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Re: dovetails



At 09:15 4/10/00 -0400, you wrote:
Hello all,

I have been asked a question by one of my students, and could use some
help. He wanted to do his physics paper (yes, I make them do a paper)
on something related to woodworking.

Since I am also a woodworker, I thought this would be a great idea --
until he settled on a topic! He wants to try and explain dovetail
joinery using physics principles. He thought there should be something
out there dealing with forces and how they interact to make the joint
strong, and the compression of materials, etc.

He can't find a reference for it, and neither can I. Then he got
ambitious and tried to do the force diagram analysis himself! What a
mess that is...

Do any of you know of a reference to which I can steer him?

Thank you,
Peter Schoch
SCCC

I believe the wedge is at the root of the dovetail's functionality.
This is a device that will self-lock at tapers less than 15degrees in
metal, and will self release at more abrupt angles.
An engineer's reference like Marks's goes into this aspect.


brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK