Hey there, Mr Tambourine Man.

” I am ready to go any where, I am ready for to fade, into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it,” -Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man.”   Whenever you are learning something new, there are days when frustration digs its dirty claws into you and refuses to let go.   The thought comes that you will never be able to learn this thing. In those times it is good to step away from it and go on to something else that you can immediately do with some level of success, then come back later to the thing that is so frustrating.  Music often helps me through those times when I am working on a something and  cannot seem to get it.  “Mr. Tambourine Man” is one of those songs that always seems to cheer me up.

Yesterday I had a breakthrough day in regard to dovetailing.  I was making the sliding tills (trays) that are going into my tool box.  I have been frustrated by dovetails in the past but on this day I started to grasp the concepts I needed to do good ones.  The first corner I did was difficult because I had mistakenly milled one of the pieces with the corner coming out on a knot.  This is very important.  Don’t ever do it like this.  It is hard to cut joints right on a knot.  I already knew this but I decided to go ahead with it anyways since I already had the board cut.  Simply put, the other corners only got easier and better looking from there.

Dovetails signify togetherness.  They draw the corners together with a strength that they would not otherwise have.  If they are done right that piece is never going to come apart.  This whole world can use a little more dovetailing in it, a little more togetherness.  More dovetailing + more “Mr. Tambourine Man” = better world.  More of those things equals better furniture pieces in any case.

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