The Wood Shop

The editor for both Popular Woodworking and Woodworking magazines, Chris Schwarz, has published his first book: Workbenches: from Design and Theory to Construction and Use. Over the years I've become a fan of Mr. Schwarz's; he's helping bring the hand tool element back to the over "powered" woodworking magazines of the last two decades. For the last many years, magazines have disappointed me again and again with their over-"powered" approach to absolutely everything. For example, if you wanted to do dovetails they preached the use of a $400 router accessory over simple hand cut craftsmanship. I don't do enough dovetails to warrant purchasing one of those accessories, even if I wanted one, so that approach has always irked me.

Mr. Schwarz has been quietly advocating a return to a more simple approach to woodworking... one that does not preclude the use of power tools, but neither does it ignore centuries of tradition and process.

Hide glue is one of my favorite glues, and one I consider almost perfect for many woodworking joints.  It works easy, can fill gaps, leaves a clear line, mixes with sawdust to accept most wood stains and dies - and it doesn't "stain" the wood like yellow glue can. That's  where glue-soaked wood won't accept stain and  you get those blotchy areas around glue joints if you missed a spot when cleaning up the glue joint.  It's also simply the best glue for dovetails and inlay, and is also used with traditional veneering methods.

I was asked how dados were made using only hand tools, and thought I could put my response up here to help out if someone had the question again.  It's not for a finished project, just to explain the procedures used... 

First is how to make a simple dado, followed by making a stopped dado...