Questions tagged [dovetail]

Dovetail joinery, tools techniques to create them.

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6 votes
3 answers
1k views

How to hide base dados behind box joint corners

I don’t have any photos on me so hopefully I can describe this ok. Say I build a box like so: Cut the four sides. Cut dado in bottom of each side, on table saw (I don’t have another good way), which ...
3 votes
4 answers
3k views

How do I stop tearout when using a dovetail jig

I am using the Rockler dovetail jig on some 3/4" walnut. I have been successful one time with this jig but I always manage to have issues cutting the tails. I am using the bits that come with the jig ...
1 vote
0 answers
83 views

Sliding dovetail expansion

I am making a bookshelf. There are going to be 3 fixed shelves attached with sliding dovetails. The top shelf is 1/4 inch from the top of the side. The bottom and middle shelves went in fine, but the ...
2 votes
3 answers
611 views

Dovetails with undermount drawer slides

To practice my dovetails, I decided to make some drawers for my kitchen cabinets. I'm using Blum undermount slides, which requires the drawer to conform to specific specifications, as well as a few ...
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

How does Frank Klausz achieve a >90 turn with a turning saw without cleanup when cutting dovetails?

Frank Klausz, in his video titled "Dovetails for Drawers - The European way" takes two minutes to show how he makes his "3-minute dovetails". When cutting the tails, he uses what looks to be a custom ...
0 votes
2 answers
665 views

What is the best way to cut a dovetail on the end grain

I am making a medicine cabinet and I want to use a stopped, sliding dovetail joint so that the joint will be hidden. I can cut the sliding dovetail in the side boards with a dovetail bit in a router, ...
4 votes
1 answer
551 views

pine panels with minor cupping suitable for dovetails?

I have these 9”-wide, 3/4”-thick pine panels from the bigbox store that i would like to make into a carcass with dovetails. Such panels commonly exhibit some cupping, but have some spring into them, ...
2 votes
0 answers
131 views

Would a dovetail key(s) in a beveled (mitered) chest panel be adequate strength for a larger box?

I'm building a hope chest for my daughter out of cherry, and wanted to use dovetails to join the panels. My hand-cutting skills aren't quite up to snuff for a fine detail like through dovetails, so I'...
4 votes
1 answer
178 views

Dovetailed spine?

I snagged the image below while looking online for dovetail examples. Instead of two boards coming together, it appears that the joint, what I called the spine in the title, is a third piece to ...
1 vote
1 answer
980 views

Styling dovetail box - tails or pins on front side

I am building a box to hold some of my router bits and will use dovetail joints for the vertical sides. I am not sure what to put in front, the tails or the pins. Aside from mechanical considerations,...
4 votes
2 answers
188 views

How thin can a large dovetail tail be?

I'm building a small (12"D x 24"W) workbench for doing woodwork in my apartment. I want to dovetail the legs to the top, but the tail on the end will be about 1/2" wide on the narrower end. Is this ...
3 votes
1 answer
951 views

Safe thickness for sliding dovetail in shelf

I am at the last cuts for a shelf which my wife asked for. The whole thing is made out of cherry. The shelf top is 7/8 inch thick. The supporting brackets which are mounted to the wall studs are ...
1 vote
1 answer
355 views

Simple Dovetail jig

There is a small dovetail jig my teacher has that he showed the class and I thought it was neat and want to make it. Here is the video I think he got it from. Because it is very much the same thing, ...
3 votes
2 answers
323 views

Adding weight to Veritas dovetail saw

I am trying to learn dovetails. My first/second/third show slow improvement but I still have a lot of progress left. The most difficult part for me is starting the cut since the saw tends to want to ...
8 votes
2 answers
258 views

How to get better at fitting joints and "seeing" bruises?

I'm a beginner. I'm concentrating on hand-tool joinery for now. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos, trying to learn joinery. For the purposes of this question I'm most interested in mortice &...
20 votes
5 answers
7k views

How do experts make dovetails by hand that fit so well?

I keep coming across various YouTube videos of experts making dovetail joinery by hand, and they get tolerances of the 1/16" of an inch or less. What I don't understand is how they get such accuracy ...
11 votes
1 answer
10k views

When it comes to dovetails what is the significance of 1:6,1:7,1:8

I've been watching and reading about dovetails and you see workers put certain angle on their tails and pins. These angles can be decribed with number sets such as 1:6, 1:8 and other examples. Router ...
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Best setup to make dovetails

I'm trying to figure out the best way to make clean dovetails joints using a router (maybe?). I've tried by hand, results were not so good. I got excited a while back and bought one of those porter ...
9 votes
2 answers
315 views

What are the difficulties that people run into when using a dovetail jig?

I have a cheap Craftsman dovetail jig for my router but have never tried using it. I regularly hear people complain about the lower-end dovetail jigs but praise the expensive, high-end (often $400+) ...