Sliding Dovetail Bookends

Step 11 Cut the notches in the bookends for the guides

Notch time! To cut out the notch for the bookend, we're going to borrow a method typically used for half-blind joinery. No, we're not going to wear a patch over one eye. In corner joinery, the joint is said to be "through" if the piece goes all the way through the joining piece, exposing the end grain. A joint is "half-blind" if a piece only goes part way through the joining piece, hiding the end grain of that piece.

To start, clamp the bookend to the workbench, with the waste side up and pointing toward you. Then, using the backsaw, cut the lines in the middle of the bookend just until the sawblade touches the bottom depth line and the top height line. Essentially, you're making a diagonal cut into the edge of the bookend. The pictures should help.

Once you have the lines cut, it's time to remove the rest of the waste. First, get on the other side of the piece (or turn the piece around). Place the chisel with the bevel down. This will prevent you from taking out chunks the size of Rhode Island as you perform this step. Pare down the material until you have made an incline from the the height line to the depth line. See the third photo.

Second, remove the remaining waste by starting at the height line and chiseling straight down (use the other edge of the dovetail guide, which magically becomes a square guide when you turn it around). Use the wooden hammer to drive the chisel into the wood. You're going across the grain here, so it'll take a bit of force. Do not go too deep. Instead, stop when the wood is really resisting, and then move the chisel horizontally into the waste, paring out a portion of it. Repeat this process until you make the notch as deep as it should be. This should only take a few minutes, so don't worry about spending your Saturday afternoon making some stupid notches.