Table of Contents
What year was the dovetail joint invented?
American woodworkers played around with the ancient dovetailing concept and invented a version of their own in 1870.
How do I know if my furniture has a dovetail?
Dovetail drawers are recognized by their distinct pattern at the outside corner of a drawer. They look like jigsaw puzzle pieces joined together at a 90 degree angle. When you see a dovetailed joint, you can be assured that it is constructed of solid wood.
What furniture uses dovetail joints?
This type of joint is used in box constructions such as drawers, jewellery boxes, cabinets and other pieces of furniture where strength is required.
When did machine cut dovetails start?
Dovetail joints Dovetails were cut by hand until machines started doing the work by 1900. Machine made dovetails are very uniform and cannot be as thin as hand cut dovetails.
How can you tell how old a dresser is?
How to Determine the Age of Antique Furniture Look Past the Style of a Piece. Examine Bottoms, Insides, and Backs. Check for Perfectly Matching Elements. Try to Figure Out What Tools Were Used. Look at the Wood and Upholstery Fabric. Investigate the Screws and Other Hardware.
How do you date an old chest of drawers?
If the handles are original it will give a very good indication of the age of the chest. A pear drop handle will suggest the chest will be William and Mary or Queen Anne period whereas a swan neck handle would be found on pieces that post date 1750. Drawer mouldings will also give an indication of the age of the chest.
What does a dovetail joint look like?
There are two parts to a dovetail joint, pins and tails. The tails look like the tail of a dove (hence the name), and the pins are on the opposite board and fit in between the tails to create a joint that is impossible to pull apart in at least one direction.
What does a dovetail drawer look like?
Dovetail drawers are easily recognized by their distinct dovetail joint at the outside corner of the drawer. These look like jigsaw puzzle pieces joined together at a 90 degree angle. Kitchen cabinets that have drawers secured with nails can come apart with heavy usage.
When did they stop using dovetail joints?
Wider, uniform machine-cut dovetails were common in factory-made pieces from 1890 until the modern era. If a piece has no dovetails, it can still be a candidate for refinishing if it’s sturdy and well-designed, but it’s not likely to be an old piece with antique value.
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.
Should dovetail joints be glued?
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.
Where are dovetail joints normally used?
Dovetail joints are most commonly used woodworking. Carpenters use dovetail joints to create cabinets, furniture, drawers, log buildings, carcass construction, timber framing. Dovetail joints are known for their strength and durability.
How do you date a sideboard?
Look on the back of the buffet/sideboard or under it. Often company names and dates are engraved, burned, etched, or inked on a back or under section. Company names, cities or dates can help you establish the date of your furniture. Examine the construction of your antique buffet or sideboard.
What is a French dovetail joint?
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.
When were dowels first used in furniture?
Wooden dowels have been used in manufacturing and woodworking for many centuries. One of the earliest documented uses of wooden dowels was in Japanese shrines in AD 690, which were constructed using only wood, wooden dowels and pegs, and interlocking joints.
What do the numbers on the back of furniture mean?
A number could indicate the style, the maker, or even a patent granted to the company. The furniture back. Some manufacturers used less expensive wood on the back of a bureau, and they placed the label there, where it wouldn’t damage the finish.
Is there an app to identify furniture?
The Google Goggles app is an image-recognition mobile app that uses visual search technology to identify objects through a mobile device’s camera.
How do you find out what your furniture is worth?
Contact a major auction house, such as Sotheby’s or Christie’s, for value lookups on extremely rare or valuable antique furniture. Check websites such as Antique Trader where information of events offering free antique appraisal information is posted.
How can you tell what year your furniture is?
Make sure to search for labels, stamps, or manufacturing tags that can tell when and where a piece was made. Furniture companies and makers often listed their names, locations, and year of production This information can be found on the inside of drawers, the backs of bureaus, and on the lower edges of pieces.
How do I find out the manufacturer of furniture?
A telltale sign of the furniture’s maker is a manufacturing tag, label or stamp bearing the name of the creator. Such a marking or label may have been placed inside a drawer on an old dresser, on the back of a chest of drawers, or on the underside of a chair or sofa seat.
