Hand Tools Only: Dovetail Pencil Holder

Ever wondered what it's like to build something with zero electricity? I designed and built this dovetailed pencil holder out of some scrap cherry wood using only hand tools.

I first determined the best size for the pencil holder by studying some other cup-like objects from my home.

Once I had finished designing the pencil holder, I started the build by dimensioning the rough (very warped) cherry lumber with hand planes, winding sticks, and a marking gauge to get the wood perfectly flat and square on all six sides. Then I re-sawed the wood (sliced through the middle) to yield two thinner pieces. These pieces were used to make the four sides of the pencil holder, plus the bottom panel.

The sides of the pencil holder are joined with hand cut through dovetails. The bottom panel is floating in a stopped groove, to allow room for it to expand and contract (though expansion wouldn't be an issue with such a small panel). I chose to bevel the edges of the bottom panel both for aesthetic reasons, and because it allows for the groove to be thinner than the bottom panel itself.

I don't think a woodworker is defined by whether they use only hand tools, some power tools, or even a CNC to build their projects, but I do think that every woodworker should have at least some hand tool experience. It's a little slower, but if done properly it's more precise, and the satisfaction you get from building something the same way it would have been built hundreds of years ago is immense.

Thanks for watching. Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, and don't forget to subscribe if you like content like this!

** Want to buy the tools and accessories I use in my videos? Here is my Amazon affiliate store where you can get them for yourself! https://www.amazon.com/shop/dkbuilds

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