"Try it once, just for Frank." I love this guy!

Frank Klausz making Dovetails on VHS from the library was my first introduction to woodworking as a young man. I was hooked from the moment I watched him cut those beautiful dovetails! I'm so glad to see him again. Time to go make a box ;) Thank you Mr. Klausz for being so amazing and sharing your talents and passion with others.

This whole video is just very warm and homey in aesthetic. It's like hungarian Mr Rogers is teaching me how to make dovetails

The “Master” of the dovetails, a title well earned and deserved! The tools are just an extension of his hands, arms and eyes, he makes the process so fluid and straightforward. Love the shop, the entrance is spectacular! Thank you Frank for sharing your time and talents so others might learn.

Him not measuring had me sweating, jeez this guy is a beast! Beautiful work.

I just cut my first dovetails ever just using this video, so much easier than anything else I have seen online. It was a tight fit but with some clean up it worked great. I have some notes for newbies like me (it will be common sense to experienced woodworkers): 1. For each board that you remove waste, measure using your chisel's width to make sure what you will remove is at least the width of your chisel. For small dovetails this means a small chisel (I had to go buy a 1/4" chisel) 2. Orientation of your pins (where they slant) matters. Make sure the half-pin is "thicker" in the same place that the regular-sized pins are "thicker". Otherwise they will not be in the correct position to actually hold the mating piece when they fit up. Look at a picture of dovetails and this will make sense. 3. When mating up your two boards to mark the tails, the pins side is "thicker" on the inside of the tails board; the "thicker" parts should not be on the outside of the board, or the board won't be held in place when you slide them together. Look at a picture of put-together dovetails and this will make sense. 4. Set your marking gauge to the thickness of the board, and use that to mark the depth of your cuts. If you don't have a marking gauge, put some rubber bands around a ruler (or some other creative solution...) 5. Figure out how many dovetails you can fit. Start by measuring out the middle pin with your chisel, mark the edges. Then mark some slanted lines away from that. Measure your chisel width again starting from the outside of the slanted line. Repeat until the end of the board, then subtract a space to fit the half-pins in. You could also just make the half-pins and "guesstimate" how many dovetails you can fit. 6. Cut the lines where you've marked your pins, cutting on the waste side of your pencil line to make sure they fit snugly later. Mark the waste to remove. 7. Chisel out the waste. 8. Place the board pins down onto another board, keeping the "thicker" parts of the pins facing the inside of the board. Mark the lines for the tails. 9. Cut the tails and remove the waste as you did with the pins. You should be cutting on the waste-side of your pencil line, to make sure they fit snugly later. 10. As you go around all 4 pieces to make a box, make sure you have oriented the boards properly when cutting and marking so that you don't go to fit up the cut pieces and figure out you actually got them upside-down 11. Keep in mind you will need two different clamping surfaces: a horizontal one (for removing waste with chisel), and a vertical one (for cutting the lines). 12. Don't force them together! Take a close look and see where they may be binding together, and use your chisel to shave down the tails until they fit snugly. Thanks so much to Frank! I can't believe I was intimidated by dovetails before, this method is so easy!

Watching Mr. Klausz makes me proud to be Hungarian. I wish I could do that dovetailing some time in the future:).

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

You should definitely be proud to be Hungarian Tamás! It is a lovely country filled with very generous people. You should definitely try dovetailing.

@raytry69

2 жыл бұрын

I just have the same thought.

This is the best method for me. I had previously spent an hour getting one corner jointed with another tails first method. There was a lot of marking and whilst it worked, I was intimidated by how long it was taking me. After watching this I went out and did a whole box in under an hour, and had a lot fun utilising this laid back approach.

Frank is a true master of woodworking. His name is everywhere in books!

would love to spend a month working with Frank, I would love walking out to the shop in the morning with a cup of coffee. Beautiful

I feel like I cut pretty good dovetails. However, I've watched this video a bunch of times and he still finds a way to teach me something. This man is a treasure.

How can anyone not like this guy? Frank Klausz is that guy that everyone wishes was their dad or grandpa. Smart, no BS, funny, handy, and personable. Would love to meet the guy over a beer to talk shop.

wow he did that in like less than 10 minutes. Never seen someone make dovetails look that easy

I love watching a master of anything do their work. Brilliant. Can’t wait to start practicing myself.

What an inspiring teacher. Thanks for sharing !!!

What a craftsman absolutely brilliant

Ohhhh. My goodness what a treasure that shop / castle

LOL I could watch this gentleman for hours

You can’t watch this video only once. Beautiful work, Thank you Frank. Love your shop and your skills.

Frank you are AMAZING !!! Thanks for sharing.

I love the smell of sawdust in the morning ! Nice plumb bob collection. Thank you for video.

Tried to find this the other day and could have sworn that it was taken down. Very glad that it's back/still up, whatever the case may be. Thanks!

Your workshop is a dream come true!

Excellent technique, and probably the easiest as far as tools on hand are concerned, but I really like his 3 minute dovetails with the classic frame saw the best! 3-Minute Dovetails

Thank you for that, Frank is an amazing man.

