Dovetail A Drawer (DVD )

Dovetail A Drawer (DVD )
by Frank Klausz

Review by Mark Gazella – July 2008

The exquisite joinery John presented last month triggered renewed enthusiasm in me about dovetails, so I grabbed our copy of Frank Klausz's DVD on the same topic. Mr. Klausz ranks in the top tier among professionals best known for their woodworking prowess and ability to teach. I'm actually a bit hesitant to describe his work here, since so many of you met the man face to face at his instructional weekend and are probably more qualified to describe his talents. In any event, this is what I chose for the month.

I pieced together my own "virtual" biography about Frank Klausz after investigating several references, and found some of what I learned is also described early in the video. He entered into an apprenticeship with his father in Hungary as a 14 year-old boy. He claims he paid quite a price by sacrificing a relationship with his father in exchange for his instruction as a master. At 18 he became a certified journeyman cabinetmaker, and ten years later he found himself in America, seeking to establish his own cabinet-making shop (Frank and his wife immigrated to America back in 1967). Another twenty years passed by the time he built the shop of his dreams, and from that piece of New Jersey comes his own brand of excellence. In addition to his business, Mr. Klausz is also known as author and teacher, and has been featured in many publications such as Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, and Woodworker's Journal. He also maintains his own website at www.frankklausz.com.

Dovetail a Drawer provides guidance for dovetail joinery using nothing but hand tools. It focuses on key operations to ensure success towards constructing a complete desk that employs handcut dovetail joinery. What's most impressive about the hour-long presentation is how he completes tasks so quickly and precisely using no jigs or templates. Experts always make this sort of work look effortless - a true mark of a master. There are seventeen "chapters" to the video, which cover every aspect of preparation and fabrication. But rather than list all of them here, I'd like to simply mention those I found most interesting;

Marking/Cutting drawer parts, and Wood Technology.
These chapters illustrate how drawer components are produced along with how to select and match wood for appearance and durability.

Marking and Sawing Tails, Marking and Sawing Pins.
These are most fun to watch as he deftly marks out and saws tails and pins, then chops away waste with equal agility.

Planing inside and outside drawer faces.
A personal favorite, as I'm always captivated by watching paper-thin shavings whisked off a board during final tuning.

Instruction is expertly delivered, and picture and sound are rendered with utmost clarity. The video has a copyright of 2003, though the original recording dates to 1984, which I believe places production in his first shop. I must say it appears just as I had envisioned. Bright and airy, spacious, and well organized. Mr. Klausz obviously has great respect for his tooling, which appear to be of highest quality. All are stored in a careful and proper manner, and during use he handles them with aplomb befitting a craftsman with decades of experience. Though I've seen this video once or twice before, it was a pleasure to watch again. Dovetail a Drawer will be available for checkout at the next general member meeting.