first guy though, doing them like Tage Frid), thumbs up from me, although I wish there was a way to turn the music off. It'd be nice to hear what the tools are doing more clearly.
What an awesome video. I'm just starting carpentry. It's so nice to see someone so comfortable doing what they love. I hope I'm this effortless one day
I feel very fortunate that I was able to attend two separate weekend workshops that Chris conducted at the Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. I learned more about hand tool dovetails during those two weekends than I could have learned in two weeks from most any other instructor.
I've watched quite a few dovetail videos and this is the first time I've seen some chisel out the waste like that. Looks much easier than the other methods I've seen, but I'm 100% sure that's because he's done a million of these.
Brilliant video. It's so nice to see a talented, production-level hand craftsman at work. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in Christian's shop for a few weeks. Every time I watch this, I notice something new.
What a joy !! So nice to see a professional doing what they do best without the need to explain everything in slow minute detail !! Just by watching this gives you so much !! I always find it interesting, you could see a 100 pros making dovetails and they would all do it slightly differently ,it just proves there's a lot of truth in the saying " There are many ways to skin a cat" !! Great stuff !!
I was so amazed watching him make those dove tails, I didn't even realize 7 minutes went by. You make it look so effortless and create such beautiful work. Thank you for sharing.
Yes - Christian has done this once or twice. I love to hand cut my dovetails but take my time as I build things for home. My wife got so fed up with my glacial pace that she bought me a Leigh Dovetail jig. I then worked very slowly on some mortise and tenons and out of frustration she bought me a Festool Domino tool. I'm currently working slowly on my sanding (need a helical thicknesser), sawing (need a bandsaw) etc. Any suggestions welcome. Great vid btw - can never get enough of watching such masterly craftmanship. Cheers and thanks from Sydney, Aust - Dave
Oh jeez, if i knew dovetails were so easy and simple I’d have done these a long time ago. Being sarcastic. That was quite a demonstration of some seriously honed skills. Nice video.
This is my favorite video you’ve ever put out, Ben. For anyone criticizing the music, I completely agree, but the editor said that he had to put the music in to cover his own “wows” and little audible sounds of wonderment. 😂
Very good work. Clearly professional. I like the labour saving method of doing the two dovetails together. As a ‘purist’ I would have used a scraper plane or a hand scraper instead of sandpaper, but people won’t pay for that sort of detail. But wow, that looked like a 1950s sander. Lovely machine!
Chris, enjoyed your lecture last Saturday at the Hancock Shaker Village and I'm especially enjoying your Shaker Legacy book, see you at the LN open house in July.
More videos like this from FWW would be amazing, just short bite size content from masters i've watched this video so many times and everytime i pick up on something new. I tried dovetailing the other day for the first time, and immediately thought of this video.
I’ve been dovetailing for several years and I learned several new techniques. Especially the lead pencil to check for fit. Seems obvious once you see it.
Why are we watching other dovetailers? This one makes the most sense, easily. He had me at the layout. Watch, practice,repeat. Oh yes, and sharpen my chisels
Thanks for the inspirational video, Christian. It was interesting seeing you pick up that belt sander instead of the hand plane to finish everything up!
Back in '91 when the FWW "Traditional Furniture Projects" came out I made his Leg-And-Apron Table of White Oak only dispensing with the leaf as I had to plane the top flat by hand and couldn't bear to cut into it. I also went un-Shaker by draw boring the tenons to improve the fit. That table went to a daughter and is still in the family with a 1991 Silver Dollar let into the underside of the top by my signature, a conceit I borrowed from another FWW master who's name I forget. We all owe a great debt to Mr. Becksvoort and the other craftsmen who passed along their knowledge in the pages of FWW, likely for peanuts. The only craftsman/journalist I know of being adequately compensated was the fictional Keith Stewart, the "Trustee From The Toolroom" of Nevil Shute. If you work with your hands and want to know what duty is, I can't recommend it highly enough. My copy is quite old and dog-eared.
