SNIP

ED:  If there is no room for error, I tend to back off a little because I
will make that error.  These are not quite as tiny, but close, and I did
them with an 1/8" chisel.  They are 2,  3 foot hidden side drawers in a 7
foot long table:


DEREK:  Ed, those are very nice dovetails.

What is your technique in using a 1/8" chisel? 

And, seriously, after using a fishtail chisel you will wonder why you did
not do so before! :)


END SNIP

Beautiful work by both of you, and interested to learn of fishtail chisels.
I knew they existed but never thought why.

Agree with Ed, though.  If there is an error to be made, I make that error,
so there had better be room for it. Of course, at this point my skills are
not at a par with either of you.  Today I am putting the third coat of
shellac on a cradle designed and made by me of wood I cut on family
property.  I'll do four coats wet-sanded and then a top coat of Behlens Rock
Hard to make it diaper proof.

Here's the thing, though: I have spent more time correcting mistakes than I
have building and finishing.  Of course, except for the cradle floor, the
cradle and stand are ENTIRELY curvilinear so once cut reference to true is
largely lost unless the maker had the foresight to mark everything
necessarily carefully  and indelibly in the square.  This maker lacked that
foresight, so it has been an exercise for the eye.  Right now, in
mid-finishing stage, small issues are still coming to light -- visual, not
structural.  Some I can correct, others must simply stay.

My son and daughter in law for whom this is intended are both architects,
with, therefore, trained eyes.  I will have to ask them to be forgiving as
although it is imperfect, I have done my best.

Joe