Rob Cosman's 3 1/2 minute "Tails 1st" dovetail

[cheatman23]

omg do I need a lie nielsen plane.

[Norbury53]

This is really just analogous to those freaks who solve Rubik's cube in seconds - you wouldn't use a Rubik's cube for woodworking joints and neither should you use a dovetail - it was invented to make the life of woodwooking students miserable.

[Norbury53]

@Norbury53 "woodworking students"... hmmm.... weren't we able to edit our own comments one upon a time?

[deleetmeeh]

I don't like the scribe going alone the whole board leaving a line. Not sure if this was just to go faster or not.

[robc45]

ABOUT 7 HOURS, IT STARTS AT NIGHT WHEN I GO TO BED, I TOSS AND TURN A FAIR BIT, BUT IN THE MORNING, VOILA - IT'S DONE!!

[helliax]

How long does it take you to create that fine hairdo of yours every morning?

[the430movie]

The 5 dislikes are clueless! Rob, that was quick! There is nothing more spiritual than working wood with hand tools!

[Theszczypta]

bravo !!!!!!

[viqrodney1970]

I bought the video and was the best investment I made, very well explained and easy to understand

 thanks Rob.....

[robc45]

Real life, they are put together with glue.

[osama559]

do u add glue on the dove tials when u finish < i mean when u assimble them ?

[robc45]

@osama559 yes I normally do, thanks for your question

[FULLBLOWN495]

I really like Frank and his work but his 3 minute dovetails are beyond "paint grade" as he refers to them. Rob's are pretty darn close to perfect. Tremendous skill. Nice saw too save for the plastic handle (deal breaker) ;)

[desb63]

great video, very informative,we bought the cross cut and dovetail saw by Rob,let me tell you all ,try them they are worth every penny,we tested them against lie nielsen and were amazed how much easier they were..Thanks Rob,great tools.

[managarm1349]

wow thats epix hahaha, that´d take me half an hour lol, at less quality mind you lol

[robc45]

Yep that wooden bench in hard on that blade designed to cut wood!

[jjohnston94]

@robc45 Glad I'm not the only one who thinks the "must set plane on its side" thing is overblown.

[laker5000]

you left the plane sitting on it's blade! your killing it!

[Charrister]

Wow, your tools are sooooo sharp!! Highlights how blunt mine must be, yours go through the wood like butter!!

[jaja1818]

if all my laborers were that fast and precise..sigh..lol

[inventingdreams]

That's Impressive!!

[Jencysergent]

This is no tree... this nikecell

[Superlemur94]

jesus, what a beast

[CelticReject]

I know this may sound like a stupid question to all of you who know what you're doing with woodwork. But, how did he know what angle to make the cuts? And how did he ensure that all the angles were exactly the same so everything slotted together with no tightness or gaps? I'd really appreciate it if you know and could tell me. Thanks.

[QQponda]

@CelticReject he used a dove tail marker

[CelticReject]

@QQponda OK. Many thanks.

[deezynar]

@CelticReject

Although he used a dovetail gauge, he did not draw a line on the face of the tail board. He only used the gauge to mark lines at 90 degrees across the end grain. The flair angle isn't critical, you can eyeball it w/ practice. Any deviations in the cuts on the tail board get transfered to the pin board when he scribes it. The challenge is cutting the pins straight down & splitting the line. He has done a bunch of these & it shows.

[par5endos562]

Ha! Classic hockey stick tape job on the mallet eh?

Nice work as always.

[Buzzsawman]

what type(brand( of saw are you using....that thing is as fast as lightning..a joy to watch

[luckduck32167]

rob cosman how tall r u?

[Ditre]

pre setting your scribe is cheating!

[robc45]

@Ditre Your right, add 4 seconds!!!!

[maddisx]

Nice job

you must have been born with a saw in your hand.

I love watching your routine.

How do you know at what angle the saw is?

[robc45]

No that is a Rob Cosman version of a Frank Klaus version of a traditional Scandinavian bench.

[perto75]

Is that a Lie-Nielsen woodworking bench? 

[robc45]

17 degrees for use on woods like pine, aspen, alder, basswood and poplar.

[jjohnston94]

What bevel angle do you use on your chisels? It looks really narrow.

[nemo227]

Slick! Absolutely slick. Beautiful demonstration. My first dovetail was done with a dovetail jig and a router and it took me 20 or 30 minutes to set it up and cut the dovetail.

And it was wrong.

Practice, practice, and I'm sure this guy has plenty of practice.

Beautiful demo. Useful too.

[cableaddict]

Pine?

I wanna' see 3 minutes, in curly Maple.

C'mon, Rob, you can do it ! (g)

[hooknbullet]

Pretty amazing! You have inspired me. I was shopping for router jigs when I happened on your video. Now, by God, I'm going to do this the right way!

[jjohnston94]

That's fast. That's "Benny Hill" fast.

[totallystupid001]

Very nice, thanks for the post!!!

[traduzione1]

Very interesting and involving. I do not have room to work wood, but if i had, i would definitely change job. Thanks for your enthusiasm and professionalism!

[bubbyboyme]

Great Job and video

[FarewellRomeo]

Thank you so much...

