Of all the videos around explaining this concept, this is the clearest and easiest to 'get into my head'. Love your style of teaching, Chris. Thank you! 6 months later, I still come back to this video if I need a refresher course, and recommend this to everyone as the definitive video for explaining dovetail layout.
I've watched many, many, videos, but never been confident in the information staying in my head correctly, to try it... I really believe this is the best explanation I've seen..... Thank you...
After watching, I went out to the shop made a small box with this method, it worked brilliantly, and was repeatable on all four corners. It's much easier than figuring out with a calculator or with a ruler skewed on the board for equal divisions. Now if only I could get more masterful at cutting the actual dovetails. Thank you.
at 61....and a life long woodworker/carpenter, today I tried my first dovetail just for fun. One tail came out bigger than the others and I can't figure out why. Oh well.......there's always more wood to practice on. Thank you Mr. Schwarz.
Give me more!!! After seeing so many people teach us about dovetails, no one ever told us the magic behind the dividers, I am rushing to buy myself a pair, thanks a lot,
Thank you I've watched numerous videos and no one has ever explained how to do dovetails as easily as you. I'm loving doing dovetails now. Much appreciated.
I am a beginner woodworker. I have been always interested in woodworking. I have looked all over TH-cam for someone to explain and demonstrate going into detail on how to layout the dovetails and pins. Step by step. I have a project I was working on but I had to stop due to I didn't know how to do dovetails but now I'll be able to do complete my project. Thank you so much you are the first one to definitely demonstrate explain about dovetails.
Really cool technique. Makes perfect sense and now we know why they're called "dividers" haha! Good to see that you have several new video appearances posted since last I checked. Always a worthwhile watch. Keep up the great work.
It's not that hard to calculate. You have n tails and n-1 pins and 2 half pins. Measure the total distance. Decide how big you want your pins and half pins. Subtract 2*half pin width + (n-1)*pin width from the total distance, then what's left over needs to be divided by n to get the width of the tails. If you want your half pins to be equal in width to your pins at the base line, it's even easier. Subtract (n+1)*pin base width from the total distance, then divide by n to get the tail base width. Then lay out the measures at the base line instead of the edge of the board.
I use the same technique, but I like to have the base of my pins roughly the same size as a suitable chisel to make chopping them out easier. This then determines my spacing.
Hey Chris, been a subscriber on and off for many years, always thought I didn’t have the ability to do hand tool woodworking, but I think I was mistaken and I’m becoming a huge fan of yours !
I think that uneven dovetails look better myself. If they are precise you may as well use a jig .If they are a bit uneven it means they were HANDCUT. Pretty nice easy ,memorable way he showed though having said that.This man may not have the years of practical work behind him but he has a wealth of knowledge and is a thorough teacher.
Thank you so much(I think this time I got it.) Also noticed the rubber mat normally used for stable boxes and horse vans(comfort for horses.) GREAT idea for all the time spent standing...cheers...rr
Ya know, you broke it down and explained how simple it actually is, I laughed at myself for being so stupid! You made it easy, I'm alot more confidant now!
I see you have also found the fabulous Pentel Graphgear 1000 pencil. I like the 09 and sand it down to a point when needed. I got the brainfreeze using this technique as illustrated by your cohort, Megan. Took awhile to sink in. I must be a yokel myself cause I like the 14* too.
Superb presentation. Like most good communicators, you told us what you were going to say, then you said it, and then you summarized what you just said. Well done, sir. Are there any resources that explain the mathematics behind why this works? Or could you give an explanation? I see the elegance of this approach, but my brain is still trying to wrap itself around the underlying math.
@Duncan (I assume your "brain wrap" is referring to just why the distance the divider point extends beyond the half pin mark happens to work out to be the pin widths. ) I agree, that does get awfully fuzzy. I majored in math, but I'm about 50 or 60 years past being able to put an explanation in mathematical terms. But imagine how that 7th step would work out if we let the pins approach an infinitesimal width.
@@lynnlard5531 Thanks for the response. I’m cheered that I’m not alone in feeling that sense of fuzziness regarding an explanation. Like you, I kind of get it, but I’m not able to explain so mathematically. Would welcome somebody doing so.
