i bought Paul's router kit a couple years back. i'm a sucker for shopmade tool kits. Pauls kit is really quite good and you can adapt the final router to your specific needs. i highly recommend it.
Half a century ago, newly married and trying to fit out my new home, I had a particular set of drawers to fit. Few of the convenient manufactured fittings we take for granted today were available. I needed a couple of dozen dados to take runners on some small drawers. Range of options. I settled on an old wooden grooving plane that had belonged to my father - and a clamped guide. I amazed even myself by finishing the entire job in an hour. We don't always need machine tools - and there's SO much calming satisfaction in doing stuff with tradtional tools. One of the secrets - my father taught and I found to be true - is that sharpening stones are used ALL the time, not just when you get around to it.
I feel like I was just in a race that I lost. Paul is cutting and knocking out these dados like it’a the easiest thing. Totally expected because we’ve seen him doing it for a long time now.
What he shows us here is the proper ways to approach the task and the proper way to use knife, saw and chisel. It is not dufficult to learn those things, a beginner can learn those things in a very short time, If he is taught correctly, and he can cut a housing dado just a little slower then Paul here. Don't get me wrong, the many years of experience and the skills of Paul can not be matched in weeks, but the difference will not be in how they cut a dado. Paul will know if and how much a piece of wood will be stable or move and warp with the seasonal changes with a glance, will be able to cut perfectly long compound cuts, will be able to perfectly dimension a board with a hand plane in a short time, eventually dealing with reversing grain without getting chip outs and so on. His experience and skills and the many tricks of the trade he has gathered trough the years count, count a lot, but in this particular case chopping or cutting the sides of the dado starting from a knife mark and being efficent in removing wood with a chisel are skills that can be acquired quickly if woodworking is aproached with method and following the instructions of a capable master like Paul. Many years ago when in the place I live bergan to appear the first woodworking machines the old carpenters that still used traditional tools was able to build a door in a day of work, the young ones that used the machines was slower (but if the doors are 5 the machine wins and this is the reason why the carpenters using traditional tools disappeared...), to reach that level of efficency using traditional tools needs a lot of practice and experience, to get close to the level of woodworking Paul has needs years of dedication, but to get close in a simple task like cutting a housing dado can be quite fast and simple if we learn with method, everyone watching this video with attention trying to understand the how and why of everithing Paul does after taking a practice board and cutting on it 10 Housing dadoes in a row will be able to cut them with precision and efficiency.
Thank you, Mr. Sellers. My papa is a woodworker. He DOES teach me when I'm in the workshop but he mostly does woodworking while we're at school. At least I know what a daydo is, now. 😂
It's greatyou are learning with your papa, Maddie. I had my nearly 12 year old granddaughter in the worshop all day with me today. She loved it and didn't want to quit when it was time for home. She did make a spatula and a chopping board and one other thing I can't remember.
@@Paul.Sellers That's awesome! I'm 13 and I love working with my papa. I think it's the smell of his workshop I like the most. I have seen the spoons you showed us how to make. I am keeping my eye out for a good piece of wood for that project. Thank you.
Hi Paul, in the first and last method you seem to cut/chop the second wall at an angle. Is that correct? If so, how come that doesn't make the wall skew? Many thanks for all your videos by the way.
It looks like that and indeed starts that way but when the hammer strikes the chisel the pressure on the bevel of the chisel hits and because of the angle it sends the fibres into the wall of the dado and consolidates the woood so you end up with dead upright walls.
In the second method NEVER cut with a chisel towards your body. It doesn't matter if it is to the side, there is always a chance of the chisel slipping. Always cut away and turn the piece when necessary.
for what he doing its very fine chopping, I think it comes down to a decision making, can I do this without hurting myself? If the answer is yes go ahead. It looks like he has good control there. The big no no is holding the piece with you left arm and chiseling with the right, I have seen a torn wrist, let me tell you lucky it wasn't his arterie, but he still managed to poke out a tendon with the chisel. Its not worth the time "saved" putting a clamp on the piece or even installing a more fixed workholding option.
You are only at any risk if you're hitting the chisel too hard. I disagree with you. You do what you need to do to get the job done, using your experience to mitigate risk.
Thank you sir … I love this instructional videos. You done these before … but these are like a refresher video. Love to watch a master at work, never gets old. Glad to see you doing well after the incident. From nyc
Thank you, Paul. Your instructive detail is extremely useful and valuable. I am curious to know in the first method why you angle chisel slightly off perpendicular. I’m also curious to know which method you prefer.
Great to see you back again Paul and doing what you do best, practicing your art and craft. The beauty of it is that you treat the beginner with the same respect that you do the experienced woodworker. Having done woodwork in my first year at secondary school, I’m tempted to take it up again, just from watching your wonderful videos. Looking forward to seeing many more.
