Vent: My dovetail practice turned into a wood splitting nightmare

I was working on a jewelry box and decided to hand-cut dovetails for the corners. Halfway through, the pine board decided to split along the grain right where I needed a tight fit. I tried to salvage it with glue and clamps, but now the joint looks like it survived a earthquake. Why does softwood behave like it has a mind of its own? I've used the same chisels on oak without issues, so this has me scratching my head. Maybe I should just stick to hardwood for fine joinery. Either way, my confidence took a hit with that one.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_grace2mo ago

Pine can be tricky, but sharp tools help a ton.

martinez.diana3mo ago

Ugh pine splits so easily, it's the worst.

kellyw682mo ago

Honestly that "splits so easily" thing is why I avoid pine for anything important. It's like the wood just gives up if you look at it wrong. I tried making a simple shelf once and it cracked before I even got the second screw in. Feels like you need to handle it with baby gloves, which defeats the whole point of using wood. Might as well be building with a stack of crackers.

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