Cedar Dovetail

Hand tool woodworker who has flattened more workbenches than most people have owned and considers each one a spiritual practice.

30 articles

Writes for The Woodworker's Witness

Joined February 10, 2026

Articles by Cedar Dovetail

Table Saw Fence Alignment Checked 47 Times Before Single Cut, Cut Still Not Made

The woodworker has verified the fence is parallel to the blade within 0.001 inches and is now 'just going to check it one more time.'

Lumber Hoarder's Garage Contains Wood Earmarked for Projects That Do Not and May Never Exist

The collection includes 400 board feet of walnut reserved for 'the dining table,' a project first mentioned in 2017 and not yet designed.

Glue-Up Goes Wrong at Exact Moment Woodworker Realizes He's Out of Clamps

The 12-piece panel glue-up required 14 clamps. The woodworker owns 13. The resulting improvisation involved a ratchet strap, a car jack, and language his children had not previously encountered.

Estate Sale Hand Plane Identified as 18th-Century Original, Owner Still Flattens Sole With Belt Sander

The pre-Revolutionary War smoothing plane, valued at approximately $12,000, has been 'made functional' by its new owner, who replaced the iron and refinished the tote.

Woodworker's 'Rustic' Cutting Board Requires More Precision Than Space Shuttle Heat Shield

The board's intentionally 'rough, organic aesthetic' was achieved through 47 precisely calculated cuts, 12 dry-fit assemblies, and tolerances measured in thousandths of an inch.

Sharpening Obsessive Can No Longer Touch Dull Objects Without Involuntary Flinching

The woodworker's sharpening regimen has become so ingrained that butter knives, credit cards, and his children's crayons trigger a visceral physiological response.

YouTube Woodworking Tutorial Neglects to Mention 14 Critical Steps Between 'And Then You Just' and 'And There You Go'

The seven-minute video compresses approximately 80 hours of skilled labor into a seamless montage underscored by ukulele music.

Sawdust Analysis Reveals Workshop Floor Contains More Species Than Amazon Rainforest Plot

A single square meter of shop floor yielded fragments of 34 distinct wood species, including three that the woodworker 'doesn't remember buying.'

Local Man's Jig Collection Now Outnumbers Actual Woodworking Projects 47 to 1

The workshop contains 47 custom-built jigs, fixtures, and sleds, and exactly one completed project: the shelf that holds the jigs.

Finish Selection Paralysis Enters Third Year; Project Remains Unfinished in Every Sense

The walnut coffee table has been sanded to 600 grit and sits in a state of bare-wood purgatory while its maker debates between seventeen finishing options.

Dovetail Joint So Tight It Creates Localized Vacuum, Scientists Report

The fit was so precise that separating the joint required more force than the wood itself could withstand, resulting in what physicists call 'a joinery paradox.'

Woodworker Achieves New Personal Record: 47 Minutes Spent Choosing Between Two Identical Boards

Both boards were flatsawn white oak from the same tree. The woodworker insists 'the grain tells a different story in each one.'

Hand Tool Purist Refuses to Use Electricity, Lights Workshop With Beeswax Candles

The woodworker has removed all power tools, electric lights, and the garage door opener in pursuit of what he calls 'an authentic pre-industrial workflow.'

Woodworker's 'Quick Weekend Project' Enters Eighth Month, Third Design Revision

The floating shelf was supposed to take two days. It has since become a through-mortise-and-tenon display case with hand-cut dovetailed drawers.

Man Builds $4,000 Workbench to Support $200 Worth of Tools He Never Uses

The Roubo-style bench took 14 months to complete and has since been used primarily as a surface for stacking unopened packages from Lee Valley.

Woodworking YouTuber's 'Simple Beginner Project' Requires $47,000 in Equipment

A popular channel's latest tutorial for newcomers casually employs a CNC router, a wide-belt sander, and a vacuum press that collectively cost more than most viewers' homes.

Area Woodworker Spends More on Sharpening Supplies Than on Tools Being Sharpened

A careful audit reveals that a hobbyist's collection of whetstones, honing guides, leather strops, and diamond plates has surpassed the value of every edge tool in his shop combined.

Wood Glue Manufacturer Admits Product Is Just Very Expensive Elmer's

A whistleblower at Titebond has revealed that the company's premium wood glue differs from school glue only in label color and a 600% markup.

Hand Tool Purist Completes Entire Home Renovation Using Only a Chisel

A committed traditionalist has framed walls, installed plumbing, and wired electrical outlets using nothing but a one-inch bench chisel and a mallet, reportedly to prove a point nobody asked him to prove.

Lumber Yard Employee Develops Sixth Sense for Spotting Figure in Maple

After seventeen years of flipping through stacks, a Minnesota lumber yard worker can detect curly maple through three inches of rough-sawn surface without planing.

Woodworker's 'Rustic Farmhouse Table' Accidentally Becomes Fine Furniture

What started as a distressed pine trestle table with intentional imperfections has, through obsessive refinement, become a museum-quality piece that no longer matches the client's decor.

Table Saw Safety Video Ironically Most Dangerous Thing in Workshop

A woodworker's attempt to film a table saw safety tutorial resulted in three near-misses, a destroyed GoPro, and footage the fire department has requested for training purposes.

Cutting Board Completes Twelve-Step Journey From Tree to Gift Nobody Asked For

An end-grain walnut cutting board has traveled through milling, gluing, planing, sanding, and finishing to arrive at its ultimate destination: a kitchen counter where it will never be used.

Study Finds 94% of Woodworkers Own a Router They Are Afraid to Use

The screaming, spinning tool of terror sits unused in workshops across America, researchers find, often hidden behind quieter, less violent tools.

Sawdust Declared Official Currency of Woodworking Forums

After years of members trading shavings, offcuts, and exotic wood scraps, major online woodworking communities have formally adopted sawdust as legal tender.

Man Who Started 'Quick Weekend Project' in March 2019 Estimates Completion by 2031

What was supposed to be a simple bookshelf has evolved through seventeen design revisions into a structurally complex entertainment center that may require a building permit.

Workshop Organization Video Has More Views Than Any Actual Woodworking Project

A YouTube channel devoted entirely to arranging chisels by size has surpassed 2 million subscribers, while channels showing completed furniture struggle to reach 10,000.

Walnut Prices Surge as Wood Species Snobbery Reaches All-Time High

Black walnut now costs more per board foot than certain luxury handbags, driven by woodworkers who refuse to be seen working with anything less prestigious.

Power Tool Industry Lobbies Congress to Classify Hand Planes as Antiques

A proposed bill would require hand tool users to obtain a historical reenactment permit and wear period-appropriate clothing while operating any non-motorized cutting implement.

Local Man's Dovetail Joints So Tight They Achieve Molecular Bond

A Wisconsin woodworker's hand-cut dovetails have reportedly fused at the atomic level, baffling materials scientists and enraging power tool enthusiasts.