Would you take woodworking advice from a football team?
NFL players can be considered experts in many things: fitness, working hard to achieve their goals, and, well, football. But it’s not every day that NFL players attempt to teach the public about non-football-related activities.
That didn’t stop the Buffalo Bills from recently releasing an informative, slightly awkward (but, somehow, highly compelling) video featuring a few of their players explaining basic woodworking concepts. The players, led by a patient and informative cornerback, Christian Benford, walk viewers through several styles of joints you can make with wood and explain what makes them strong—or not. They even included some scientifically accurate information on what exactly makes dovetail joints so strong.
You can check out the full video here.
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Is the Info Accurate?
Believe me, I get it: taking woodworking advice from a bunch of guys who play a sport for a living might not seem like the best idea. But the best thing about the Bill’s video, serious or not, is that the woodworking info it contains is actually accurate. Butt joints are typically not very strong and, in most cases, need to be strengthened by a brace or glue to be usable. I don’t know if dovetail joints are stronger than love, but they are one of the stronger options available to woodworkers looking to join two pieces of wood together. And mortise and tenon joints absolutely are created by inserting a connecting piece into a cavity, creating a sturdy connection.
Ultimately, the advice Christian Benford leaves viewers with at the end of the video is something all woodworkers, both amateur and professional, should take to heart: “The right joint makes all the difference. It’s all part of having good craftsmanship.”
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