Last week we introduced you to Dropbox, a freeware application that instantaneously syncs files between computers and backs them up online through the Dropbox web interface. The Dropbox iGoogle gadget provides quick access to any of your Dropbox files through the comfort and convenience of your iGoogle dashboard. Off the bat the Dropbox gadget is a little funky, but if you install the Fix Dropbox Width Greasemonkey script in addition to the iGoogle gadget, it fits perfectly among your other iGoogle gadgets.
Windows only: Freeware application 360desktop turns your Windows desktop into a 360-degree virtual desktop. Using the application's unobtrusive slider, 360desktop scrolls around a cylindrical, widget-enabled desktop until it returns back to the start. As you can see in the video, some of the application's features are a touch frivolous, and unfortunately you can't yet use your own panoramic photos as your 360desktop wallpaper. That said, if you've always been interested in organizing your workspaces with virtual desktops or extending the size of your desktop but haven't found an application that fits your likes, 360desktop might be worth a look. 360desktop is freeware, Windows only.
When it comes to dovetailing, I’ve never really had a dog in the fight between dovetailers
who cut the pins first and those who cut the tails first. I was first taught to cut
my tails first, though I’m also comfortable cutting the pins first (I spent a whole
year cutting pins first so I understand its advantages).
But as I get older, I guess I’m getting more set in my ways and am officially entrenched
with the tails-first crowd. Why? Well I guess it’s because of the tools I use and
processes I have chosen through the years that make my choice inevitable.
Reason 1: Gang cutting. I like cutting two sets of tails simultaneously for
drawers. This is impossible to do (well) if you cut pins-first.
Reason 2: I own a narrow-bladed knife. One of the big advantages of cutting
pins-first is that you have a lot of room to navigate when you transfer your marks
to the tail board. I have a very narrow-bladed knife, so sneaking it between the tails
is no hassle for me. If I didn’t have this tool, I’d probably be a pins-first person.
Reason 3: I rabbet my boards before cutting the tails. Years ago, Glen D. Huey
showed me a trick where you rabbet the inside face of your tails to make transferring
the marks to the pin board easier. The shallow rabbet (about 1/8") gives you enormous
precision in aligning your pieces. Glen is a pins-first guy, and the system works
with pins-first dovetailing. But I think it really shines with tails-first because
you can clamp your pin board in a vise and really apply pressure with the tail board.
Reason 4: Gravitational forces. This one is a subtle argument, and I don’t
expect it to sway many people, but it is a strong one for me. I think it’s easier
to cut a true vertical line than it is to cut a true line at an angle. This is because
of the way gravity tugs at the heavy back of the saw. This little detail makes cutting
tails-first easier for me. Here’s how:
When you cut any dovetail, the first half of the joint is the pattern for the second.
So your first part doesn’t have to be precise when it comes to its angles. It just
needs to be clean and neat. If you cut your tails first, that means your first cuts
are angled. If you don’t have to be precise with these cuts, then you have one less
thing to worry about with this part of the joint. All you really need to worry about
is being straight. The actual angle is incidental. Heck I use a pencil alone to mark
out my tails.
When it comes to the second part of the joint, it must be an exact complement of the
first. Accuracy counts a great deal. When you cut tails-first, that means your second
cut is pins. And pins are straight up and down. And straight up and down is easier
to do perfectly. Well, straight is easier is for me at least.
If you reverse the process and cut the pins-first, the second part is making the angled
tails. And I think those lines are harder to track because gravity isn’t on your side.
Of course, if you do this stuff every day, all this becomes moot. You just do it the
way you do it. And you ignore the gravitational prattling of a magazine editor.
— Christopher Schwarz