@@Dunc2222 OK Duncan, I'm back. As I lay in bed last night waiting for sleep, I realized the conceptual solution is in the palm of our hand so to speak. When we look at our hand we see five fingers (digits actually) but only 4 spaces between them. It's the same with this dovetail issue. The space being marked off begins AND ends with a tail, i.e. there's one less pin. We can disregard the half-pins on each side. We're only concerned with spacing out (equally) 7 tails separated by 6 pins, each of yet to be determined width individually but jointly equal to the caliper width, over the width of the board BETWEEN the two half-pins . To represent it mathematically: Let's call that width between the half pins W. T will be our ultimate tail width and P will be the ultimate pin width. So T + P will be the distance between the caliper tips which we'll call C. So, as we step off 7 times (from right to left, starting at the inside edge of the right half-pin), that 7th step takes us an excessive distance by the amount of P (since we're going to end with that last (LH) tail.) So... W = 7C -P (...recall, the last P is excessive). Manipulating for P, we get P = 7C - W Now I just chose to use 7, rather than some undefined number n, to match Mr. Schwartz' specific example here.
@@lynnlard5531 Hi Lynn, that is some impressively creative math you’ve done. Once again, we find that much of our best thinking is done either in the shower or in bed! Thanks, but I’m still not sure this makes full sense to me. Let’s say the calipers are set perfectly so that their last step ends right on the half-pin (ie, that 7C=W). In this case, by your formula of W=7C-P, P would equal zero, right? But we know that can’t be the case, or you could have no space for a pin. Am I missing something here? I suspect I would need to experiment with this physically, in order to help figure out and test a formula. I apologize for my delayed reply; I had missed this earlier. Thanks.
@@Dunc2222 Hi again. I had to re-read and reflect on this a bit, as I'd sort of forgotten my thinking back when I responded previously.. (The ol' gray matter ain't what it ust'a be!) But no, or maybe yes, I think you are missing the obvious ...I know that feeling well. Remember, we are just trying out various spacings to arrive at something we like. Per your sceniario, we will have selected a caliper setting (which, remember encompasses a tail + pin ...that's by definition) which will yield a pin width of zero. This is a trial and error ("best fit") endeavor. So your scenario would tell us "hey, we need to make an adjustment! ...or else live with infinitesimal or smaller (lol) pins."
I watched that and was left with a kind of "huh?" ... But as Christopher said, don't think about it. I later used the technique and it work wonderfully! ... Just do it, don't think about it or over think it.
This is awesome I am just not sure I want to spend so much time with making a science about the spacing. After all the irregular tail size makes it more interesting for me
Great explanation! Chris has a wonderful way of teaching! Does anyone know where this video came from? Is it from a training course? Would love to see this whole thing!
What if, I want to lay out dados for shelves of specific thickness? Is it going to be a trial and error process until the remainder after the last step is exactly the thickness of a shelf?
I usually do shelves on progressively wider spacing, unless they are adjustable. But you could use the method he showed here if you wanted to. Rather than having the half pins as the starting point you could use the top and bottom panel. Then when you do the layout you would end up with two ticks, which would be the top and bottom of you shelves. You could adjust as you suggest, or you could simply find a center, and mark half a shelf lower.
His example worked out, but the way a half pin is suppose to look is that it's opening to the top of the (tail) board should be the same as the opening of the other pins. It isn't a half, it is simply missing the flare of the one side of a pin. That tends to look best with highly angled tails. Of course you may have your own rule. But if you do what he said, your half pin is random in size, other than that he said it would be too weak in some cases (and that can be particularly true where you may need to plane the boards down, say as in fitting a drawer). Being too wide is not just a mater of looks, it is also a mater of not over-relying on the glue in the joint. Anyway, the point is that you should go through the process to the point where you find out what the recommended tail/pin size will be, and then work back to the half pin, and be sure you like what you have guestimated, relative to the size of now revealed full pin/tail. If not, adjust the half pin. The adjustment will probably be slight, and it will only affect the pin size by 1/3.5 of the adjusted width of the half pin, which will not be a big deal. However it turns out, I try to avoid it looking like the half pin opening (the gap on the end of his board) is larger than the opening of the other pins. But however you like it, I think it is best to relate the half and full pin sizes before doing the layout. Peters never made an unbalanced set of dovetails in his life, so I would assume he checked back also.
It is from Artifact Bags: artifactbags.com/collections/aprons/products/artisan-apron-w-leather-straps (A similar - and similarly nice - one is available from Texas Heritage: www.txheritage.net/classic-shop-aprons)
Of all the videos around explaining this concept, this is the clearest and easiest to 'get into my head'. Love your style of teaching, Chris. Thank you!
