How to Size Dovetails | Paul Sellers

[@sabfam5545]

Searching internet last three days. This is the best explanation I’ve found. Thanks

[@55ATA3]

I have never seen such a great walk through of dovetail layout before, Thank you Paul. Again you are a great teacher, and your skill in wood working is always worth watching.

[@MrCujo1]

"I'm never sure what makes it prissy and what makes it refined" -- Brilliant !!! --- Mr. Sellers you are delightful :)

[@juistgaming01]

I was never bad at calculating Dovetails but this video just furthered my knowledge of the craft. Thank you very much :)

[@seanstanley3849]

Thank you so much for catering to the poorer classes! I like how you are old fashioned learning how to"make do with what you have at hand. Blessings dear brother!

[@1rammsteinium]

Much much easier using a pair of dividers. No measuring needed. Love your videos.

[@luckyhiker3434]

Hi Paul, I always appreciate your demonstrations. Keeping it simple and easy to follow is critical for all who are eager to learn from a master. You seem to have the knack of giving a perfect amount of information - not to much and never to little. A friend in America.

[@wagsman9999]

This guy is the best. I've learned so much from Mr. Seller's videos.

[@keiththrelkeld5890]

After all these years ! I have never seen a board devided up in this manner and I feel so "left out " till now. Thank you Paul

[@MRrwmac]

I’ve seen the way you use that technique with the ruler at an angle to get equal measurements before. I will definitely be using it myself! Thank you again Paul.

[@josearrue4072]

Thank you very much Sir Paul, it was so confusing to size dovetails for me, a beginner in woodworking after retirement, but after this video cristal clear. Regards from Panamá City

[@sissomd1]

Thank you, Paul and team. Hope you are enjoying your new space.

[@InternalizedSun]

So simple, yet so elusive... thank you Paul.

[@policedog4030]

Wish I could recall who taught me this (and it could well have been Mr. Sellers) but the advice to "always work from centers" has been very helpful when I'm undecided or torn between two layout methods.. it really has been a useful principle and will be self-evident when you find yourself there.. it might have been "Ask Woodman"..

[@garyknight8616]

Lovely dose of common sense. Thank you Paul.

[@joeytribbiani33]

It helped me As a beginner to woodworking, thanks Mr. Sellers

[@markleng67]

This video is what I've been searching for! THANK YOU!

[@danalexandroaie3233]

Thank you very much, Sir! Thank you very much indeed, very nice explanations, not to mention the examples. I very much appreciate you lesson.

[@jjStinger72]

I've used that trick for spacing the shingles on roofing when the roof is not so sqaure, never thought about translating it to wood working... Brilliant

[@ramingr]

Wow! Using Thales's theorem on woodworking, that's brilliant! Geometry used in a wonderful way, thanks for the great tip Mr Sellers. You have been a true inspiration in my woodworking journey!

[@2heeldrive]

Would love to see a video on that shelf unit behind you! Interlocking uprights, airy and clean. Thanks for all of the knowledge you share!

[@bobs344]

I LIVE FOR PAUL SELLER VIDEOS!

[@DavisStillson]

Brilliant measuring ideas.. loved the video, but then I enjoy all your videos..

[@marcuspullan1142]

Thank you, Paul. Have been looking for this information for a while. Brilliant

[@donniebrunswick4356]

You are the Chuck Norris of woodworking!!!

[@Laurelinad]

this is so interesting to me since in german cabinetmaking class we got a formula to adhere to

[@watermain48]

Thanks Paul, you simplified layout for me.

[@dman81032]

Thanks for the awesome videos! The way you explain how things work and break down the methods is awesome! Thank You!

[@smasica]

Clear, concise, simple. Thank you so much.

[@DBacaMaker]

Wow. I've not seen that before. I have so often marked out and then erased the marks to try again because I couldn't graps how to make the dovetails proportional and even. I've modeled them on the computer even and tried taking the measurements off the models but they never came out exactly right. This looks very simple and effective. Thank you.

[@tarbucktransom]

Also look up the dividers method of dovetails. It can be a bit of guess and check to get the exact size you want, but it makes it very easy to do a large number of dovetails very quickly in one batch and have them all come out exactly the same.

[@ClearlyCero]

That was so simple and efficient. I will now go cut some dovetails.

[@9957nite]

Hi Paul this is off topic just wanted too say thanks for all the lessons just finished my first spoon today it's going too my daughter she claimed it already :)

[@richardwood2693]

you make it soo easy to follow your directions

[@neilschurrer1157]

This really helped me out today, thanks so much!

