Just how lame would it be for me to do the half-blind on my wife's
repro TJ writing desk by doing through dovetails and laminating a face
over that? I am fairly certain that the throughs will be enough
challenge without trying to do the halfblinds.

Regards,

Sconnie

SconnieRoadie wrote:

Just how lame would it be for me to do the half-blind on my wife's
repro TJ writing desk by doing through dovetails and laminating a face
over that? I am fairly certain that the throughs will be enough
challenge without trying to do the halfblinds.

Wow! That's the kind of question that is going to get you lots of
strongly stated opinions. Just remember, that even when presented as
absolute truths, all you are hearing is OPINION.

Now, for my opinion: If you are going to present it as a faithful
reproduction, you need to do it as such. If you are making a writing
desk based on the design of TJ, then even half-lap nailed joinery is
okay, if it meets your standards. It's really up to you. If it were me
and I was concerned about the half-blind DT's, I would resaw a thick
board for each front, do the through DT, and laminate the resawed
part.

BTW, I made some satisfactory half-blind DT's without a lot of
practice dovetailing, and they are very adequate--not showcase, but
nothing to be ashamed of. So you might just try some in scrap before
giving up on the idea.
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