6 months later, I still come back to this video if I need a refresher course, and recommend this to everyone as the definitive video for explaining dovetail layout.
I've watched many, many, videos, but never been confident in the information staying in my head correctly, to try it... I really believe this is the best explanation I've seen..... Thank you...
After watching, I went out to the shop made a small box with this method, it worked brilliantly, and was repeatable on all four corners. It's much easier than figuring out with a calculator or with a ruler skewed on the board for equal divisions. Now if only I could get more masterful at cutting the actual dovetails. Thank you.
I LOVE the way you teach sir!! Have for years!! Thank you for all your Knowledge! Its been GOLD to me!
Just recently considering making dovetail joints. You have provided the best explanation to date from my research. Very professional presentation.
This is a very well made video for those whom, like myself, are a little simple of mind. Thank you!
at 61....and a life long woodworker/carpenter, today I tried my first dovetail just for fun. One tail came out bigger than the others and I can't figure out why. Oh well.......there's always more wood to practice on. Thank you Mr. Schwarz.
Give me more!!! After seeing so many people teach us about dovetails, no one ever told us the magic behind the dividers, I am rushing to buy myself a pair, thanks a lot,
this is a great presentation, keep them coming. thanks, you made it so simple, and i looked at 50 videos before i found yours.
This method will be my dovetail laying out guide, all I need is to remember is last minute of video. Thanks!
Thank you I've watched numerous videos and no one has ever explained how to do dovetails as easily as you. I'm loving doing dovetails now. Much appreciated.
I am a beginner woodworker. I have been always interested in woodworking. I have looked all over TH-cam for someone to explain and demonstrate going into detail on how to layout the dovetails and pins. Step by step. I have a project I was working on but I had to stop due to I didn't know how to do dovetails but now I'll be able to do complete my project. Thank you so much you are the first one to definitely demonstrate explain about dovetails.
Thank you Chris for simplifying something that is sometimes portrayed as being sooo complicated. Love your work :)
Wish I would have seen this before. The way you explain makes so much sense. Thank you for making a simple thing , simple.
Christopher taught me this 20 years ago. Still doing it this way,
You are not only our HERO, you are a fantastic teacher! Thank for your exceptions contribution to our craft.
Chris this is the first time dovetail layout has made sense to me, thank you
I did not understand marking out dovetails until I watched this video. Thank you very much Christopher schwarz
The best dovetail layout guide video I've ever watched. Thank you very much. Greeting from China.
Wow!! You made this so simple to understand and lay out. Thank you very, very much!!!
Wow! I think I understand this now. I'm going to try this. Thank you Chris. 🥰
Does this guy have his own TH-cam channel? he is a great teacher
When Chris left Popular Woodworking, he started the company "Lost Art Press". They don't do a ton of video work, but they do a lot of other things.
Excellent video. What is the source of your "Dovetail Guide" that you used to mark out the dovetails, please? Thanks in advance.
Really cool technique. Makes perfect sense and now we know why they're called "dividers" haha! Good to see that you have several new video appearances posted since last I checked. Always a worthwhile watch. Keep up the great work.
Thank you Chris!! I've watched people do this with a quick explanation, but you broke it down so I understand it now!!
Wow. I am a newbie wannabe and your video was simple yet enlightening. Thank you.
Thanks, best explanation video I've found !! Clear and easy to follow instructions !
Thank you for sharing. Running over it again with the dividers really drove the point home. Thanks
Actually a very nice way of marking dovetails..Its quick too and no measuring or calculating .Thank you.
It's not that hard to calculate. You have n tails and n-1 pins and 2 half pins. Measure the total distance. Decide how big you want your pins and half pins. Subtract 2*half pin width + (n-1)*pin width from the total distance, then what's left over needs to be divided by n to get the width of the tails.
If you want your half pins to be equal in width to your pins at the base line, it's even easier. Subtract (n+1)*pin base width from the total distance, then divide by n to get the tail base width. Then lay out the measures at the base line instead of the edge of the board.
Great lesson, I struggled with this for a long time. Thanks to you I can finally layout dovetails with confidence.
I use the same technique, but I like to have the base of my pins roughly the same size as a suitable chisel to make chopping them out easier. This then determines my spacing.
Excellent point.
Hey Chris, been a subscriber on and off for many years, always thought I didn’t have the ability to do hand tool woodworking, but I think I was mistaken and I’m becoming a huge fan of yours !
Wonderfully clear explanation.
Thank you.
Simple yet quite nice! I think even I can remember this method. Thanks Chris.
