Monday, February 24, 2020
This Mallet Has Backwards Dovetails… That’s Impossible!
Hackaday: Dovetails are a wedge-shaped joint found in woodworking. The wedge makes for strong joinery because a force that tries to pull it apart also increases the friction on the joint. This mallet has dovetails on either side that keep the head from flying off, but there’s also a through tenon in the center.
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5 comments:
I had never heard of the impossible mallet prior to this article but I find it very fascinating. I can recall back to production science when we had an entire week just talking about different types of joinery and I was in awe. I think the dove tail is one of the cooler and more interesting types of joinery via cutting and shaping of the wood. I really like how the article does explain that although this type of mallet construction is not literally impossible despite the name, it is in fact very hard and crafting one successfully speaks to the skill level of the carpenter. I also really like how this article provides a video of someone making one. I am a more visual person so watching someone make one is so much more helpful in understanding actually how complicated to craft this specific tool is. Now I lowkey want to make one.
I'm am always a sucker for some good joinery. I have found myself browsing joinery videos for up to hours on end, just watching, mesmerized, as to pieces of wood are joined together. In all honesty, I find it quite soothing. Dovetail joints are particularly interesting. They appear to be quite impossible, but there is always a trick behind how to do them. That being said, I saw the title of this article boast a backwards dovetail, and my joinery interest was immediately piqued. How could one possibly create such a thing? The trick is quite simple, really, but seemingly very difficult to master. Since the joint cannot be pulled apart once it has gone together, that means no test fitting. One thing I always see in joinery videos is loads of test fits. So, without the ability to do any test fitting, the carpenter must have a lot of faith in his measurements being completely precise. Fortunately, this carpenter did an excellent job, and the backwards dovetail was absolutely stunning and just as impossible as any other dovetail, just slightly more so than any other I have ever seen.
We don't stumble upon hand-cut joinery in our world of scenic construction, and only on very rare occasions if we work in props. Nevertheless, I think it is important as scenic carpenters and technicians to understand these techniques because, not only are they interesting and useful for personal use, but they can give us a good understanding about wood and its properties. Nevertheless, that's not to say we should write-off more 'complex' joinery in our designs. We've discussed in class how, if we set up our shop with the proper jigs and machines, that some of these joints could come together just as fast as our current system. Maybe not tapered dovetails, but simpler joints like a lap joint, finger joint, or even pocket screwed joints. Getting back to the video, though, this is a beautiful mallet and watching Mike work everything with very basic hand tools. It just goes to show why a good carpenter doesn't blame their tools, its how you maintain and use the ones you have. Overall, great video about a great piece of work!
When I first read the title of this article, I was extremely confused by the idea of a "reverse dovetail." I just didn't know what to expect. Man was I pleasantly surprised with what I found. The reverse dovetails on the mallet make for an absolutly beautiful and seamless finished product. Not only does it appear to be very strong and practical, but it also creates almost an optical allusion in a way that makes you think twce as to, as the article's title says, how it was possibily done. While I have done some very entry level work when it comes to joinery, I am no where close to being able to do anything close to this. I hope that as I continue to work on small projects like this and continue to develop my knoweldge of joinery that I will be able to create things like this in he future.
I got chills just from watching this video. I do not come into contact with a lot of hand-cut joinery or fine woodworking, especially in the theatre world, but I really wish I could more often because this video really piques my interest. I am very bad spatial visualization and mechanics and fitting things together, so I absolutely will need to watch this video at least twice more to really understand what's going on. I hope to one day explore the finer aspects of woodworking that are not scenic carpentry, like woodturning, wood carving, whittling, et cetera. I think skills like this are not only very fun and showcase-able, but also, more importantly, they can be quite useful in life. Ideally, one day, I will be able to make something as beautifully and skillfully as this dovetailed mallet. I will definitely be going through this guy's videos to see what else he's got going on in that woodshop.
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