Post a photo of the last thing you made

[Droogs]

@Retired Many happy returns, I hope you are having a great birthday. From one birthday boy (52) to another

 

[Bm101]

Happy birthday both!

 

[NickDReed]

I suppose I didn't technically "make" it. But I made it work again.

 

[Farm Labourer]

Iroko off-cuts with an oak inlay for my sister's pooch.

 

[MikeG.]

Complete with slobber-proof finish?

 

[Farm Labourer]

Complete with slobber-proof finish?

Yep - two coats of Osmo Poly X

 

[MikeG.]

Let us know how that lasts in that rather testing environment. I've not had the best of luck with it.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

@Retired

I despise rotavating, to the extent that I now have a no dig garden. My rotavator currently has a piece of rebar wrapped around the tines - it can stay there for a while longer; no rush to sort it out just yet.

I actually have it in mind to remove the engine and put it on a bandsaw mill - just need to make the mill first. Kudos to you for doing an appalling task with good humour.

 

[billw]

So today I experienced catch-22. I'm making a jig to hold pieces for marking out dovetails, to ensure they're square and level to each other. However, the jig is made using dovetails, which I couldn't mark out perfectly because.....you get the idea.

So basically the reason it doesn't look square is because it's being held square and my dovetails (and the two bits of wood) were not perfectly aligned. Not a bad attempt though. Just got to fit a fence to it now.

 

[MikeG.]

Hey, they're not too shabby, Bill.

 

[Trevanion]

Spent all evening on my dovetailing skills, what do you guys think so far?

 

[Droogs]

Spent all evening on my dovetailing skills, what do you guys think so far?

I'd say you're getting better matey, keep at it. did you do them on your new super expensive electrogizmo?

 

[custard]

Spent all evening on my dovetailing skills, what do you guys think so far?

Smashing job! The great thing about dovetails is that even with the odd gap they are still unbelievably strong joints. In that respect they're way better than say mortice and tenons, which need to be pretty snug to be even adequately strong.

 

[custard]

Not a bad attempt though.

I completely agree, not bad at all!

 

[Trevanion]

Smashing job!

I'm not sure if that's a very sly pun or not Custard

The great thing about dovetails is that even with the odd gap they are still unbelievably strong joints.

I reckon that's why there's still so many turn of the century chests of drawers kicking about in perfect condition and very few chairs and tables! Of course, a chair tends to get used a lot more than a set of drawers.

I'd say you're getting better matey, keep at it. did you do them on your new super expensive electrogizmo?

The Turbo-Dovetailer 5000! I bought it off this guy:

 

[billw]

Spent all evening on my dovetailing skills, what do you guys think so far?

Let down by the grain pattern, otherwise I’d be pleased with those.

 

[Just4Fun]

I'm making a jig to hold pieces for marking out dovetails, to ensure they're square and level to each other....
Not a bad attempt though. Just got to fit a fence to it now.

I have just done the same thing, and I am at the same stage as you.

How do you plan to make the fence? I intend to put a fence on both surfaces, one to hold the tails board and one to hold the pins board. I will offset the two fences by one saw kerf so I can use Rob Cosman's method of marking the pins board from the tails board before cutting out the waste from the tails board. However, that will make the jig dedicated to one particular saw so I have been reluctant to do that as yet. I don't have a dovetail saw so I'm not sure which of my various unsuitable saws I should commit to.
Here is my effort so far:

 

[billw]

I have just done the same thing, and I am at the same stage as you.

How do you plan to make the fence? I intend to put a fence on both surfaces, one to hold the tails board and one to hold the pins board. I will offset the two fences by one saw kerf so I can use Rob Cosman's method of marking the pins board from the tails board before cutting out the waste from the tails board. However, that will make the jig dedicated to one particular saw so I have been reluctant to do that as yet. I don't have a dovetail saw so I'm not sure which of my various unsuitable saws I should commit to.

I've just cut the fence, and was going to mitre it and glue it up so I can make sure it's perfectly flat, and then attach it to the board. The offsetting thing is interesting, and I only have one saw so I might investigate that particular idea before I go any further.

 

[Dr Al]

Today I (almost) finished making a bird box. I made it more for practising techniques (mostly power tool ones this time) than because we particularly needed a bird box, hence the over-done joinery and the possibly unnecessary roof covering.

Made from oak (joined from thin bits into thicker bits) with the roof coated in some lead flashing that came off my roof a few years ago and which I battered flat and then hit repeatedly with a ball peen hammer to give it a dappled appearance. The roof (in three pieces) is currently only held on with gravity as I haven't decided how I'll attach it yet. For scale, the hole is sparrow sized (32 mm) and the fingers of the joints are 9 mm.

The lead still needs trimming at the back and fixing in some way yet to be determined.

The roof has a couple of blocks of wood spaced to match the internal dimensions of the bird box and is held on with a single stainless screw from behind so it can be taken off for cleaning if/when required:

 

[custard]

I will offset the two fences by one saw kerf so I can use Rob Cosman's method of marking the pins board from the tails board before cutting out the waste from the tails board.

You'll regret it if you do. A better approach is to shim one of the fences, infinitely adjustable and totally reversible if you want to cut your dovetails old school.