Best dvd for dovetails

[linke combs]

Well, my 2 day class on dovetailing with Rob Cosman this weekend has been cancelled. It has been rescheduled for next year, but that is a long way off. So, I am turning to video. Which dovetailing dvd or dvds is/are best? Is Rob's new handcut dovetails 2.0 better than his older one? Does it cover both through and half-blind dovetails? I have not been able to find out by looking at any materials describing it, so I am hoping some one here can help me out. Or are there other dvds that are even better? I am on a mission to learn how to do this and was expecting the class to give me a good fundamental start.

So...I am open to suggestions...

Oh...and thanks in advance.

Linke

[jamie shard]

The best dovetail video I've seen is Rob Cosman's Drawer Making video. I haven't seen dovetails 2.0 but I bet it's good.

[Sean Hughto]

I beleive Rob was scheduled to be in Rockville this coming weekend, right? I'm in the area, and know how to make dovetails. I don't claim to be Rob or anything, but I'd show you how I do it, if you are indeed close by.

[linke combs]

Sean, I appreciate the offer, but I am in Nashville. Rob was supposed to be in TN this weekend.

[Don Dorn]

It's all personal preference of course. I have Rob's old video and while I like it, I struggled with getting the pins marked from the tails accurately and then determining where to make the cut on the scratch line. I know I'm the weak link here because I've seen so many using his system that have fantastic luck.

That said - I've always been a Frank Klausz student of pins first. Perhaps it's just habit, but I prefer that because I don't use dividers, layout marker or fret saw. If I want the skinny pins, I can do that with pins first as well and it's much easier to mark the tails. For me - "Dovetail a Drawer" was my teacher years ago and I have no regrets, I just wanted to learn tails first as well to be more diversified.

[Sean Hughto]

Oops, just checked the Rockville shop's page and saw I was confused. Rob's not there til the 17th.

[Pam Niedermayer]

....That said - I've always been a Frank Klausz student of pins first. Perhaps it's just habit, but I prefer that because I don't use dividers, layout marker or fret saw. If I want the skinny pins, I can do that with pins first as well and it's much easier to mark the tails. For me - "Dovetail a Drawer" was my teacher years ago and I have no regrets, I just wanted to learn tails first as well to be more diversified.

You can do Frank's free hand method on tails first, too. I've been doing this for 30+ years; although, as Tom Vanzant can verify, they're not so neat if you haven't been doing them for 6 months or so. (:

Pam

[Jim Koepke]

That said - I've always been a Frank Klausz student of pins first. Perhaps it's just habit, but I prefer that because I don't use dividers, layout marker or fret saw.

This speaks clearly to the idea that pins first is just as valid as tails first.

The way that works best for the individual is what matters.

jtk

[Bob Jones]

Rob's first dovetail video is excellent. That is how I learned. His "advanced" dovetail is just that - don't start there. I have not seen the 2.0, but the original would be hard to beat. I live near Memphis, if you ever make it down this way I could show you some beginner dovetail methods.

Tip #1 came from Chris S. Practice! I bought some 4" wide aspen & poplar at lowes and just started making joints. By #20 they were passable. I did 30 practice joints and it made a HUGE difference. Practice makes perfect, imagine that.

[rob cosman]

Hi Linke, sorry about the class being cancelled, it has to be profitable for the store so I make if easy for them if they dont have enough sign ups. I was just there in June so it is understandable. To your question, I made 2.0 after spending 10 years on the road teaching thousands how to cut the joint. The original DVD was made in 2000, minus the "teaching thousands". I learned a lot, mostly about the average student and where they were starting from. The first DVD is 45 minutes, the 2.0 is 2hrs 7min, the difference is made up with a real time uninterupted joint (benchmark for the student), tool advice, what to look for what to avoid, training excercises to help master the saw, and finally a turtorial joint start to finish. Even thru in an impromptu "teach the film crew to saw" session. This covers just thru dovetails, half blinds are the primary topic in my "advanced hand cut dovetails" which builds on the information in the first dovetail dvd.