[@thomaslamora1679]

A very clever trick - the "no thinking" method for equal size/equal spacing dovetails.

[@seanstanley3849]

Yes no thinking and no buying unnecessary tools!

[@JeepTherapy]

I really like that method Mr. Sellers. Thanks.

[@Alan2E0KVRKing]

Excellent video as always, thank you for your teaching!

[@aleblanc3547]

Thanks Paul, as always, for another great video.

[@williamhanna5224]

Awesome video Great work!

[@DNind78]

Thanks Paul, excellent video again.

[@zimmermaniacs]

"I'm guesstimating this....." briljant !!!

[@humbleme6974]

would love to see that shelf build in your backdrop I will build that

[@ausaiden7483]

Great video as usual. Thanks a bunch.

[@Ron-FabandBuild]

Great formula. Thank you

[@luisp8999]

I think Paul uses rulers, squares and all that just so we can understand what he is doing. I bet he doesn’t need them! He could build a workbench with a wooden spoon!

[@toniharkins5967]

True. Every time he draws a line from a tickmark without a straightedge, I'm agog. Then he measures and it's spot on.

[@catmeme7945]

Men! it actually works!!!!

[@Mikhandmaker]

Nice vídeo Paul!

[@daniellangdon5514]

That is awesome. Thanks for the video

[@lungbuster341]

This is brilliant. Thanks for sharing

[@TheHolydruid]

now I just need that dovetail template

[@clemmcguinness1087]

Thanks for this. So much sense.

[@andrewford80]

Exactly what i needed to know, thanks!

[@cobberpete1]

Thanks Paul, So many ways to do things but it's nice to have a general rule of thumb. I'm metric, but it makes me smile when you use the two different standards in the same sentence ;D

[@Paul.Sellers]

Probably a bad habit now. hard to change.

[@edwardcharles9764]

Peter Compton I'm sure there those who appreciate it as not everyone is metric. UK for example would be happy with 9mm whereas America would recognise and associate better with 3/8, so he caters for all as opposed to leaving one guessing.

[@petelevoguer5638]

Haha, I think it's a British habit, I apprenticed as a carpenter in the U.K. and can use both metric and imperial measurements with fluency, now I live in "metric" Canada, I only use imperial measurements!

[@Lodewikus]

Really nice video, thank you!

[@28gwdavies]

Brilliant!... You must be psychic! I just logged in to ask you this very question... Uncanny! I'm saving this link on my desktop with the other videos of yours that I need when I try to make something. I'm probably answering my own question here, but is the reason that all my work at this time of year is almost impossible to get clean and crisp due to all my wood being about 19% and over on my tester?

[@MrGorfinkle]

Very nice Paul, Thank You

[@paulcronin8080]

Rob Neale I

[@Jon4as]

I've learned the following: Number of dovetails = board width / (1.5 * board thickness)

[@purpleviolin]

Always wondered that. Thanks!

[@gibtsnocheinenfreien]

Great again! Thank you!!

[@arnold7156]

I just went to paul blog and cliked on the same vid about dove tails, the size of the frame was smaller but it did not break up into pixals like the one off the email

[@jhendry12]

Have I missed a video that shows you building the shelf unit behind you? Would love to see that!

[@lint2023]

That captured my eye, also. Constantly! There also was a prototype or miniature version on his tool shelf. I've envisioned how he built it. Soon, we will see, I hope.

[@MatthewBuntyn]

I think it's an upcoming class for his website

[@Paul.Sellers]

Yes, its an upcoming wwmc series. I included the neatest internal joints inside this one.

[@lint2023]

What is wwmc? Thanks.

[@K8Nicole]

InTnMnNmAz. Wood working master classes

[@gsrorive]

I'm so glad I subscribed sometimes.

[@gbparn]

Very informative Paul. Thank you. How do you do dovetail layout if you want your box to have sloped sides?

[@Paul.Sellers]

Hi. It is more complicated but you just have to do the geometry. Whatever slopes you have on the sides you would use a sliding bevel to establish the angles on both the pins and the tails.

[@humanbeansauce]

great video

[@AtticusDraco]

very good thanx

[@WeedMIC]

I thought one would want 50% & 50%. Very interesting.

[@ironmantooltime]

So clever 😎

[@neriyah]

You are amazing!

[@JeffGloverArts]

Thank you!

[@BDM_PT]

Hi there from Portugal, The last out side half pins are 10mm ou 5mm each? Obrigado(Thanks)

[@milehighslacker4196]

+10 (12?) for mixing imperial and metric in the same measurement group!!!

