Hand-Cutting Dovetails

Basic steps for beautiful joints. Dovetails. They get put on a pedestal as a sign of quality. And while not every project or furniture style warrants them, I enjoy sitting down, listening to an [...]

Dovetail Markers

These simple shop-made helpers will make marking less of a chore. Marking out dovetails for hand cutting goes much easier with these helpers. Held in place while hooked over the end of a board, [...]

Dovetail Ruler Trick

A throwaway wooden ruler prevents fatal errors when dovetailing. The No. 1 mistake made by first-time dovetailers has nothing to do with sawing or chopping – the obvious choices. Instead, I’ve [...]

Tapered Sliding Dovetails

Hand tools are the way to go for this traditional joint. Tapered sliding dovetails are multipurpose joints traditionally used for drawer dividers, holding legs in place on a pedestal table and [...]

How to Cut Dovetails by Hand

The right techniques and tools (plus a few tricks) will give you a good start on mastering this fine traditional joint. Dovetails have long been recognized as the premier joint for casework and [...]

Dovetail Starter Notches

Christopher Schwarz once demonstrated a time-honored trick for hand-cutting tenon shoulders. After laying out the joint, he chiseled directly downward onto the shoulder cutline, then made a [...]

How to make a Sliding Dovetail

Sliding dovetail joints are peculiar—sometimes, the two parts are meant to travel past one another; other times, they’re glued together. Whatever their purpose, making these joints is [...]

Precise Hand-Cut Dovetails

Precise Hand-Cut Dovetails A new approach to half-blind dovetails guarantees a precision fit. By Tom Caspar Purchase the complete version of this woodworking technique story from AWBookstore.com. [...]

Tapered Sliding Dovetails (AW)

Tapered Sliding Dovetails Two jigs make a complicated joint ever so easy. By Luke Hartle The tapered sliding dovetail joint is one of the hallmarks of fine craftsmanship. But making it has made [...]

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