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2. With a square, mark straight lines on the face of the pin boards down to the baseline. This is a source of confusion for many woodworkers, because whereas you use a square on the ends of the tail boards, you use it on the faces of the pin boards. Checking with a complete set of dovetails will remind you which face and which end have straight lines on them.

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5. Across the ends of both tail boards, use a square to draw the lines that describe the tails. Then set your T-bevel for the angles of the tails and mark the angles on the face of one board. The right angle for dovetails is simple to get. I’ve never found recommended degrees and such useful. I set my T-bevel off another set of dovetails in my shop or by eye. But if you don’t have a sample joint or layout jig and are uncomfortable doing it by eye, try the technique in “Paper Angles.”

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In the dovetailing courses I’ve taught, most students have found a sample set to pore over very useful. Of course, you need to make that first set to have it to study (it’s a chicken and egg thing).

6. Pare clean the surfaces you’ve just chopped with a chisel. If you leave them rough, they’ll prevent the joint from coming together fully. Never cut shallower than the baseline at the edges, but inside where you don’t see it’s fine to undercut a bit. F

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Measure 1 in. from a corner along the short side of a sheet of paper and make a mark. Measure 6 in. from the same corner but along the long side. Draw a straight line between the two marks and cut along it. You’ve just made an adequate dovetail jig.

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3. Mark the waste between the pins. This is a key orienting technique. Without those marks it can be very easy to cut out the wrong parts, or simply on the wrong side of your line.

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8. In softer woods such as cherry, I chop out the waste between the tails. Your first cut should be well off the baseline, as the chisel will move toward it during the cut. If you start at the baseline, the chisel will dig in past the baseline. Chop from both sides and knock out the chips. A coping saw with a thin blade is another good tool to use for removing the waste between the tails, as is a bandsaw or scrollsaw.

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To use it, fold the remaining piece of paper at 90 degrees across its width, then drape it over your workpiece. Mark out your tails as necessary. It’s that easy.

This is the second of three articles on making a simple dovetailed box. The first article explained how to mill the cherry stock for the box. Here, we show how to lay out and cut the dovetails. In the next article you’ll learn how to assemble the box and add the hinges.

Though they’re helpful, you don’t need a T-bevel, angle guide, or protractor to lay out good dovetail angles. You can make do with a piece of paper, a pencil, and a ruler.

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Start with the two 1/8-in.-wide half pin lines at either end, then divide the remaining space evenly, taking into consideration the kerf you’ll lose later. As for errors, the less evenly spaced dovetails are, the more they say “handmade.” So give yourself a break if you’re not precise.

3. If the joint is almost together and you need just a slightly bigger push than your hands can muster, it’s OK to reach for a hammer. But don’t tell anyone. If the tail board splits, I warned you. C

1. Set your marking gauge to the thickness of your boards. Scratch your baseline on both faces of each end of all four side pieces.

3. With a marking gauge scratch two parallel lines, 1/8 in. apart, along the faces of all four boards, 1-1/16 in. from the top edge. This marks the kerf where you will saw the box in two after assembly. It’s important to mark these lines before you lay out the dovetails because they show the boundary between the top and bottom of the box.

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4. Saw just inside of the lines you marked (on the waste side). It’s best to leave the pins large. Don’t saw directly on your guidelines.

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4. On each end of the tail boards, mark lines 1/8 in. from each end. Then space the tops of the tails evenly, as shown in the drawing below. It’s important to space the tails around the kerf farther apart. When you cut the box apart, the resulting half-pins should look like a proper-size whole one.

6. With a fine-toothed saw, cut your marked lines down to the base line. The toughest part is sawing exactly to your line, so keep your eyes open and pay lots of attention to the way you hold the saw. Sawing two boards at once helps ensure accuracy.

1. Do not reach for the hammer. Test fit the joint with hand pressure only (and using the palm of your hand like a hammer will hurt). If the joint doesn’t start to go together by hand with some effort, then it’s too tight. If the joint goes together the first time perfectly, call the local newspaper, as you’ve just performed a miracle.

1. Unlike the tails, you lay out the pins individually using the matched set of tails as a template. This ensures that each joint fits perfectly. So place the “A” tail board over the end of the “A” pin board and trace the tails onto the ends of the pin board with a pencil.

2. Align the front, back, and sides as you want them in the finished box. Label the joints on the top edge (I use “A-B-C-D” for the four joints). I mark the outside faces with “Tails,” and on the sides I write “Pins,” to keep track of which way is out and which part of the joint goes on which board. Believe me, all this writing helps avoid disasters.

My dovetailing strategies have become habit over the years, both good and bad. I’ll show you the whole process, though I admit taking shortcuts sometimes. It’s traditional to cut half pins, not half tails. I’ve also made one tail wider to accommodate the kerf of material lost when the box is sawn in two.