38 – Sculpted End Table (2 of 6)

Video - January 14, 2008

Finally, the continuation of our end table series! This is still old footage shot with the old camera, by the way. In this episode, I discuss sliding dovetails and show you how to make them. I also cover finessing the dovetail’s fit and some special techniques for creating a stopped sliding dovetails. Enjoy!

Discussion

Tomcat1066 January 14, 2008 5:34 pm

Marc,

It’s definitely looking nice. Was the video supposed to end so abruptly? One second you’re talking about trimming the dovetail, then POOF! Back to square one!

Reply
Darin B. From Springville,IN January 14, 2008 5:35 pm

That was a very cool video.I’m glad you showed the sliding dovetail because I’ve been wondering how to make them for a few weeks now.I have been thinking about using them instead of dados on some bookcase joints and an end table I’m getting ready to make.I would like to say again what a nice and imformative site this is for someone trying to get back into woodworking after 15 years(since high school shop).I just may have to order this DVD when it come out.That was a quick 14 mins and wasn’t quite ready for it to end just yet lol

Reply
Jeff Jackson January 14, 2008 7:23 pm

Marc,

I think this episode is perfect for something that I learned a few years ago that might help all the viewers.

1. Square First.
2. Do your joinery work next.
3. Then cut to size or shape last.

Once I understood this, it made my projects go a lot better. It looks like you also use this method. Great video!

Reply
thewoodwhisperer January 14, 2008 7:33 pm

Yeah for some reason, Blip.tv truncated the file by about 4 min. I am in the process of fixing everything now. Sorry for the confusion.

Reply
Steve January 14, 2008 8:14 pm

Thanks for showing how to make the sliding dovetail. I’ve been working on a design for a footstool to accompany an antique chair that belonged to my Grandmother. The chair has Queen Ann legs. I wanted to use them on the footstool but wasn’t sure what joinery I should use. As always The Wood Whisperer comes to my aid and offers a solution.

Reply
Jason January 14, 2008 8:39 pm

Awesome Marc, can’t wait for the next one to see how this thing turns out!

Reply
Schwigs January 15, 2008 10:14 am

Another great and informative video, Spags. I used sliding dovetails when I built a toy box for the twins a few months back. Mine went together pretty well, of course there was a huge learning curve and a lot of “test” pieces that got made.

The one comment I would like to make is that I would have liked to see how you decided how much of the dovetail to trim off. I know for mine, I’d put the joint together upside down and mark the dovetail where it met the top…if that makes sense.

Reply
Jacob January 15, 2008 10:42 am

Love the podcast. Learning more from them than any book I’ve read yet.

I think I found my favorite WoodWhisperer Quote: “When a woodworker says something will be “fun”, that really means it’s going to be a pain in the a**!”

Reply
mdhills January 15, 2008 10:58 am

I’m curious why you cut the dovetail grooves using a handheld router, rather than your router table?

Reply
Mike B January 15, 2008 11:06 am

Marc,
Another great video. What I noticed however, was the Festool Kapex in the background, how do you like it ?

Reply
thewoodwhisperer January 15, 2008 11:10 am

I knew you guys would like that one Jacob! :)

And concerning the router table, you certainly could have used it for that operation. But I have never been a big fan of router table operations that bury the bit completely. I really like to see whats happening so that I can vary my feed rate and have better control over the cut. Plus, there is no dust collection when you use a router table in that way. Really though, thats really just my personal preference.

Reply
Germain January 15, 2008 12:47 pm

OK, there has been no Nicole for far too long. I’m seriously missing our fair-haired co-host! All I ever see on TV is Britney Spears. Yuck! I’d much rather see a woman of substance. ;-)

Reply
Tim D January 15, 2008 11:12 pm

What can I say? Great stuff as always.

I must be learning a lot these days. When you first started talking about joinery, I instantly starting thinking of the stopped sliding dovetail. Initially when you asked about how to start the female joint started, I thought I would use the bandsaw to cut off a piece of the corner. I like you idea better! When you had the leg in the clamp, I was thinking, “I’d use a straight bit first to clear out some of the waste.” Then of course you mentioned it. Even when you talked about how meet in the center, my initial thought was overlapping dowels followed by more sliding dovetails.

It was nice validation that I am thinking like a woodworker. Now if I can only improve my craftsmanship, I might have something.

How long has it taken you to get to this point? Videos sometimes give a false sense of time.

Thanks again!

Tim

Reply
Russ January 16, 2008 7:24 am

Seeing as the area above the sliding dovetail on the legs was scrap material and has to be cut away, why not start the dovetail at the end of the board vs. drilling the hole just above where the dovetail was to start?

Reply
Lane January 16, 2008 11:21 am

Russ, Marc noted in the video that he needed the wood from the corner to provide a base for his router. I thought the same thing until I listened to the video again.

Marc, I really enjoy what you are doing. I spent 30 years in radio and television and I’m really impressed with how you put your videos together. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Lane

Reply
thewoodwhisperer January 16, 2008 11:55 am

Hey Tim. I have been doing fine woodworking for about 5-6 years. Not very long.

Russ- Lane beat me to it. That’s the main reason: support for the router. A secondary reason is to save your router bit that extra wear and tear. Those dovetail bits need to be sharp and cutting more material than necessary will obviously dull it faster.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. Glad you are enjoying this series.

Reply
Russ January 16, 2008 2:06 pm

Thanks for the heads up on needing the material for router support. I missed that on the video when I watched it the first time. I was think of using the sliding dove tail on some of my projects and now that I’ve seen you do it, I am going to give it a try. Thanks for you site, I think it’s great. I really enjoy it, along with your humor. Keep up the good work.

