How is this mystery dovetail done?

[mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.ne]

[Bruce Barnett]

I've seen one in Popular Science from the 1960's that had an arrow going through a glass. The drinking glass has two holes in it - the same diameter as the shaft of the arrow. The Arrow head and feathers (fletching) were twice the width of the glass hole.

This one was done, AIR, by soaking, squeezing the head in a clamp, pushed through, an then soaked again do it swells. I think it was balsa wood.

[alexy]

It does. But it falls into the category of "if you don't know the answer to the question that was asked, give an answer you do know to a question that was not asked" . I like the puzzle you are referring to, and its deceptively simple solution. But I'm pretty sure that is not what the OP is asking about. Look again at the cited ebay page, and see if there is any way you can see the puzzle you are talking about morphed into this one.

[A. D. Coby]

Another possible way to make this joint is to make the strip of wood across the top of the joint between A and B thin enough to be easily bent. Then the piece which is labelled A B would be flexed open and the moved pass the tails in the other piece and then first piece would then be bent back closing the joint around the second piece.

[Mike Marlow]

Argh! You're absolutely right. My bad. A mind is a terrible...

[John Briggs]

Here is the definitive source:

It's from E.M Wyatt's "Wonders in Wood" (1946).

Jerry Slocum's and Jack Botermans' "Puzzles Old & New" (1986) provide this information and an illustration.

John

[charlie b]

What I think is a solution, posted in alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking as '"Impossible Joint?" - solution?, should make my hints a lot clearer.

charlie b (If this seems like the solution to you send half of the $2.95 US I saved you to your favorite charity)'

[bridger]

this is so far the only explanation that fits the situation...

[fredfighter]

Well, that is much cooler than the other one.

[fredfighter]

Now who is confusing whom?

[Limey Lurker]

Yep, that's how it's done!

[charlie b]

But where's the fun in that? I mean it doesn't even use - a lathe - a block plane - a shoulder plane - block rabbet plane - skew chisels - bench chisels - paring chisels - micro belt sander - drill press - 20 special router bits - a precision router lift - precision router table fence - oscillating spindle sander : : : Where's the fun?

Guess there really is more than one way to skin a shop cat push stick. Who'd've thunk it?

[bridger]

that particular joint would have to be flexed a _lot_....

[Doug Warner]

The leg of the "T" is split down the middle, then glued back together. Since splitting follows the grain, and no material is lost to a kerf, the split is nearly invisible after gluing and sanding.=20

-- Email reply: please remove one letter from each side of "@" Spammers are Scammers. Exterminate them.

[Nate Perkins]

[e-mail] wrote in news:1129331067.123010.77120 @z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

I used to carve the ball and cage that way when I was a kid. I remember being about 10, and having my grandfather teach me how to do it. We carved a variety of little things like that. That's more than 30 years ago, and still one of my best memories of grandpa.

[Bruce Barnett]

[bridger]

the guy says no hidden splits.

[Tim Douglass]

Somewhere I have a bunch of ball-in-cages and chains that I carved sitting in various classes in High School. Now they would haul me out and shoot me for having a knife in class. I didn't learn much of the subject matter, but I got pretty good at carving!

-- "We need to make a sacrifice to the gods, find me a young virgin... oh, and bring something to kill"

Tim Douglass