A guy in Nashville watched me cut dovetails for 10 minutes and asked why I mark the waste side with a pencil instead of a knife | Cabinetmakers - Discusd
A guy in Nashville watched me cut dovetails for 10 minutes and asked why I mark the waste side with a pencil instead of a knife
Turns out I'd been leaving pencil lead in the joint lines for 4 years, which is why my dry fits were always tight and my finish kept blotching around the pins, and now I want to know if anyone else switched to a marking knife after seeing it done right.
The line about leaving pencil lead in the joint lines hit home for me. I marked with a pencil for years and always figured a knife was just for guys who wanted to feel fancy, but the lead really does pack into the grain and mess with the fit. Once I switched, my dry fits went together with light taps instead of force, and the blotching around my pins went away too since there was no graphite smeared in the end grain. That Nashville guy did you a real favor.