Dovetail joints symbolize premium craftsmanship in woodworking. These joineries are known as the most stunning and robust woodworking joints. If you see a woodworking project with dovetail joints, there’s no doubt that the person behind its beautiful craftsmanship is an expert.
Dovetail joinery creates dynamic connectivity in workpieces through the joint’s interlocking sections. This joinery technique consists of five types, which is the focus of this article. A finished project will surely turn into a beautiful work of art. Keep reading.
How Strong are Dovetail Joints?
Before discussing the five types of dovetail joints, let’s find out how strong they are. Dovetail joints are robust due to the shape of their tails and pins. These tails resemble a dove’s tail. On the opposite board lies the pins between the tails to form a joint.
After gluing them to the workpieces, the tails and pins create a strong bond. This technique makes them resilient even if you exert an effort to pull them apart.
Dovetails are useful in woodworking projects that require strength, such as jewelry boxes, drawers, cabinets, and furniture. The construction of dovetail joinery requires mastery as it is challenging to make. Once you have mastered the craft, the finished project looks impressive and stays longer.
5 Types of Dovetail Joints
Dovetail joinery consists of five types with different techniques using the primary approaches. Whatever the type of dovetail joint you want to execute in your woodworking project, each type promises strong joinery through its interlocking sections. The finished project comes clean, elegant, and fabulous!
Dovetails have an expansive gluing surface and a strong bond even without applying glue. Their downside is they need to be more challenging to layout and cut. It requires mastery to come up with a beautiful woodworking project.
Here are the five types of dovetail joints and their uses:
1) Through Dovetail
Also known as plain dovetail, through dovetail is the easiest of the five dovetail types. It requires the basic technique of connecting two wood pieces at their ends using an interlocking method that resembles fingers known as pins and tails. These parts fill a space to prevent gaps between the fingers.
The pins and tails are visible on the outside surfaces with the end grain of the two wood pieces. Through dovetails, help join corners of wooden boxes, frames, and cabinets.
The dovetail joint is a symbol of craftsmanship in woodworking. In olden times, carpenters cover the interlocking joints with veneer, but people in today’s generation find the end grain and interlocking joints jaw-dropping. Their layout and interfaces are proof of the woodworker’s artistry and mastery.
2) Sliding Dovetail
Sliding dovetails result from joining two wood pieces at the right angles. The workpieces intersect within the area of one of the wood pieces that does not lie at the end. Woodworkers execute the sliding dovetails by allowing the tail to slip into the socket of the opposite board. This method offers strength to the workpieces through its interlocking power.
Also known as French Dovetail joints, sliding dovetails are a popular joinery choice when joining the following:
- Sides of the cabinet to the cabinet bottoms
- Sides of the cabinet to shelves
- Sides to the front of drawers
- Sides of the cabinet to the front rails
- Shelves to horizontal divisions/partitions
- Joining the neck and body of string musical instruments, such as violins, guitars, ukuleles, etc.
3) Half-blind Dovetail
The purpose of this dovetail joint is to hide the end grain from the workpiece side. In a single-lap dovetail (half-blind dovetail), the end grain is only visible from one side and not on both sides. Concealing the joint at the end of the front is the purpose of a half-blind dovetail.
Woodworkers place the sockets in the board’s end in the front to conceal their ends. This dovetail type is a popular method for fastening the front of drawers to their sides instead of adding false fronts. It is an excellent method of hiding the two intersecting wood pieces instead of using false fronts.
4) Secret Mitered (Full-blind Dovetail)
Also known as mitered blind dovetail, the secret mitered dovetail joint is popular in making high-end cabinetry and boxes. The joinery provides extra strength to the workpieces. Both sides of the corners (inside & outside) are not visible.
Woodworkers create the outer edge to join the workpieces at a 45-degree angle. They keep the pins and tails from public view while saving the joinery’s quality. They place the dovetails inside the joints to hide them and look aesthetically attractive.
5) Secret Double-lapped Dovetail
This type of dovetail works similarly to a secret-mitered dovetail. Both dovetails differ in some ways. It is easier to create compared to a secret mitered dovetail. The end grain of a board consists of a thin section forming the joint’s end. It does not require a miter joint at an angle to connect the dovetails. It is popular in making more prominent wood cases like chests and sideboards, furniture making, and structural frameworks of building construction.
Tools You Will Need for Making Dovetail Joints
Dovetails require essential hand tools or routers. Here are the tools you need to create dovetails:
Dovetail Saws
Also known as tenon saws, dovetail saws are vital in creating straight cuts along the layout lines of the workpieces. You can use a chisel or coping saw to remove the bottom of your workpieces.
Dovetail Markers
Dovetail markers are not a requirement to lay out the cuts. If you want to achieve an accurate layout, dovetail markers can do wonders for your woodworking project, especially if you are a beginner.
Chisels
Chisels smooth out the surfaces of your dovetails, ensuring that the gluing surface is vast and has a tighter fit.
Coping Saw
Use a coping saw to remove small workpieces.
Router
A router is essential to complete the work efficiently and quickly if you make many dovetails. A dovetail router bit with a dovetail jig makes the dovetails less complicated.
Conclusion
Dovetail joinery may be challenging, but it is the most robust and beautiful woodworking joint. It is known for its interlocking joints that are not visible outside but ensure that the joints hold together without glue. You may still add glue to the joints if you wish. It needs mastery to create a flawless dovetail by learning the five types of dovetail joints. Each class uses the basic technique, and they differ on how the joints intersect at the corner and hide them from public view.