Desk-top Bookshelf Build Process

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After dinner I got impatient and decided to go and have a look at the joint. I took all the clamps off, then clamped the part to the workbench so I could hit the clamping block without putting any force through the dovetail joint:

With a couple of whacks the paper split:

To plane the shorter board, I had to plane towards the joint, which wasn't ideal, but I did most of it with a finely set smoothing plane, pulling it towards myself...

... before whimping out and switching to a card scraper. For the longer face I could go in the more natural direction so that was easier.

This is what it looks like now:

I am a hobbyist metalworker and woodworker. I work as an electronic design engineer and spend most of my working days in front of a computer so I enjoy having the opportunity to use my hands and make things in my spare time. I particularly enjoy making tools as I can then use them on other projects. This website showcases some of the things I've made.

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