Love the 'forked' board to hang drawers for sanding. I bought a box full of old chisels for, I think 22 euros...which is probably the price of one of yours. (Although I did also buy 2 new Sweetheart chisels). I love recycling and it's cheaper, obviously. But take-away for this video for me is: use the groove for the drawer's bottom to register and mark the 2nd half of the dovetail.
Thank you for putting this on TH-cam. For some reason, I’m no longer to see videos on your website? Perhaps the player is no longer compatible, but I never had issues until a few weeks ago. Glad to be able to see this now!
They say it's talent, but it takes decades of dedication and hard work to achieve that skill level. Beautiful work sir. If I could afford it, I'd buy your furniture :)
What a pro. I especially love the use of the belt sander. It seems to make really quick work of the marking lines. I'm guessing this was about Christian's 2,000,001st drawer
🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤 The ART of woodworking !!! In french I would say '' chapeau bas l'artiste '' ! What a pleasure to see someone who knows how to work with his... hands !?!!! Whaow !!!!!! 😱😱😱😱 A hudge BIGGG BLUE THUMB from France !!!
Engineering 101: tools don’t make the craft, the man does...love the old school belt sander too...when a generation still appreciates simple geometry...thank u for sharing 🙏🏻
I loved it. I would much rather hear the natural sounds in the shop than the music. Or at least at a lower volume. The sound of the wood giving way to the chisel is pure delight. And the tap of a mallet and the sound of the pencil drawing a line. These are the sounds of woodworking by hand and are part of the charm and experience. All the senses are engaged.
Hey Ben, man, I'm a musician and woodworker. I watched this vid a bunch of times a year ago when it first came up and I'm watching it again now to tune my head up for today''s work. These folks that don't like the music -- what can you say about folks like that? Let 'em grumble. You did a fine job here, my man. That moment when Chris gives that beautiful natural smile and the 12-string comes in for the first time? I saw that -- I saw what you did there. Great stuff. You made a great little film here, don't let anybody tell you different.
Notice at 4:07 the piece he's fitting doesn't have a dado, that's the back. Then again at 5:14 you can see it's shorter than the side. All to say, you just slide the bottom in from the back.
Wow. What a joy to watch a master do this work with such skill, passion, and smiles. Absolutely Inspiring and a Thrill.
I loved the pencil trick checking the tight spots. Very satisfying seeing a persons enjoying themselves using their talents.
Agree, I had one of those, "why didn't I think of that" moments seeing that.
The pencil trick was AMAZING!!!!
By "pencil trick" do you mean scribing the dovetail cuts?
3:52
AKA "chasing the smudge"...
all that beautiful handwork and then a belt sander....I love it!
Was thinking g the same thing. Haha
This is a great video and Christian's smile at 3.05 just makes it for me. The guy is having a ball doing his thing and kicking ass while doing it.
Brilliant! I've watched dozens of dovetail videos by experienced craftsmen. This is far and a away the most efficient, elegant and inspirational method I have seen. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise.
Its great to see someone keeping the old skills alive. As an apprentice I met an old time proffessional dovetailer. He told me he could produce 8 drawers a day which is 32 sets of dovetails. He said that if you over ran with the saw you'd get fined..
Its always worth remembering that this kind of skill changes dramatically when you have to add speed. You get paid on production in the trade.
When you do it a thousands times you get very proficient and mistakes rarely happen.
Beautiful shop, beautiful dog, beautiful home, magnificent dovetails... Quality and professionalism at it's finest. Great video.. Great smile as well.. i really enjoyed this video. Thanks for sharing
The best thing about this video, to me, is the appearance of the Skil 449 locomotive to flush the pins with the tails. Such a cool looking tool!
The best dovetail video from an amazing craftsman I've ever seen. That is a drawer anyone would be proud to have. Wow.
This is my favorite dovetail video! So simple, so easy. Well done! Thank you!
