Scruffy Dovetails - Richard Rants

This is a short extract from our Hall Table Build.
theenglishwoodw...
For the context - read below.
I was in the process of cutting tenons, and at this point deliberately aiming at a joint that was too tight.
We would then show the process of truing the fit.
Not to sound obnoxious, but I came in to a problem.
I couldn’t cut a joint wrong.
Once you know how to cut a joint, you know how to cut it.
And after repeating it many times, it just does it right.
It became a little frustrating as the tenons kept fitting straight off the bat, and led me in to a bit of a rant.
The subject… Scruffy Dovetails.
And why I think historically, gappy dovetails were often the outcome of a poor saw, and not necessarily a lack of care, or for speed, as most think today.
Of course this is one of many reasons.
Many a poor joint will have been cut by a jack of all trades replicating what he’s seen, for example.
But in my experience, dovetails are one of the few techniques in woodworking where you really can blame the tool.
A poor saw will cut poor joints. unless you want to spend hours fettling with a chisel.
Please bear in mind that this is just a spewed out Rant. The wording isn’t perhaps precise, but I’m sure you’ll get the gist.
For more details on the Hall Table Build, visit here: theenglishwoodw...
For more of my thoughts pondering on history, read here: theenglishwoodw...