Joints

Friday saw nothing in the schedule. The Gorse Fox decided he would retire to the workshop. He had to master the dovetail jig once and for all. It's not that it wasn't cutting the dovetails - it was more about how to ensure everything lined up correctly. After a number of test cuts, he decided that a small spacer was needed. This would ensure the correct offset from the guide pins. Sure enough once the spacer was brought into play, the tails and pins lined up beautifully and the joints were right every time.

The Gorse Fox returned to making the under frame for the table prototype. Now he could fashion the joints he wanted he could get on with the jon in hand. It didn't take long to get the tails and pins cut and then he had to measure up for the central supports. This took a little fiddling. He had originally thought of a sliding dovetail that only went halfway... but in the end made do with a half lapped mortise and tenon.  This latter joint isn't as tight as it could be, but as the whole thing will be disassembled once tried, it doesn't really matter.

Next up will be to try the under frame on the saddle of the existing table.