I can watch this video over and over, every few months, without knowing really I'm doing it; like great songs from the 70's...cheers...rr Normandy, France
Tons of tips and tricks to see just by watching Chris. Gosh hes so good. Love his furniture and personality.
Bad Boy Becksvoort strikes again. That is a man who has cut a lot of dovetails. Love watching a master of their craft work, so effortless from so much hard work
That was way more than just another dovetail video! Seven minutes of gems!
Wow. The level that a skill can be taken to. Bravo to the owner who takes it there.
I'm blown away. The man really is a master
Amazing artist! one day i might be able to make a dovetail joint so easily. Thank you for sharing your talents and skills!
I like everything about this video including the music. I have read his articles too. True talent and craftsmanship.
He knows the wood and how it'll behave without any visible effort. The experience he shows with his hands is amazing to see. Total badass.
This is my favorite dovetail video! Thank you!
The 131 people that thumbs downed this video better have done that solely for the music. The guy is fantastic to watch and I’d love to study under him for years to learn I will never be as good as he is.
I still gave this video a thumb up but god the music is so loud
Fantastic work (I'm a pins first guy though, doing them like Tage Frid), thumbs up from me, although I wish there was a way to turn the music off. It'd be nice to hear what the tools are doing more clearly.
What an awesome video. I'm just starting carpentry. It's so nice to see someone so comfortable doing what they love. I hope I'm this effortless one day
Christian does more hand cut dovetails in a month than most of us ever will...
Love his work...
Beautiful video Ben. Thanks so much. Such amazaing skill.
I feel very fortunate that I was able to attend two separate weekend workshops that Chris conducted at the Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. I learned more about hand tool dovetails during those two weekends than I could have learned in two weeks from most any other instructor.
I've watched quite a few dovetail videos and this is the first time I've seen some chisel out the waste like that. Looks much easier than the other methods I've seen, but I'm 100% sure that's because he's done a million of these.
A true master at work ... music or no music, it was a treat to view!!
Brilliant video. It's so nice to see a talented, production-level hand craftsman at work. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in Christian's shop for a few weeks. Every time I watch this, I notice something new.
Excellent! Thanks Ben for capturing and sharing these amazing craftsman at work.
This is the most efficient guy i have seen. Every movement has a purpose.
What a joy !! So nice to see a professional doing what they do best without the need to explain everything in slow minute detail !! Just by watching this gives you so much !! I always find it interesting, you could see a 100 pros making dovetails and they would all do it slightly differently ,it just proves there's a lot of truth in the saying " There are many ways to skin a cat" !! Great stuff !!
That pencil trick on bruising the pin board is awesome. Using that for sure!
Larry David is so multitalented!!
His work has soul. My hats off to you sir.
I was so amazed watching him make those dove tails, I didn't even realize 7 minutes went by. You make it look so effortless and create such beautiful work. Thank you for sharing.
Yes - Christian has done this once or twice. I love to hand cut my dovetails but take my time as I build things for home. My wife got so fed up with my glacial pace that she bought me a Leigh Dovetail jig. I then worked very slowly on some mortise and tenons and out of frustration she bought me a Festool Domino tool. I'm currently working slowly on my sanding (need a helical thicknesser), sawing (need a bandsaw) etc. Any suggestions welcome. Great vid btw - can never get enough of watching such masterly craftmanship. Cheers and thanks from Sydney, Aust - Dave
Having just spent a couple of hours in the shop practicing dovetails this video is both inspiring and depressing.
Well that was an utter pleasure to watch. Thank you.
Amazing! I couldn't stop smiling all the way through the video.
Oh jeez, if i knew dovetails were so easy and simple I’d have done these a long time ago. Being sarcastic. That was quite a demonstration of some seriously honed skills. Nice video.
I have learned so much from you and finewood working over the years thank you.
This is my favorite video you’ve ever put out, Ben. For anyone criticizing the music, I completely agree, but the editor said that he had to put the music in to cover his own “wows” and little audible sounds of wonderment. 😂
Ok, Probly the best dovetail video i've seen yet
All respect, a truly master. i bet he can dovetail faster than anyone trying to set a dovetailing jig and router.