Great skills Frank you make it look so easy, Thanks

Wonderful method, wonderful teaching. I’ll give it a try. Will be my first hand tool project!

This is the least fussy method I've ever seen. Love it!

Great technique I learnt from Mr Klaus many years ago. He's a terrific instructor.

no doubt, Frank has been doing this for a while. it's great watching a master work, regardless of craft.

Thank You For Posting Frank, I just made my first successful dovetail joint, 4 big tails and one smaller one in the middle, 1:4 ratio, made some cuts using the framing saw I made, using a joinery/rip blade 9 tpi. I love cutting the pins first, Lovely.

He just makes it look so easy. That's what makes him a master.

You're an expert! Great video and tips. I want to learn this skill.

After watching this I'm a pins first guy. I share this video with everyone learning dovetails. I still use a coping saw but one day I'll be half as confident and give it a go. Such a happy attitude as well.

Frank has really turned the process into an art all of itself.

Wow, left me speechless! What a master, he makes it look sooo easy, I've never tried it but I know is not easy! And he has charisma! what else can u ask?

BRAVO SIR. You are the real master of dovetails. I have been a Pin man from the first time I saw this video and like now I still watch it from time to time. Thank you for your shearing your talent with us. I especially like the hand layout that your method produces. No time wasted measuring, laying out or trying to make everything exact that looks as if a machine did the work. I love your method and that is why I use it exclusively all the time in my work.

that was hypnotic. I love his fire and so cool to see this is not a finnicky process to him! Even the tissue demo at the end was funny and glad they never cut that!!!!

Great job love watching your videos and watching Frank. He is a genius. He makes it seem so simple. So I'll have to try his method. Thanks for your work in keeping this dying trade alive.

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

Tyrell Thomas You're welcome!

You do things well! And I like your work shop. Stay safe in dark times. Train as many people as you can, it is sad to say hand tool woodworking is becoming lost. Cheers from Tasmania

Wow look at those plum bobs. As a retired lineman I appreciate those.

I have watched Frank Klaus for his videos, even since I have to learn one that can be helpful, so I really like it watching more about woodwork, I wish one day can be very easier, when I wanna make, but they are not very easy to make.👍

Thank you Frank, you are a pleasure to watch.

@WoodAndShop

4 жыл бұрын

Yup, Frank is great

This guy is incredible. This is the kind of traditional woodworker I would like to apprentice under.

The master teaching so effortlessly

Great Video!

Stunning workshop. Very nice.

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

Balenza345 Glad you liked my video!

Frank's technique worked perfectly for me. Thank you so much! Couldn't cut a dovetail by hand to save my life before.

@WoodAndShop

4 жыл бұрын

So happy to hear it Eric!

Wow! He's such a nice craftsman! Wood has no secret for him!

The man is a woodworking legend!

I e always do e tails first, until i did pins yesterday and i buggered 2 full rows of tails from marking backwards a d making the tails too small! So i came here to get it right...and i did! Thank you Frank!

Great video Frank. Thank you ❤

Outstanding video!

Very good! Thanks for sharing!

I've watched Frank do this many times. Starting way back in the days of VHS. I'm still a pretty good beginner. Always fun to watch. I'm now intrigued with the "hold down". I just might be adding one to my bench. Thanks for posting this.

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

spacesaverbob I'm glad you liked the video! I love how Frank calls it a "hold down". It's probably his Hungarian translation. It'll be listed as "hold fast", and you can see my recommendations on the second page of my tool buying guide here: woodandshop.com/which-hand-tools-do-you-need-for-traditional-woodworking/

makes it look so easy!

i love this so much so relaxing

Frank is a true master !

thanks for making these!

I remember what the water tank looked like when you bought it ! what a difference...your twist lock marking gauge looks familiar too . Keep on keeping on ! Bob Pummill

Watching this video took me back to my college days, some 30 years ago, in school I was taught to make dovetails by marking out each tail and pin with an aluminum template, suffice to say they were aweful. In college I was taught by a tutor who was very close to retirement and to used to be a cabinet maker, his party piece was making a drawer in under 4 minutes using the exact same method here, I have used this method ever since...

You`re master of masters! Thanks for the video!!

@WoodAndShop

6 жыл бұрын

Next time I see Frank I'll tell him :)

thanks very much for this instructive video............you sure make it look easy,,,,,,,,,,,,with some practice i think i can get it............can't wait to try,,,,,,,,,,thanks again

Awesome video!

Thank you Frank, great tutorial.

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

Yes, it was fun to interview Frank. I hope you checked out the workshop tour!

A true master at work

Klausz the master dovetailer! 💖👏

What an amazing video!

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Nick!

plumb bob heaven behind him. WOW!

Thank you for sharing

This guy is my hero!

Beautiful!

Beautiful mate 👌🏻

so much awesome

perfeito , ótimo trabalho .

I have an old VHS tapes from Wood magazine where he teaches this. I make my dovetails this way.

Lot of skill in those hands.

