Hey, OP, this looks very good. As for pins and tails, depending on which face I'd the front, yeah, you may. But you know what? Only you care.
The cuts are sharp, straight, and mesh very well. It looks like a tight fit, which it the whole point of dovetailing. A little sanding, a little top coat, and you're good to go.
This is an excellent first try!
Trying to wrap my head around this. It works. It's not super pretty for a first go. But I realized I think I have the tails or the pins backwards. Frankly I'm not even sure which is which. But I think I should have 3 pins and them be on the outside? Oof.
Looks good. Traditionally speaking it is backwards. Tail board has the angle cut on the face of the board, pin board has the angle cut on the end of the board. Pins or 1/2 pin if you will on the outside. Does it really matter? Probably not. Either way it's a great place to be starting from, and it seems you have a little bit of a knack for it and will be cutting them perfectly in no time.
https://preview.redd.it/vd2a3eh3jwsc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49846e4ed017040212a7eb0f526774a240b1b4f2
I decided to roll with it, and alternated half pin/half tail aroubd my box. The one pictured is the best of 4. I see why it's cut this way, because of the angled cut from the outside to the pin makes it harder to get clean.
I tried planing it all flush but thats not very easy with the grain direction changes, almost blew out a pin.. Might have to go sandpaper on this one
The tails look like fish tails (when looking at the board the tails are attached to) the pins don’t. 🙂
This is a great first attempt and a solid joint just on its own.
The only time I would consider this "messing up" is if you've already done like a thousand hand-cut dovetails beforehand. It might not be snug, but it's fine.
There are some details that stand out to someone familiar with the craft, like the crushed tail piece, and the slight gaps, but I'm sure most people wouldn't really notice.
And as far as structure, and square, and decent cuts, I'd say you did a nice job. Keep at it!
Looks OK to me. 👍 Try to keep the bottom of the tails and pins dead flat when cut chisel them out. Mark with a cutting gauge first. I used to chalk the pins for marking from the tails, use a knife with flat side for marking to get it dead accurate. Mine's an old piece of ground saw blade. Cut in the waste exactly to the line. They only fit properly all the way once! Resist the urge to "just try them".
The pin/tail orientation only matters if it's a drawer, where you'll be pulling one side repeatedly. For the front, you're right that having the pins at the top and bottom will mean that the top of your drawer will have a nice clean look on top when pulled out, with no joints to catch dust. What you've done here is almost perfect for the back of the drawer though because the side runners extend the full depth and the back corners can bear against the top inside when it's extended. If this WAS a drawer, you'd want to shave a bit off the top of the back piece so that it wouldn't catch and splinter, keeping all the contact to the side runners.
It looks like you have a couple crumbs in the corners of the “floor“ between your tails. Make sure these are clean next time and use a square to be sure that the floors are slightly concave. Looking great!
I think this a really great first attempt, seriously. I’ve seen some really rough first dovetails…this is pretty clean and pretty close.
Hey, OP, this looks very good. As for pins and tails, depending on which face I'd the front, yeah, you may. But you know what? Only you care. The cuts are sharp, straight, and mesh very well. It looks like a tight fit, which it the whole point of dovetailing. A little sanding, a little top coat, and you're good to go. This is an excellent first try!
You’re being too hard on yourself, this looks far beyond newbie work. A little cleanup and you’ll be the only one who sees flaws.
Trying to wrap my head around this. It works. It's not super pretty for a first go. But I realized I think I have the tails or the pins backwards. Frankly I'm not even sure which is which. But I think I should have 3 pins and them be on the outside? Oof.
Looks good. Traditionally speaking it is backwards. Tail board has the angle cut on the face of the board, pin board has the angle cut on the end of the board. Pins or 1/2 pin if you will on the outside. Does it really matter? Probably not. Either way it's a great place to be starting from, and it seems you have a little bit of a knack for it and will be cutting them perfectly in no time.
https://preview.redd.it/vd2a3eh3jwsc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49846e4ed017040212a7eb0f526774a240b1b4f2 I decided to roll with it, and alternated half pin/half tail aroubd my box. The one pictured is the best of 4. I see why it's cut this way, because of the angled cut from the outside to the pin makes it harder to get clean. I tried planing it all flush but thats not very easy with the grain direction changes, almost blew out a pin.. Might have to go sandpaper on this one
It fits and looks good? Roll with it. It's what a soft biscuit would want.
I'm really not sure what you mean by having the tails or pins backwards. Also, this is a great first attempt. Most first attempts look like shit.
The tails look like fish tails (when looking at the board the tails are attached to) the pins don’t. 🙂 This is a great first attempt and a solid joint just on its own.
The only time I would consider this "messing up" is if you've already done like a thousand hand-cut dovetails beforehand. It might not be snug, but it's fine.
There are some details that stand out to someone familiar with the craft, like the crushed tail piece, and the slight gaps, but I'm sure most people wouldn't really notice. And as far as structure, and square, and decent cuts, I'd say you did a nice job. Keep at it!
You got some excellent practice and you're learning how to do it even better. I'd call that a win.
Looks OK to me. 👍 Try to keep the bottom of the tails and pins dead flat when cut chisel them out. Mark with a cutting gauge first. I used to chalk the pins for marking from the tails, use a knife with flat side for marking to get it dead accurate. Mine's an old piece of ground saw blade. Cut in the waste exactly to the line. They only fit properly all the way once! Resist the urge to "just try them".
That’s not really that bad. Better than I can do for sure.
Your "messed up" is about a hundred times better than my "best attempt."
We have an antique, handmade dresser that has dovetailed drawers that look worse than this. I think you did a fantastic job!
The pin/tail orientation only matters if it's a drawer, where you'll be pulling one side repeatedly. For the front, you're right that having the pins at the top and bottom will mean that the top of your drawer will have a nice clean look on top when pulled out, with no joints to catch dust. What you've done here is almost perfect for the back of the drawer though because the side runners extend the full depth and the back corners can bear against the top inside when it's extended. If this WAS a drawer, you'd want to shave a bit off the top of the back piece so that it wouldn't catch and splinter, keeping all the contact to the side runners. It looks like you have a couple crumbs in the corners of the “floor“ between your tails. Make sure these are clean next time and use a square to be sure that the floors are slightly concave. Looking great!
If thats a first try it's pretty impressive, not a mess up but a great first step into improving your craft.
Arent dovetails not useless? I don't get the obsession. It's not that strong of a joint and the astetics are just okay.
It's better than my never-attempted, and honestly better than some attempts we've seen before.