[@walterrider9600]

thank you

[@FAFBWoodShop]

Off subject but how did you make the shelves behind you?

[@LimitedGunnerGM]

At some point, tiny pins become the weak point of the joint. To optimize strength, wouldn’t you want the same amount of wood in the pins as you would the tails? I know, it’s a beginner question.

[@jimspencer1077]

👍

[@adomasvysniauskas9509]

How would You cut those smallest pins out?

[@Paul.Sellers]

With a 3/16" (4.7mm) or 1/8" (3mm) chisel. On superfines you might use a 1/16" (1.6mm) chisel.

[@RanjitSingh-dl1wi]

No mater dovtail depend your choice first you look which one good more dovtail need more time two quickly finish😀

[@clydedecker765]

Could have had a better closeup of that last set of dovetails. Not sure how you compensated the outside pins.

[@Paul.Sellers]

I explain it in the blog i wrote.

[@user-is4gy7be3n]

It looks like this. Say you want 10 mm pins, so you devide 10 by 2 and get 5. Now you draw two lines along the piece offsetting 5 mm. These are the lines you align the ruler to. When you have the centre points of the pins you add 5 mm on either side which gives you 10 mm, and 5 mm to the lines you already have along the piece; 5 and 5 is 10 again. So all the pins are now 10 mm.

[@clydedecker765]

Stupid me -- I did watch again and caught the 5 mil compensation as adding back the half pins to get full pins at the edges. Thanks for your kindness to my poor concentration.

[@clydedecker765]

Thank you Misha _

[@brettmciver432]

When is he going to be knighted for services to woodworking?? Come on lizy,,!!

[@sdpkom]

And ... you cant make a dovetail smaller than your smallest chisel.

[@tonyennis3008]

Dude, at 1:04, the two smallest pieces are 2" and 3" wide. But there's no way. The small one is 1.5", or the larger one is 4".

[@mralabbad7]

I think it's 2, 4 ,5 ,7 Or maybe 2, 4, 6 ,8 He may have just used them for visual demonstration with what he had lying around not wanting to bother ripping them to size for no real reason😂

[@chrisschultz6541]

Has anyone else had problems watching his videos as of late? I am seeing a lag on mobile viewing. It starts out fine, then about 40 seconds in and will delay and Paul's movements slows down.

[@foresterjikes9054]

I've just found God , lol

[@gokdenizkarakas9221]

im the first:-)

[@crztrn1]

ehh huh what huh do you do a dovetail for newbies ??????

[@mozpogson3639]

So your metric answer is to use imperial. Illogical

[@markschofield576]

So why do most UK creators on KZbin work in inches with MM in a subtitle? Is everyone trying to cater for the US market? It's funny but the US creators don't feel the need to put MM in the subtitles! Is it a money thing or are they just more important, Paul you are my woodworking hero and I find it sad that you seem more concerned about pleasing the American audience than your native UK, still I suppose you gotta go where the money is.

[@Paul.Sellers]

+Mark Schofield Paul used imperial when he was first learning woodworking then swapped to metric when everyone else in the UK did. Then he moved to the US and swapped back again. He is back in the UK now and is very proficient with both but is most comfortable with feet and inches. - Team Paul

[@paulkeogh1396]

Growing up in the UK everything in school was in metric and everything out of school was still in inches so I naturally use both. I tend to rough out in feet and inches and do precision work in mm.

[@JeepWranglerIslander]

Just completely fuck shit up like we do in the UK and use both metric and imperial at once! Weigh sugar by the pound, meat by the kilo and ourselves in stone. Buy water and soft drinks by the litre but milk by the pint (beer is bought either by the litre or the pint depending whether you're buying it on draught or bottle). We measure cables in metres and ourselves in feet and inches. We measure our fuel in litres but fuel economy in miles per gallon. Snow/rainfall is measured in millimetres but windspeed is miles per hour.

[@Paul.Sellers]

Imperial is my first language. I can work equally well in both but visualise better in imperial and can gauge distances in any increment up to 2" to within 1/32" (1mm) by eye and then after that to within say 1/8". This I cannot do in metric so it is something we learn at a very early age. I have noticed that many young people cannot gauge size accurately in either standard and I am not sure if there is a good reason or that we no longer require it at a young age. As an apprentice I was expected to be ably to guestimate a size by eye. Getting it wring was a rap on the knuckles or the back of the head. Not harshly, but do that today and you'd likely be in prison.

[@meanders9221]

Now that you're leaving the EU the French can't make you use their metric system anymore! You'll be free to return to the good old British imperial measurement system for everything. Make Britain great again!