I've watched at least a dozen videos on youtube about how to make dovetails and it all seemed so long & complicated. This on the other hand makes dovetails look so quick & simple and you only need a clamp, some chisels, a mallet and a pencil. Say goodbye to your coping saw!

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

thelongslowgoodbye I'm glad you liked it! However, don't abandon the coping saw...not every wood works like this cherry that Frank used.

@thelongslowgoodbye

9 жыл бұрын

Is cherry a soft wood? The wood I'm planning to use is either pine or tasmanian oak.

@briarfox637

8 жыл бұрын

+thelongslowgoodbye Pine is easily chiseled without using a coping saw. I've not used a coping saw for a while.

@thelongslowgoodbye

8 жыл бұрын

deezynar I suppose that makes a lot of sense since I'm Australian and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that a lot of the woodworking techniques here come from the British way of doing things.

@highlydoubtthat4578

4 жыл бұрын

YES! Stay away from gimmicks and hokey nonsense, notice how proficient he was regardless of editing?

I love this guy. Give him his own channel!

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

Dallas Girdler Ha, ha. Frank isn't exactly a high technology guy.

He has nice tools!

That was beautiful.......

He makes it look so easy i can’t not try it.

Best woodworker in the world

This is a great and very helpful video, and Frank is an amazing and inspirational woodworker. I was amazed at the speed his dovetail saw went down to the line (TWO Stokes for one of them!?!?), and I was left with the questions: is that because if the saw, the thickness of the wood, or the species of the wood? I tried this with a 17tpi Japanese dozuki saw and it took about 80 strokes each into 3/4" maple!

@stevend776

8 жыл бұрын

It's both the thickness and the type of wood. It looks to be 1/2" cherry or a mahogany, both are medium soft. Rock Maple (any sugar maple) is one of the hardest North American woods. It dents other woods. If it's a soft maple, it's still harder than cherry. Having a thick 3/4" board certainly is not helping. Try getting some 1/2" poplar for practice, it will definitely be much quicker!

This guy is just unreal, I love how he blows his nose at the end. Which is proof that they don’t know how to edit and the man has never made a mistake

a true master !

Great skill.

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

I love it.

There is a lot of skill in those hands

I can say WOW a million times and it wouldn't do this video justice. How on earth do you cut the angles on the pins without using a sliding bevel gauge or dovetail marker??? Yes, dovetails do not need to be down to 1/32 of an inch with extreme precision, and I know you are a master craftsman Mr. Klausz, but that just makes my head spin!!

@WoodAndShop

6 жыл бұрын

This is Joshua Farnsworth. Practice enables someone to eyeball dovetail angles. It's not really that critical. Give it a try!

Always nice to see Frank at work. I like the look of his marking guage. Any idea what kind it is? I notice that while most people tend to use a coping saw to get rid of a lot of the dovetail waste, the old timers go straight to the chisel, which is what I do.

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

Keith, I'm not sure about the marking gauge, but I also thought it was quite cool. Yea, I was totally impressed by how efficient his dovetailing was. He skipped some steps that apparently aren't necessary...the sign of someone who actually had to make money with their trade!

when I did my apprenticeship, in the early 60's we made our pins and tails the same size, which was mentioned in the this video. Its good to see hand tools again after all these noisy machines when you need eye protection, ear protection, dust protection ,and you cannot hear the birds singing as you work.

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

You sound like the perfect type of person to enjoy my website...no power tools! I hope you subscribe and keep commenting!

@icespeckledhens

9 жыл бұрын

Wood and Shop I started my time with hand tools and by the 1980's it was all power tools and I didn't much like them then. I now feel angry that I have lost 40 years of making things properly with hand tools, at least now that I have retired I have the time to re engage with the skills I have almost lost. Thanks

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

icespeckledhens Well I'm glad that you're back at hand tools! Now you need to convert a bunch of power tool guys before they loose their fingers :)

@TheGrayman1234

9 жыл бұрын

I was rebuilding small bench with holes in it for a drill the other day when I pulled out my used bit and brace I just bought. (amateur wood worker) I brought my 12 year old out to see it. I asked my son what he heard as I started cutting through the wood slowly. He said "I don't know Dad. I don't hear anything." I looked at him with a smile and said, "Exactly."

Üdvözletem Magyarországról, Feri bácsi!

I really enjoyed these videos with Frank. Also the video work was very well done. Are you going to be adding more videos with Frank? I hope so. Im from Long Island but Franks accent doesn't sound New Jersey LoL.

@josephgrimes0106

7 жыл бұрын

CrazyMonkey702 he Hungarian I think

So if I’m understanding this correctly, cutting pins first is, basically, making your own unique marking jig every single time. The only thing that is absolute is the depth of the cuts, which is marked with the marking gauge to the thickness of the mating piece. This makes each joint truly a one of a kind piece! Am I making sense, or am I totally off base?

ciao frank , from italy .... fantastik

Frank is real stuff.

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

You're exactly right!

Excellent. There is nothing else to say.

He vuelto a la esencia del trabajo-Gracias por el video

@WoodAndShop

9 жыл бұрын

You're welcome Jose!

Bravo