Popular Woodworking 2005-10 № 150, страница 48

Stop measuring and simply learn how to saw straight.

The dovetail is an ancient joint widely used in cathedrals, barns and Egyptian furniture. It is the right joint for many items including fine furniture, carcases, drawers and jewelry boxes. They are all dovetailed together.

I was only 27 years old when I came to this country in 1968 from my native Hungary. Although I had a piece of paper that said "master cabinetmaker," I was still very eager to learn more about my trade.

Where I came from I was happy if I could carry a white-haired master's tool chest to the job site because I knew I would learn a thing or two that day working with him. Now I am that white-haired master with 45 years of experience in the trade.

In the early 1970s I went to a lot of seminars. Some were on dovetailing with well-known teachers in the woodworking world. Some cut the tails first; others cut the pins first. They used tools that I didn't own, such as a dovetail marker. They measured the size of the pins and tails, which is completely different from my method. The more I studied, the more confused I became. I decided to find the best way to cut tight dovetails quickly.

A Search for the Best Method

I owned an antique restoration shop. I had a chance to study a lot of antiques from around the world. Each time a piece of furniture came to the shop, the first thing I looked at was the dovetails. I studied hundreds of them and made tracings of dozens of unusual pieces. I tried to find an answer for my methods. I learned in Hungary, I worked in Vienna, and I was looking for someone from a different part of the world than Eastern Europe to do dovetails. I found Hector, from Guatemala, a master cabinetmaker.

"This is great, Central America!" I said. I asked him to make me dovetails. He said, "You cabinetmaker, you make dovetail." We had a language problem. I had a hard time explaining to him my intentions. I replied, "I know how to cut dovetails, I want to see how you do it." "OK," he said. He grabbed some chisels, a dovetail saw, a marking gauge, some scrap wood, set up the marking gauge to the thickness of the wood, marked the wood, clamped it into a vise and started cutting. He cut the pins, chiseled the pins; from the pins he marked the tails, chiseled the tails and put it together. "How is

by Frank Klausz

Educated in the Hungarian trade school system, Frank is a master cabinetmaker, author and owner of Frank's Cabinet Shop in Pluckemin, New Jersey, which specializes in fine furniture reproductions and custom architectural fixtures. He also teaches woodworking. For more information, visit frankklausz.com.

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Popular Woodworking October 2005