Interesting dovetail

Status
Not open for further replies.

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
As I have mentioned in the past - I blame Mark (Tarhead) for getting me hooked on a new guilty pleasure - watching Leo Goolden rebuild the Tally Ho after his #17 post in this thread: https://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=64785&highlight=shaken+tree.

Leo's site is here if you are interested;
http://sampsonboat.co.uk/

Last night I watched an earlier post (http://sampsonboat.co.uk/demolishing-the-deck-reasons-to-rebuild/) where he was removing the hatches and decking and he pointed out a hand cut dovetail (after all this is 1910) and the design where it is notched into the cross beam to keep the gap from showing!
I am not certain, but it looks like the dovetail is also cut at an angle (scarfed?) into the cross beam.
dovetail3.jpg

dovetail_2.JPG




Stand here while I geek out on what was likely a very common joint in that day and time and certainly in the boat building industry.
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
That is not an uncommon joint. The cut away is interesting much like beam construction in a masonary building with a cut away at the top floor joist at the wall. That was used to assist the floor in collapsing durning a fire.
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
Joe,
Have another look - the shoulder is "let in" so when the wood moves it doesn't show the gap if and when the wood moves!
 

DavidF

New User
David
Hi everyone, not been here for many years, left the USA for England in 2010 and don't get the chance much anymore! spending a few hours in a hotel in China so thought I would take a look. Anyway, on this dovetail, I imagine these old builders don't spend too much time trying to hide joints so I thought it might be for a more practical reason, perhaps to move the tail further in to the centre of the cross piece for strength without having to lengthen the tail and make the neck narrower???? just a thought. Really pleased to see the site still going and some of the old names still active. I must pop in more often!
 

Canuck

Wayne
Corporate Member
Hi everyone, not been here for many years, left the USA for England in 2010 and don't get the chance much anymore! spending a few hours in a hotel in China so thought I would take a look. ............... Really pleased to see the site still going and some of the old names still active. I must pop in more often!

Great hear from you David!!!! Doesn't seem that long since you departed to the jolly old country.

Wayne
 
Last edited:

Dave Richards

Dave
Senior User
Thanks for sharing that, Hank. It reminded me of a John Alden-designed 53' schooner I've sailed on called Heron. The fellow who built and sails her used tapered sliding dovetails to join the frames to the keel timber. He told me after he had all the frames set up, he had less than 1 box of screws in the boat. He used a number of other interesting techniques that I think some non-boat-building woodworkers could find worth knowing about. See the WoodenBoat article on the construction here.
 

Tarhead

Mark
Corporate Member
I'm thinking they cut the "tail" piece board too long and made the tail first. Then they had to compensate by cutting the mortise to have the joint in the middle of the "pin" piece. Ocam's reasoning.:wwink: Another situation where tails first can be made to work.
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
I'm thinking they cut the "tail" piece board too long and made the tail first. Then they had to compensate by cutting the mortise to have the joint in the middle of the "pin" piece. Ocam's reasoning.:wwink: Another situation where tails first can be made to work.
Leo states that this is "common" joinery to "Hide" the shoulder gap with wood movement...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top