That locomotive sander at 5:40 is AWESOME! It even has the smoking effect with the bag. Very nice!
Great video. Excellent ingenious tricks. No BS, what a pleasure. Thank you Maestro.
great video. i really liked his layout approach and gang cutting. i really loved the Cowboy Junkies poster on the wall at 2:45 and 4:38.
Not seen them done like that before, also the finger board for sanding the sides a great idea that sames on clamping it to a bench.
I could watch him do this for hours. Extremely satisfying to watch.
Very good work. Clearly professional. I like the labour saving method of doing the two dovetails together. As a ‘purist’ I would have used a scraper plane or a hand scraper instead of sandpaper, but people won’t pay for that sort of detail. But wow, that looked like a 1950s sander. Lovely machine!
Very beautiful and clean work. It's a pleasure to watch. Thank you.
Chris, you're the Master! Thanks for all the knowledge and inspiration over the years.
Total respect watching a master craftsman work.
Chris, enjoyed your lecture last Saturday at the Hancock Shaker Village and I'm especially enjoying your Shaker Legacy book, see you at the LN open house in July.
I'd FAR rather hear him work, and possibly some comments, than have any music whatsoever.
graymouser. Agreed. The music doesn't fit the video at all and would be far better without it.
All a matter of taste. I liked the music.
couldnt agree more, would have been a better video without the music and better camera work
Ahh, complain too much. Video was great. A master at work my friends.
@@krabenaldt7605 Exactly. Schön richtig.
Had to google this name after seeing Ron giggling on parks and rec lols.
He made that look so easy. That is a true professional!
Love the technique of blackening the pins to determine where to trim. Simple idea.
You cant teach an old dog new trick. You already know them! Best chizel work I've seen to date.
More videos like this from FWW would be amazing, just short bite size content from masters i've watched this video so many times and everytime i pick up on something new. I tried dovetailing the other day for the first time, and immediately thought of this video.
Lafayette - NIterói Brasil - Thanks for your great lesson - formidable!
That was beautful!! We all need to find someone like that guy to learn from! There are so many skills that may get lost down the line if we don't!
I’ve been dovetailing for several years and I learned several new techniques. Especially the lead pencil to check for fit. Seems obvious once you see it.
What a pleasure to watch. Man I'd hate to know how many dove tails he has made.
Why are we watching other dovetailers? This one makes the most sense, easily. He had me at the layout.
Watch, practice,repeat. Oh yes, and sharpen my chisels
Thanks for the inspirational video, Christian. It was interesting seeing you pick up that belt sander instead of the hand plane to finish everything up!
Back in '91 when the FWW "Traditional Furniture Projects" came out I made his Leg-And-Apron Table of White Oak only dispensing with the leaf as I had to plane the top flat by hand and couldn't bear to cut into it. I also went un-Shaker by draw boring the tenons to improve the fit. That table went to a daughter and is still in the family with a 1991 Silver Dollar let into the underside of the top by my signature, a conceit I borrowed from another FWW master who's name I forget.
We all owe a great debt to Mr. Becksvoort and the other craftsmen who passed along their knowledge in the pages of FWW, likely for peanuts.
The only craftsman/journalist I know of being adequately compensated was the fictional Keith Stewart, the "Trustee From The Toolroom" of Nevil Shute. If you work with your hands and want to know what duty is, I can't recommend it highly enough. My copy is quite old and dog-eared.
Something to aspire to ..... And wonderful to watch! Thanks for sharing.
Great work flow there and some classy tricks of the trade. Thank you for sharing.
by far the best dovetail video I've seen
A real artist at work . Thank you for the video
Love the 'forked' board to hang drawers for sanding. I bought a box full of old chisels for, I think 22 euros...which is probably the price of one of yours. (Although I did also buy 2 new Sweetheart chisels). I love recycling and it's cheaper, obviously.