What dovetail marker are you using ?
where can I buy that guide you are using?
A very good explanation, thanks.
Tried your method. Works awesome! Thank you !!
I think that uneven dovetails look better myself. If they are precise you may as well use a jig .If they are a bit uneven it means they were HANDCUT. Pretty nice easy ,memorable way he showed though having said that.This man may not have the years of practical work behind him but he has a wealth of knowledge and is a thorough teacher.
Thank you so much(I think this time I got it.) Also noticed the rubber mat normally used for stable boxes and horse vans(comfort for horses.) GREAT idea for all the time spent standing...cheers...rr
Excellent. Really nice traditional work.Might this work for pins first🤔
You explained it so simple. Do you have a YT, or other DVD in which you explain, in simple terms, how to layout a compound angle dovetail?
Simple and clear. Thanks. I always thought they were supposed to be equal. The first I saw that wasn't I thought was a hideous mistake.
Not brain melting at all. Really clearly explained. Cheers.
Oh wow, my brain is melting in a beautiful way. Thanks
Excellent explanation. Thank you.
Ya know, you broke it down and explained how simple it actually is, I laughed at myself for being so stupid! You made it easy, I'm alot more confidant now!
Very clear and easy to follow! Is this the same system that Rob Cosman uses? Cheers Chris
Thank you for sharing your very clever technique
I see you have also found the fabulous Pentel Graphgear 1000 pencil. I like the 09 and sand it down to a point when needed. I got the brainfreeze using this technique as illustrated by your cohort, Megan. Took awhile to sink in. I must be a yokel myself cause I like the 14* too.
Thanks for sharing. The orientation of fibres in panel is correct ?
Superb presentation. Like most good communicators, you told us what you were going to say, then you said it, and then you summarized what you just said. Well done, sir.
Are there any resources that explain the mathematics behind why this works? Or could you give an explanation? I see the elegance of this approach, but my brain is still trying to wrap itself around the underlying math.
@Duncan (I assume your "brain wrap" is referring to just why the distance the divider point extends beyond the half pin mark happens to work out to be the pin widths. ) I agree, that does get awfully fuzzy. I majored in math, but I'm about 50 or 60 years past being able to put an explanation in mathematical terms. But imagine how that 7th step would work out if we let the pins approach an infinitesimal width.
@@lynnlard5531 Thanks for the response. I’m cheered that I’m not alone in feeling that sense of fuzziness regarding an explanation. Like you, I kind of get it, but I’m not able to explain so mathematically. Would welcome somebody doing so.
@@Dunc2222 OK Duncan, I'm back. As I lay in bed last night waiting for sleep, I realized the conceptual solution is in the palm of our hand so to speak. When we look at our hand we see five fingers (digits actually) but only 4 spaces between them. It's the same with this dovetail issue. The space being marked off begins AND ends with a tail, i.e. there's one less pin. We can disregard the half-pins on each side. We're only concerned with spacing out (equally) 7 tails separated by 6 pins, each of yet to be determined width individually but jointly equal to the caliper width, over the width of the board BETWEEN the two half-pins .
To represent it mathematically: Let's call that width between the half pins W. T will be our ultimate tail width and P will be the ultimate pin width. So T + P will be the distance between the caliper tips which we'll call C. So, as we step off 7 times (from right to left, starting at the inside edge of the right half-pin), that 7th step takes us an excessive distance by the amount of P (since we're going to end with that last (LH) tail.)
So... W = 7C -P (...recall, the last P is excessive). Manipulating for P, we get P = 7C - W
Now I just chose to use 7, rather than some undefined number n, to match Mr. Schwartz' specific example here.
@@lynnlard5531 Hi Lynn, that is some impressively creative math you’ve done. Once again, we find that much of our best thinking is done either in the shower or in bed! Thanks, but I’m still not sure this makes full sense to me. Let’s say the calipers are set perfectly so that their last step ends right on the half-pin (ie, that 7C=W). In this case, by your formula of W=7C-P, P would equal zero, right? But we know that can’t be the case, or you could have no space for a pin. Am I missing something here?
I suspect I would need to experiment with this physically, in order to help figure out and test a formula.
I apologize for my delayed reply; I had missed this earlier.
Thanks.
