My first attempt at a dovetail joint turned into a 6 hour mess

I was trying to make a small box for my mom's birthday, just a simple project, you know? I figured I'd try dovetails for the first time, watched a few videos, thought I got it. Marked everything out, started cutting with my Japanese pull saw. The pins went okay, but the tails... I must have measured something wrong because the gaps were huge. I spent over 6 hours trying to fix it with wood filler and shims, which just made it look worse. In the end, I had to scrap the pine board and start over with a simpler butt joint. Has anyone else completely botched their first try at a hand-cut joint and have tips for getting the angles right?

3 comments

3 Comments

seanjackson1d ago

Sounds like you gave up way too easily.

coleman.gray17h ago

Gave up too easily" is my middle name, right after "quitter.

kevin_west20h ago

What makes you say that, @seanjackson? In my experience, sometimes walking away is the smarter move, not the easy one.