Table of Contents
Dovetail joints don’t require mechanical fasteners to stick together like other joinery techniques do. Rather, dovetail joints use pins and tails to interlock together, where one side has a pin that locks into the other side’s tail, and then glued together for a solid dovetail construction.
What are the disadvantages of a dovetail joint?
The disadvantages of dovetail joints are that they can be fairly difficult to mark out and cut, and if they are made badly these joints lose the advantages listed above. Depending on the project, function, and design, there are a number of different types of dovetail joints to choose from.
What makes a dovetail joint strong?
The dovetail joint is very strong because of the way the ‘tails’ and ‘pins’ are shaped. This makes it difficult to pull the joint apart and virtually impossible when glue is added.
Do you glue dovetail joints?
Dovetail joints show the care and craftsmanship applied to woodworking projects. A few simple gluing and assembly tips make dovetail joint easier to put together. The glue can be applied while the pieces are completely separate, which is easier, but can be messy and difficult to fit joints together.
Why do we use dovetail joints?
Dovetail joints are commonly used to build boxes, drawers, and cabinets. The shape of the “tails and pins” in the joint make it nearly impossible to break. Glue is used to strengthen the joint but no screws or fasteners are necessary.
Are dovetail joints better?
For this test, the box joint proved stronger. Plus, the box joint is strong in both directions, whereas the dovetails are useful only for pulling from one piece, but not the other. So really, to use a dovetail joint for the sake of strength is obsolete, mostly on account of the strength of wood glues.
What is the weakest wood joint?
Butt Joint The butt joint is the simplest joint to make. It is also the weakest wood joint unless you use some form of reinforcement. It depends upon glue alone to hold it together.
When did they stop dovetail drawers?
Hand-cut dovetailing was the default until 1860 when uniform machine-cut joints were introduced. But fine cabinetmakers persisted in fitting their joints by hand until the early 1900s, and cabinetmakers in Europe cut dovetails by hand well into the 1930s.
What is French dovetail?
French dovetails have sliding joints and are shorter in height. A piece of furniture with a curved front will always have French dovetails, because English dovetails will not work with that shape. If you see one dovetail on each side, they’re French dovetails.
What’s the strongest wood joint?
What is the strongest woodworking joint? For excellent stability, the mortise and tenon joint is a great choice. It’s a relatively simple joint, yet it holds well. Woodworkers have been using it for generations because of its strength, versatility and simple design.
Are dovetails stronger than box joints?
Frid wrote that finger (or box) joints are stronger than through dovetails because the fingers offer much more glue surface.
How tight should dovetail joints be?
Lee Grindinger: The dovetails should be properly snug. Both pieces will move in the same manner, so the pins and tails will not be working against each other. As the tail increases in width the space between the pins does,too, so there is no conflict.
Should dovetail drawers be glued?
Michael Dresdner: The only areas that require glue on dovetails are the diagonal faces. All the diagonal faces are long grain, all the square faces are end grain, and all the flat faces abut end grain. Therefore, you need only apply glue to the diagonal faces on the tails or pins, or both.
What ratio is a 14 degree dovetail?
The new 14° marker is designed to approximate a 1:4 ratio, for those who prefer this angle when working in thinner stock, as it not only provides stronger material interlock than traditional ratio angles but produces a slightly exaggerated dovetail joint that many find attractive.
How do you date a dovetail joint?
You can get an idea of the date of a piece of antique furniture by looking at the dovetail joint, as if it is hand cut you know its pre 1880 and the more primitive the cut usually means an earlier piece. Below you can see examples, the first is a 17th century drawer, pre dovetail so very primitive clout nails used.
What is the angle of a dovetail joint?
Any angle between 7° and 15° will work, regardless of the wood. But stay within that range. If you go below 7°, you’ll start to lose the mechanical strength of the dovetail. Go above 15°, and you’ll leave too much short grain at the tips of the tails, which weakens the joinery.
Are dovetail joints still used?
They are still used today by many experienced custom furniture makers. Dovetail joints are not only used to make a strong joint for drawer construction, but cabinet makers often use them to join the tops, bottoms and sides of cabinet cases, as was done on antique furniture.