But take-away for this video for me is: use the groove for the drawer's bottom to register and mark the 2nd half of the dovetail.
Thank you for putting this on TH-cam. For some reason, I’m no longer to see videos on your website? Perhaps the player is no longer compatible, but I never had issues until a few weeks ago. Glad to be able to see this now!
iiTz DrumStiX there was an issue with iOS 11 and our video player. That has been resolved. Let me know if you're still not seeing videos.
FineWoodworking I was in the beta, so that would explain it.
They say it's talent, but it takes decades of dedication and hard work to achieve that skill level. Beautiful work sir. If I could afford it, I'd buy your furniture :)
I like the way FWW produced this video, meat & potatoes, no fluff.
That trick with the pencil while fitting and paring the pins blew my mind!
I love it, I have the same belt sander...a skill I bought in 1977, still working well but somewhere along the line I lost the knob on the front.
David Parry, a trifle lighter than the Porter Cable locomotive, maybe that a good thing. Both could last forever. Wish I had one now.
What a pro. I especially love the use of the belt sander. It seems to make really quick work of the marking lines. I'm guessing this was about Christian's 2,000,001st drawer
Using pencil mark to highlight the tight spots on first fitting is really smart. Never seen that before.
nice to see the old skill sander...I still have mine since 1967, going strong when I need some quick removal.
I've still got my Porter Cable 3 x 24 locomotive from 1947 and use it regularly. Have the receipt too for $97.00. That's $97.00 in 1947 money.
Loved the video , music and all . Thanks for sharing
I’d like to spend a month with this guy he’s probably forgot more than I know
🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤
The ART of woodworking !!! In french I would say '' chapeau bas l'artiste '' ! What a pleasure to see someone who knows how to work with his... hands !?!!! Whaow !!!!!! 😱😱😱😱 A hudge BIGGG BLUE THUMB from France !!!
The pencil-mark a bit lower than the edge as fit-control is a good tip, thanks.
Most beautiful sander i have ever seen.
I always liked his tool cabinet wish I could get ahold of a plan.
Fine choreography w/ the beautiful chisel & other hand-tools. As ancient as his anachronistic belt-sander is = it still threw me for a loop.
Just found this video. Extraordinary mastery
An icon in his element. Outstanding.
Engineering 101: tools don’t make the craft, the man does...love the old school belt sander too...when a generation still appreciates simple geometry...thank u for sharing 🙏🏻
I loved it. I would much rather hear the natural sounds in the shop than the music. Or at least at a lower volume. The sound of the wood giving way to the chisel is pure delight. And the tap of a mallet and the sound of the pencil drawing a line. These are the sounds of woodworking by hand and are part of the charm and experience. All the senses are engaged.
made it look soo easy !! nice work
This man has the coolest belt sander I’ve ever seen - it reminds me of those classic airstream caravans
It's so retro it's futuristic
Watching a master at work is mesmerizing. He didn't have to say anything
Best dovetail video that I've seen and, the music wasn't that bad!
Hey Ben, man, I'm a musician and woodworker. I watched this vid a bunch of times a year ago when it first came up and I'm watching it again now to tune my head up for today''s work. These folks that don't like the music -- what can you say about folks like that? Let 'em grumble. You did a fine job here, my man. That moment when Chris gives that beautiful natural smile and the 12-string comes in for the first time? I saw that -- I saw what you did there. Great stuff. You made a great little film here, don't let anybody tell you different.
How did he put the drawer bottom though!? Crazy amount of precision. Loved the whole video.
Notice at 4:07 the piece he's fitting doesn't have a dado, that's the back. Then again at 5:14 you can see it's shorter than the side. All to say, you just slide the bottom in from the back.
What an honor to watch thank you.
Mary, mother of god! THE Christian Becksvoort! 🤩 I'm sure he gets swamped with attention all the time!
So this is the man ron swanson has spoken of :)