Reply
thewoodwhisperer January 16, 2008 3:31 pm

Mike B. Shhh….you weren’t supposed to see that. ;)

Reply
Bas January 16, 2008 6:49 pm

Marc, great podcast. This may be your best show yet. You’ve laid a lot of groundwork in your earlier episodes, it’s nice seeing everything come together. I think you’ve really grown as a teacher, you look very comfortable explaining your thought process. If only I had progressed equally as a student :-)

Reply
richard in Indy January 17, 2008 4:50 am

Nice job Marc. Look at you with the hand tools! I really enjoyed seeing how hand tools can compliment power tools. As part of my learning experience I’ve found that power tools have their limitations and can only frustrate you when you force them to do things that are easier, faster and safer to accomplish with some good, sharp tools. Did you get that router plane for Christmas? If you did, I’ll be waiting for that to show up soon!

Reply
Dean January 17, 2008 9:05 am

I agree that the router needed support for the “required” dovetail area, but the end that was scrap didn’t need true 90 degree support. If I had a foot of material to go through I probably would have done the pilot hole thing as well, but with a few inches I think that I would have cut from the end.

Reply
Richard Armstrong January 17, 2008 10:36 am

Marc
As usual a great job and I echo all the props above.
A question:
could you trim the dovetails with the band saw?

Reply
thewoodwhisperer January 17, 2008 11:00 am

You sure could. But you need to be very careful not to cut into the shoulder. That’s why i like the hand saw. It gives me the ultimate in control.

Reply
Shannon January 17, 2008 1:10 pm

Marc,
Great episode. I have finally caught up and now have seen every episode so my comments are not 4 and 5 months after the original post. I feel like part of the family now! I will backup some of my fellow WhisperHeads above and say that you are psychic. I was just thinking about a project where the sliding dovetail is an option. Thanks for the tips and can’t wait to see the next episode. I have no more to watch, better start over before I get the shakes! Say hi to Nicole and the dogs.

Reply
PeeDee January 18, 2008 1:26 am

To my favorite web-show host: You did it again. Nice video!
But what is the little spout on your bandsaw, next to the blade? maybe compressed air for removing sawdust or something?Haven’t seen that on any bandsaw over here.

I also stumbled over your “Fine Woodworking video” on THEIR website. Guess they are happy with it too. Good work!

Reply
gatorbait January 18, 2008 8:14 am

Marc,
When mentioning the joinery options you didn’t say anything about the domino. I haven’t seen it in use (from what I remember) since the table (a long time ago). Does it not play a part in your shop? I ask because it’s on my list of must haves.

Reply
thewoodwhisperer January 18, 2008 8:57 am

I absolutely could have used the Domino for this project and it actually would have been a lot easier. But here’s the deal with the Domino. Once you have one, you will usually default to it. But in the context of my show, I have to be sensitive to the fact that most people do not own one. So doing more traditional joinery is a way to get everyone involved. And Domino owners can sit back and smile because they’ve already finished the table. lol.

Reply
Jorge Monclova January 18, 2008 11:29 am

Ahh, the Domino a must have. I’m actually thinking the other way. I mean what does the woodworking hobby entails? Enjoying the process of working with wood or making furniture fast? After falling for the later I’m now convinced that for me it’s better to spend a little more time making something and save the $$$ the Domino costs.

Thanks Marc for not trying to use the Domino in all your video projects and thinking about the group of people like me that are not considering bying it.

Reply
Chris January 18, 2008 4:05 pm

I’m wondering why you didn’t just use a larger piece of wood in the center, so that you could use the same size of dovetail. You could even get fancy and make this center piece octagonal or something…just to make it look less chunky.

Reply
thewoodwhisperer January 18, 2008 8:44 pm

Hey Chris. I wanted to the center piece to be as “integrated” as possible. In fact, I was trying to think of ways to avoid a center piece at all. But this was a more logical solution for me. Now going larger with the center piece would really change the smooth organic flow I am aiming for. So it’s not a bad idea, it just dont think I would have been able to achieve the same effect.

Reply
John January 19, 2008 9:00 am

Good video but man is it hard to pay attention to what you are doing when you have all that eye candy in the background…..

Nice shop!!!!!!

J

Reply
steve January 30, 2012 1:40 pm

Hello Marc, I just got acquainted with your website last week. Am now embarking a “scuplted” base for a coffiee table with an elliptical top made of black walnut. Your series of videos are outstanding (my wife even enjoyed a couple of episodes). This project will certainly challenge my limited woodworking skills. I have one question:

What critera did you use to determine this thickness of the stock for the end table base. My table top in 1″, having a hard time with this aspect, thanks much, appreciate your time…..Steve

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer January 30, 2012 4:30 pm
  
  Thanks for the kind words Steve. The ONLY criteria on this project was whether I thought it looked good. Of course I was also trying to stay within the confines of standard 8/4 stock. But it was really all by eye, which could have worked to the tables benefit or detriment, depending on your tastes. :) I’d suggest making one out of scrap first. This will go a long way toward letting you know if they need to me thicker and more substantial, or thinner and more slender.
  
  Reply
Matt November 11, 2013 3:11 pm

Wouldn’t feed direction be an issue? It appears as if you’re running the router backwards on one of the passes.

Reply
Tim December 8, 2018 10:29 pm

Good sliding dovetail video Mark. Thanks still useful after all these years.
at 12:50 to about 13:15 or when you are at the table saw. I saw there already was a cut on the top of the work piece and was wondering if you remember what you used to reference where that cut line should be put.

Reply

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

38 – Sculpted End Table (2 of 6)

Advertisers