How to Dovetail : 19 Steps (with Pictures) - dovetail.

2024-09-11 19:52:03

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Starting with your show side facing you, make a light stroke in the non-cutting direction to establish your cut (push with a Japanese saw, pull with a Western saw).

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Steeper angles like 1:6 give more strength to a joint in softwoods (in theory). The 1:8 angle gives a slimmer look, and because hardwoods are much stronger, it has plenty of hold.

If you want more or less space between the tails (which will lead to thicker or thinner pins), make small tweaks to your dividers.

Surprised you did not include a fret/coping saw in your list of nice to have tools. Since you use it in your explanations I presume it was just an oversight.

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Surprised you did not include a fret/coping saw in your list of nice to have tools. Since you use it in your explanations I presume it was just an oversight.

Nice step by step JKM! I’ll share this link with folks I know wanting to do better at hand cut dovetails! I’d also add that no matter what approach one takes, square boards and plumb cuts are more than necessary – PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!

There isn’t a right or wrong way to design your dovetails. Play around with different ideas and figure out what you like best.

With your show side facing you, bring your coping saw blade into the outside edge of a tail and cut away toward the next tail.

If you don’t have a jointer or planer, a shooting board and hand plane makes squaring the ends of boards by hand super simple. Here’s a great video on how to make your own.

I myself am a huge fan of the tiny pins. Nothing proves they’re hand cut like a gap a router dovetail bit couldn’t fit into.

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If it seems tight, you probably won’t need clamps — but if it’s your first few times cutting dovetails, clamps may be helpful.

Novice woodworker. Completely intrigued by dovetail joints. Great step-by-step, thanks. Gotta ask tho, about the little brass mallet. Where can I get one ?

Just like before, use your square to make sure the bottoms (or valley) between your pins are perfectly flat. If not, you can scoop them out with a chisel.

Without making any marks, walk the dividers across the end grain until one of the legs passes the other marking knife line.

Hi Johnatan Love your work, tips and tool. But it always beats me when I try to submit a purchase and find that you have no shipment to Israel ? :(

I’m with Terence Hughey (Jan 24) — the page could certainly use a PRINT PAGE function because when I’m working in the shop, I’d like to have printed directions. Youtube is nice, but it’s not on hand when in the shop, and I get more out of printed directions anyway.

When you're done, use a square to check for flatness between the tails. The blade should touch both marking gauge lines.

HOW TO CHOOSE DOVETAIL ANGLESDovetail angles are usually expressed as ratios — the most common being 1:6 and 1:8 (said “one in eight,” and also written as 6:1 or 8:1).

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Novice woodworker. Completely intrigued by dovetail joints. Great step-by-step, thanks. Gotta ask tho, about the little brass mallet. Where can I get one ?

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The distance your divider lands past the other marking knife line will be the space between your tails — a.k.a. the width of your pins.

I cut it on my table saw crosscut sled with a flat-top blade — but you can use any saw blade and clean it up with a rabbeting plane.

If you’re using my dovetail jig, slide the tail side up against your saw after you’ve done your backwards stroke. Hold the jig steady and let the saw and magnets do the work.

It still takes some practice but you’ll be in the minor leagues by your second or third set. I promise! You can watch how it’s used here.

NOTE: If you cut the rabbet on the back of your tails, make sure your gauge is set to the thickness of the TAILS, not the rest of the board.

The “through” means the pins and tails are visible on both sides of the finished joint (unlike half-blind dovetails, where they’re only visible on one side).

If the edges of your tails get bruised, clean up your pins a bit more in the corresponding places and triple check they’re square.

TIP: When making an initial cut with a marking gauge, put more pressure against the fence than the blade. Then take a second pass with more pressure on the blade.

Once you have your bevel or combo square set, mark a line from the outside edges of your tails down to the marking gauge line.

Most of these items are available in the Katz-Moses Tools store — and are the very same tools I use to cut my own dovetails.

As always, I recommend using a marking gauge and marking knife over a pencil. And use your most accurate square. You can read more about accuracy here.

When doing a decorative box with these dovetails is there a recommendation on how to finish the corners? My concern is a round over bit, even a small one, will cause the dovetail to distort or tear out because of the different grain patterns. Do you just keep the edges sharp?

NOTE: This can be a tad confusing if you're just getting started. Nothing wrong with skipping this step and using a ruler to lay out your tails.

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With my magnetic dovetail jig, set the correct side of your saw into your line and slide the pin side of the jig up to it.

Some people like to leave them because they think it creates a more “hand made” look, but it’s up to you. Personally, I prefer to remove them.

Hi Johnatan Love your work, tips and tool. But it always beats me when I try to submit a purchase and find that you have no shipment to Israel ? :(

The “right” way is whatever works best for you — but I always start with the tails because it’s much easier to transfer to your pins board in a later step.

*I’ll explain how to cut dovetails with and without my magnetic jig — but I can’t stress enough how much simpler, faster, and more accurate it makes cutting dovetails.

PRO TIP: When sawing correctly, your arm should move in a singular plane, like shooting pool or throwing darts. Read this to brush up on proper saw technique.

This will make your tails slightly proud of the pins board — which I prefer, since they’re easy to take down with a hand plane or sandpaper later.