Thread: Wood working help

Well, it's been a while since i've posted anything here :-P but i come now for help.

I know that the population of SRP is very DIY oriented and is filled with many craftsmen and craftswomen who work with wood. My question has nothing to do with razors though :-P

I am working on building my buddy a humidor using either cherry, mahogany, or red oak, and will be building multiple boxes using dovetails in the future. Right now i'm having a problem getting my joints to line up perfectly. I am doing them all by hand using a marples japanese style saw and a chisel. i have two questions.

1 - what can i do to improve my joinery

2 - is there a certain type of wood filler and/or glue that i can use that will not stick out when using an oil finish to bring out the natural color.


The first picture is my first set of dove tails. I did not spend much time on them just a first attempt

The second picture is my second set of dove tails done tails first. It has quite a tight fit but is not as pretty as i would like hence the question about wood filler

the Third is (you guessed it) my third attempt at dove tails done pins first. This time i took my time and went slow, but i must have marked the tails wrong after doing the pins, or i didn't cut to the waste side of my marks.

again any advice would be welcomed (except for "use a router")

Thanks guys and gals!