@@Dunc2222 Hi again. I had to re-read and reflect on this a bit, as I'd sort of forgotten my thinking back when I responded previously.. (The ol' gray matter ain't what it ust'a be!) But no, or maybe yes, I think you are missing the obvious ...I know that feeling well. Remember, we are just trying out various spacings to arrive at something we like. Per your sceniario, we will have selected a caliper setting (which, remember encompasses a tail + pin ...that's by definition) which will yield a pin width of zero. This is a trial and error ("best fit") endeavor. So your scenario would tell us "hey, we need to make an adjustment! ...or else live with infinitesimal or smaller (lol) pins."
That's pretty slick. Not sure why my head should hurt, but it's a good looking method.
watched a bunch of vids, but I think you explain it hte best
Awesome information I like using the dividers but still practicing.
What a great video. Thank you!!!
Chris, are you wearing a Speedbird watch from TimeFactors?
Thanks
Thank you Christopher.
Very clear, thank you for sharing!
thank you i finally got it
I watched that and was left with a kind of "huh?" ... But as Christopher said, don't think about it. I later used the technique and it work wonderfully! ... Just do it, don't think about it or over think it.
Wow! thank You So much.
GREAT VID
I'm interested in your handmade bench top vise. Is there a plan available? Tks.
This is awesome I am just not sure I want to spend so much time with making a science about the spacing. After all the irregular tail size makes it more interesting for me
Great explanation! Chris has a wonderful way of teaching! Does anyone know where this video came from? Is it from a training course? Would love to see this whole thing!
It's from a full video of him building a traditional English tool chest
on www.popularwoodworking.com
I know that's the Sterling tool Saddle Tail, but what slope is that the 1:5?
Damn I love this guy! Long live LAP.
3rd time watching and (before continuing,) I ordered a second compass from Amazon...cheers...rr Normandy, Fra
They are not a compass . they are DIVIDERS . Dividers have no pencil ,a compass has a pencil or a lead.
@@738polarbear Thanks...
Pura vida Cris I got it :) I will try do my dovetails
What if, I want to lay out dados for shelves of specific thickness? Is it going to be a trial and error process until the remainder after the last step is exactly the thickness of a shelf?
Would like an answer to...
I usually do shelves on progressively wider spacing, unless they are adjustable. But you could use the method he showed here if you wanted to. Rather than having the half pins as the starting point you could use the top and bottom panel. Then when you do the layout you would end up with two ticks, which would be the top and bottom of you shelves. You could adjust as you suggest, or you could simply find a center, and mark half a shelf lower.
What apron is that ?
His example worked out, but the way a half pin is suppose to look is that it's opening to the top of the (tail) board should be the same as the opening of the other pins. It isn't a half, it is simply missing the flare of the one side of a pin. That tends to look best with highly angled tails. Of course you may have your own rule. But if you do what he said, your half pin is random in size, other than that he said it would be too weak in some cases (and that can be particularly true where you may need to plane the boards down, say as in fitting a drawer). Being too wide is not just a mater of looks, it is also a mater of not over-relying on the glue in the joint.
Anyway, the point is that you should go through the process to the point where you find out what the recommended tail/pin size will be, and then work back to the half pin, and be sure you like what you have guestimated, relative to the size of now revealed full pin/tail. If not, adjust the half pin. The adjustment will probably be slight, and it will only affect the pin size by 1/3.5 of the adjusted width of the half pin, which will not be a big deal. However it turns out, I try to avoid it looking like the half pin opening (the gap on the end of his board) is larger than the opening of the other pins. But however you like it, I think it is best to relate the half and full pin sizes before doing the layout. Peters never made an unbalanced set of dovetails in his life, so I would assume he checked back also.
Got it! left window open one day on my computer...THANK YOU...rr Normandy
excellent method
Thank you
Exactly the way I was taught.
Cool! Thank you.
thanks for sharing! May i ask what shop apron that is you are wearing??
It is from Artifact Bags: artifactbags.com/collections/aprons/products/artisan-apron-w-leather-straps
(A similar - and similarly nice - one is available from Texas Heritage: www.txheritage.net/classic-shop-aprons)
20th century. Wasn't that just a few days ago?
MÁSTER thank to you.
03:53 _gently.._ like the Pink Panther
Thank you for this. But it would have been nice to show how or draw out the other dove tails and how they intersect on the other board as well.
I like the Sinn
👍🏻
dividers,...compas is French
Frame
Woodprix has a lot of designs to choose from.
euuughghguhghehehgu .. the number one question ..
Cheesegrater aww I think they edited off the beginning.
They did indeed! .. it was very funny though
When I asked our video producer about the noise, he said it was a standard "Schwarz" sound.