[luis13055]

bien me gustaria adquiri tu video estoy en mexico mque tengo que hacer, agradeceria me contestaras.

[ctlmd]

Just got a shop. I am a beginner. How come my first dovetail joint took hours? That's a joke. At least I did it the way you are demonstrating. Great Video. I am sure your teaching DVD and book are terrific.

[mnegrao]

hes a ninja (2)

[woodwoob]

Fake!!!

[robc45]

@woodwoob

Yep fake, cant fool you!!

[luckduck32167]

@robc45

wow so fast

[TonysTinyThings]

@robc45 Well done young man, now can you do them in 2.5 mm thick wood?

[senseikarateIT]

Rob, absolutely SUPER....you are like a japanese woodcraft sensei !

[hewboltinvention]

dam, my gorilla glue and deck screws are shit compared to this!

[MrMeanderthal]

the most important tool in this video is the light he has.. you can't cut to lines you can't see..

[welshwindsors]

Dear Rob,

You are such an inspiration that I decided to make my own speed video dedicated to you. And you are so young too!

Gotta go! I am off to practice my dovetails.

Best Wishes, Kit Davidson

[Moe7133]

Can't you just use a Jig and a Router to do the same. But yeah, you did do it pretty fast though and with cheaper tools.

[G58]

@Moe7133 I believe you may be a philistine.

[youutubestinks]

mm that guy is not human, is a cyborg like the I robot movie 0_o !!

[lasse88]

Cool! Nice to watch pros doing what they are masters in. I am studying to be a fine furniture maker. Made my first test dovetails today..they took 2 hours and looked like shit.

[jesustm6]

just amazing

[mikestrohofer]

hes a ninja

[dpmbn8]

Great video, thanks a lot. I'd like to say that "pins first/tails first" discussion is futile. The task at hand with its inherent uniqueness is what decides which to cut first. in general, I cut pins first because I like how my marking knife fits in the tail cavity to transfer the layout lines. However, when using dovetails as structural elements within casework, it's essential to be able to do both. So my argument is, don't choose, learn both, prefer one.  Thanks Rob, check me out!

[Ecocandle]

Spectacular. I want to learn to play competitive speed dovetail cutting.

[besamemucho5]

rob i saw your dvd at woodcraft ....now i know it works....amazing how fast you did your dovetails and how beautiful they came out......thanks for sharing

[bikedad57]

inspirational!

[tnvalleydude]

I'm determined to learn how to do this. Thanks for the helpful video.

[danoldsbb]

God he is fast

[Woodomain]

Ah, I just watched it again - you used pine but how did you avoid fibre breakout when chiselling back the shoulder lines so rapidly?

[Woodomain]

Impressive Rob! I would like to know what wood you used. A native species?

Jeremy Broun

[DavesTreeFarm]

When I first learned to hand cut dovetails, I made a period spice box. There were 56 half blind and 56 through dovetails for all the drawers. Because it became so tedious, the project took nearly a year.

[noisepuppet]

This would take me more like 3.5 hours.

[jph3660]

Handy tip on using the plane as a levelled rest when marking the tail board against the pin board.

[pumkinvine]

Damn, I'm impressed

[jennymenuez]

Awesome

Must be some sort of robot wood working machine.

[kristoffersweden]

Why do we have to do dovetails so fast again?

[CalebSchultz]

So we can make money with our trade but at the same time use hand tools D:

[leloodallasmultipass]

yeah- I want to see the whole drawer put together in record time. I see a lot of "X" minute dovetails, but I want to see if the whole thing can be put together in short order.

this was really great, btw. those tools look like they were sharpened by elves or something- really scary.

[zamudio1234]

Great video!

What measurements are those dividers pre-set to?

[dicksdad]

Great to see Rob producing a dovetail joint exactly as I was taught 45 years ago! I think this is without doubt the most efficient and accurate way. I still make handmade joints this way. Steve Wood, York UK. Excellent video, well done.

[malanga13]

Mr. Cosman, watching your video today was took me back to my country 50 years one day when I was standing outside my dad's electric shop watching him work on a big electric motor from the ice factory. I just don't know what triggered it, but I can tell you that my amazement today at how you work wood is sort of the same I felt that day, admiring my father's speed. He had the only "automatic" motor winder in the country, his own invention.

[NSResponder]

This guy must have the most perfectly sharpened backsaw and chisel I've ever seen.

-jcr

[hillpanther]

perfect work.wish to spend sometime with u and learn the this kind of other skill

[Tsueg]

It was really good to see you at the Calgary Wood Show. Every year I come and see you and think to myself about the possibilities. I look forward to picking up your DVD series for Christmas.

[rootbrianfan]

i must have never used a sharp tool in my life....because that was insane. what kind of saw is that?

[Jazzwayze]

Hi Rob.

I reckon you are a great woodworker. I like this exhibition; Frank is still the MAN!

Could you Dovetail the four sides of a plain box in a record time? I'm watching you m'man come on - astound me! Thanks for this Rob. Just wait 'til I get my Wenzloff!

Take care

John

[daw162]

I hope that my wife doesn't see this and get the impression that I should be able to turn out a desk drawer in 15 minutes!