Dovetails are an important step for any woodworker to take so knowing how is imperative and achieving high standards reflects patience and thoughtfulness, care, judgement, self control and much more.
The actual steps become essential; the rewards come in a box and the outcome is assuredly increased levels of self confidence.
All too often my students come to learn dovetails and practice before starting their actual Shaker candle box not realising the box itself is only practicing the joint four times. Introducing the element of a project then changes everything. It’s an unfortunate thing because it’s the skill developed that’s the goal and not the box itself.
Now I looked at the shavings on the floor and the bench and I saw success. I look at the sawdust and hear the saws cutting and I hear different success today to yesterday. The sound each saw makes is gentler now than yesterday. I watch, listen. They do too. The atmosphere was charged with expectation yesterday. Today its different. Anticipation is different than hope. Hope was what they came with and today that hope shifted to anticipation of completion.
The dovetails on each man’s box are admirable. They are the dovetails on the first boxes they ever made and they look lovely. The box is the bi-product – the result of developing skill that didn’t exist yesterday but was formed over sixteen hours of self discipline. They now have the skill to make dovetails for the rest of their lives.
