Mirror With Two Drawers – Dovetails
This new piece offers one more technical woodworking process that has not yet made an appearance in these ramblings. The dovetail is one of the classic woodworking joints that speaks of craftsmanship and individuality. I will be using the joint to make the drawers.
The drawer stock has been cut to side and the layout process can now begin. I set a marking gauge to the exact thickness of the drawer side
I use the tool to scribe a knife line on the edge of the board. The slight depth of the knife line will allow my chisel to lock in. This is the only way to chisel a straight line.
I place the board in my bench vise and use a different layout tool to draw the angles of the pins on the end of the board. A dovetail joint is made up of a matched set of pins and tails. I always cut the pins first. Some woodworkers cut the tails first- not me.
I always put an X in the part that needs to come out. I have made the mistake of cutting tot he wrong side of the line which results in sloppy dovetails. The X helps me remember to saw on the waste side of the line for a perfect fit.
The best way to do the cutting is with a hand saw. I saw on the X side of the line and I go right up to the knife line. If I saw past the knife line the joint will be ruined. Sawing is one of those activities that benefits from practice. If you are doing this for the first time practice cutting some straight lines. It will pay off when you cut the dovetails.
The next step involves chiseling the waste out. This is best described via video.
I got into my work and I did not document the rest of the process. I will continue with the drawer from a different project. Below you can see the half chiseled waste. I will flip the board and clean up the rest from the other side.
I place the pin board on the matching side and use a sharp pencil to accurately lay out the other side of the joint.
Back tot he hand saw and chisel to form the tales. It is the same process that I used to make the pins.
Ready to go together
The end results!
I often use the dovetail for more than it was intended. I push the pins and the tales past each other and then cut and facet them into the composition. The result is a tectonic landscape of movement. The dovetail become the structural decoration in the piece. Here is an example of large dovetails in this piece that leans against the wall.
By Nico Yektai -New York based designer/maker Nico Yektai opened the doors to his Hamptons studio in 1995 after completing the MFA program at the School For American Craft at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The rigorous technical training complimented his background in Art History, which he studied, at Hobart College in Geneva NY. Yektai has synthesized this background into a singular style that has gained him national attention. Visit nicoyektai.com for more information
