Another Day Dovetailing it!

So many tricks and tips for dovetailing your corner joints, but seldom do you hear, "Get it straight off the saw," as it was said to me. This has been my way for six decades to date, ever since I heard George, my apprenticing mentor, say the same words. This mantra stayed with me, and the only time a pare cut action from a chisel edge comes is when I did indeed miscut slightly with the saw; a very great rarity and not normal at all. And as it was with George, don't put off establishing skill and ability as early as possible in your work. You do not get there by procrastination. Overcoming white-paper syndrome (WPS)* is critical to fine woodworking.Saw-cut dovetails should be or become your default position; that's positioning of hand-eye-body cooperation and coordination. Anything else is just a poor substitute. Other wise gurus will say, "Use blue masking tape" or, as in a Fine Woodworking article some years back, "Pare cut in increments until you reach the final fit," and then,…