I thought the 'pencil trick' for marking dovetails was a joke until I tried it

For years, I saw guys online talk about running a sharp pencil along the edge of a dovetail pin before you transfer the line to the tail board. I figured it was just for show, a fancy extra step that didn't do anything real. Then, on a job for a lawyer's office here in town, I was fitting some walnut drawers and the light was just awful in the shop that day. Out of pure frustration, I grabbed a pencil and gave it a shot. The graphite left a perfect, super thin black line right on the shoulder of the pin. When I put the tail board against it and tapped, it transferred a crisp line I could actually see, no squinting. My fit went from 'good enough' to nearly perfect on the first try. It sounds silly, but that little trick saved me a ton of sanding and fudging. Has anyone else found a simple, almost dumb-looking trick that actually works way better than the 'proper' method?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_fiona1mo ago

Honestly, that trick never clicked for me. A sharp marking knife gives a cleaner line to transfer in my shop.

the_hugo1mo ago

Yeah, it's like people just stick with what works for them.