Found a weird trick for gap-free dovetails with just a pencil line

Was struggling with a maple drawer last month, could never get my dovetails tight enough. Out of frustration I traced the tail directly onto the pin board with a sharp 2H pencil instead of using a marking knife, and the graphite filled the tiny gaps perfectly. Anyone else ever try skipping the knife for certain woods?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_martinez22d ago

Tried the same thing on a cherry nightstand when my marking knife kept wandering in the grain. A sharp 2H pencil left a clean line and the graphite did exactly what you described, it sort of packed into any micro gaps when I tapped the joint together. Worked way better than I expected on a soft hardwood like cherry, might be worth a shot on maple too since it's less prone to crushing.

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emery_white22d ago

Hold on, @morgan_martinez did you find the 2H pencil line had any issue with graphite smudging on the maple after you sanded it? I tried a similar trick on some white oak once and the graphite kind of bled into the fibers when I hit it with 220 grit. Maybe it's just me but I'm curious if that happened on your cherry at all or if it stayed put.

emery_white21d ago

Whoa, I gotta push back on that a little. I've tested graphite lines on maple and cherry a bunch and in my experience, even a sharp 2H leaves a layer that sanding just can't fully remove. What I found is the graphite dust itself mixes with the sanding swarf and gets driven deeper into the pores, especially on maple where the grain is tight. You end up with a faint gray shadow on your joint that pops up after the first coat of finish. Have you tried a marking knife with a really sharp, fresh edge instead?