SDFWA

San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association

Dovetails, the Mighty Wedges

This Saturday, join us on March 13 at 10 am at the Hand Tool SIG to see a single through Dovetail joint laid out and cut before your eyes.

The various Dovetail joints, when used in making furniture, are widely seen as hallmarks of quality furniture and their use is sometimes wrongly perceived as evidence that a piece is hand made.

The fact of the matter is that effective dovetail making machines have been around since the 1800’s and are able to manufacture to tolerances that most hand tool workers find hard to match. In todays world there are numerous dovetail jigs that work with a standard router and will make fast work of dovetail joints.

So this coming Saturday we will ask, what is this fascination with dovetails and why do many hand tool woodworkers take so much pleasure and pride in hand cutting dovetail joints?

We will also ask what hand tool woodworkers can do to set to their work apart from the machine cut pack.

This discussion will be followed by a live demonstration of laying out and cutting a single dovetail and a discussion of the different tools that can be used in making dovetails.

Craftsman Referral Terms

BACKGROUND
The San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association (SDFWA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the education, promotion, and execution of the principles of fine woodworking.
The SDFWA frequently receives requests from people seeking the service of a woodworker. Therefore, although custom woodworking for hire is not the purpose of our organization, we offer this referral service to the public so that they might connect with a woodworker.

SCOPE
SDFWA does not screen or warrant the skills or work of any craftsman. The public should use their own discretion and due diligence before hiring any craftsman, from any source, including this one.
The sole role of SDFWA in this referral service is limited to providing our member woodworkers with your completed form. It is up to each craftsman to initiate a contact with the requester.

PROCEDURE
After a requester submits a project, the form will be emailed to our list of participating craftsmen. If a craftsman is interested in the project, they will contact the client directly, and a two-way conversation can begin.

As the craftsmen themselves choose which projects to respond to, this means that it is probable that some project requests will receive no response. If you do not receive a response in a reasonable time, please submit your request again, using the provided referral form.
Note that contacting SDFWA directly will not achieve the desired results.

DISCLAIMER
By agreeing to these Terms, and by continuing to submit this Referral Form, and by utilizing one or more of the services of any of these craftsmen, you are agreeing to contract exclusively with that individual craftsman and to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the SDFWA Organization, its officers, officials, employees and volunteers from any and all claims, injuries, damages, losses or suits including attorney fees, arising out of or in connection with the performance of this agreement, and any and all failures, damages, or otherwise negative outcomes caused directly or indirectly by the craftsmen you employ to do any project initiated by this Form. This does not preclude you from pursuing legal remedies from the individual craftsman that you employ. But any remedy you pursue is restricted to that individual craftsman, and does not include the SDFWA organization or any of its volunteer members.