Rob Brown

I feel that hand cut dovetails are probably the most overrated joint in the woodworkers arsenal. Unless you can cut them very quickly and very precisely they waste time, look sloppy and are much weaker than most other joints that could have been used. Factor in all the time it took to lay them out, carefully cut them, pare them to fit, fine tune them some more then fill the gaps after glue up....Doesn't sound like a lot of fun.

I make quality, one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture for a living. Having said that, I sometimes have clients that are drawn to dovetailed drawers, so I sometimes make them. It's almost never my first option. They do look great, but I feel there are other joints that are as strong, much easier to cut and look good too, so I use them. I would be burning $'s if I didn't use the other joints.

"Let the pros stress the dovetails", says a previous poster....I think many pros don't have the time to waste on dovetails when there are other options. The clock is ticking for us. I think it's the hobby woodworkers that have the time to spend on this joint, for the most part.

Rob Brown
www.equinoxinteriors.ca

Very, very classy! It's nice to see a piece that's based on proportion and balance, as opposed to one that hits us over the head with excessive figure and loud lines.

Rob Brown
www.equinoxinteriors.ca

Although Fine Woodworking has covered many a traditional American and European piece it rarely covers anything Asian. There is so much history regarding the furniture of Japan, China and Korea, but it's really hard to find. They not only had a different design aesthetic, but different ways of constructing these amazing works of art. There are a lot of interesting stories as to why they built the furniture they did.

So...how about the Edo period from Japan, for my 2 cents worth.

Rob

The best place (maybe in the world) to get Hand-Made Japanese Paper is called The Japanese Paper Place - www.japanesepaperplace.com - but there are other places all over North America. Check on their website to see if there is a place they supply near you.

They will ship anywhere but there are minimums. A word of advice...get as many different pieces as you can so you can have a good selection to work with. I know it can be expensive, but once you get into using this paper it's so beautiful that it's hard to stop. It really adds a lot to a project.

Rob

Nice screens, Asa. It was very tough for me to spray water onto my first few projects, too.

One of the things I like most about Japanese paper is all the different colours and textures that area available. The light of a lantern makes some of the papers really come to life!

Rob Brown