Finally with all due respect I beg to differ on the tails/pins war, tails first you need only make perfect perpendicular cuts on the pins, the angle cuts on the tails can be off a few degrees and no big deal. Pins first requires perfect perpendicular cuts on the pins as well as perfect angled cuts on the tails for the joint to work. Double the trouble for the same result.

And if "what ever makes you happy" means cutting good joints sooner, I suggest tails first!
cheers
Rob Cosman

Well, my 2 day class on dovetailing with Rob Cosman this weekend has been cancelled. It has been rescheduled for next year, but that is a long way off. So, I am turning to video. Which dovetailing dvd or dvds is/are best? Is Rob's new handcut dovetails 2.0 better than his older one? Does it cover both through and half-blind dovetails? I have not been able to find out by looking at any materials describing it, so I am hoping some one here can help me out. Or are there other dvds that are even better? I am on a mission to learn how to do this and was expecting the class to give me a good fundamental start.

So...I am open to suggestions...

Oh...and thanks in advance.

Linke

[john davey]

I was planning on the Rockville classes but will be in Florida and I don't think I will make it back (but I will check a few days before if I do make it back to see if there is an opening). I have Robs first dovetail DVD (plus several others) and I think they are very good. I can say I have learned from all of his dvd's...John.

[fred mcclure]

the cosman video is good. the problem i have / had was time to practice. i did the dovetail a day for a month and can tell the difference. i guess thats the trick practice, practice, practice

[linke combs]

First off, Rob thanks so much for the response. You may not remember me, but I was in your three demo classes that day in June. I was really looking forward to the class and already reserving my spot for the same class in March. I will have some practice in by then, and maybe some bad habits as well.

Thanks to everyone for their response. I will have to pick up the 2.0 dvd and go through it. While I am sure the older one is excellent...double the amount of instruction has to be even better.

Linke

[Andrae Covington]

First off, Rob thanks so much for the response. You may not remember me, but I was in your three demo classes that day in June. I was really looking forward to the class and already reserving my spot for the same class in March. I will have some practice in by then, and maybe some bad habits as well.

Thanks to everyone for their response. I will have to pick up the 2.0 dvd and go through it. While I am sure the older one is excellent...double the amount of instruction has to be even better.

Linke

I have Rob Cosman's older dovetailing videos, Hand-cut Dovetails, Advanced Hand-cut Dovetails, and Mastering the Dovetail Saw. I thought they were good. My only complaint was I didn't care for the "power tool guy"; I would have preferred that Rob talked to me (the camera) rather than that guy. Otherwise though, the camera setups and editing were well-done, bringing you in close to the action at critical steps so you can really see what he is doing. Cosman is very thorough in the videos. I have not seen the newer video but I think it would be a good choice.

Just to throw another option out there, I also have Jim Kingshott's video on dovetailing, which I also enjoyed and found helpful. He does (only) half-blind dovetails. Kingshott also does tails first, so if you're looking for an alternative approach, Klausz would be the natural choice.

Since the videos and other resources I have taught tails first, that is how I learned and have executed them. However, recently completing the shell of a tool chest I am building, for logistical reasons while fitting the skirt I did the last set pins first and they turned out fine. No uglier than all the others I did tails first at any rate. I think once you get the basics down, you can go either way, but I believe it makes sense to pick a method and stick with it for a while before trying the other.

[Jim Koepke]

Since the videos and other resources I have taught tails first, that is how I learned and have executed them. However, recently completing the shell of a tool chest I am building, for logistical reasons while fitting the skirt I did the last set pins first and they turned out fine. No uglier than all the others I did tails first at any rate. I think once you get the basics down, you can go either way, but I believe it makes sense to pick a method and stick with it for a while before trying the other.

My usual way is tails first.

One time while practicing I tried pins first. It kind of shocked me that they came out better than my tails first practice pieces.

Tails first is still my way, but one has to consider if one way didn't work, it wouldn't get used.

Either way is the best way if it is the way that works for you.

jtk