Of all wood joinery methods, the through dovetail may be the most revered. The dovetail joint is one of the hardest if not the hardest woodwork joint to construct and as its name suggests the joint consists of pins that look like dovetails which interlock into slots. The sliding dovetail is a method of joining two boards at right angles, where the intersection occurs within the field of one of the boards that is not at the end. The table consisted of one solid slab of oak, probably over two metres long and over a metre wide. How to make a sliding dovetail popular woodworking magazine. Jan 19, 2015 the sliding tapered dovetail is a very strong joint that is commonly used in drawer dividers, joining a table top to the legs and more. Section 10 casework 280 architectural woodwork standards 2014 awi awmac wi 2nd edition, october 1, 2014 10 table of contents compliance requirements continued general continued. If you havent made a sliding dovetail joint before, this is a perfect place to start.
Tapered sliding dovetail using variable angle guides and shims. But a well fitting joint can be near impossible to slide together. This is identical to a sliding dovetail joint however the slope is only on one side of the tongue and slot. Its much easier to assemble when both parts are tapered. Clamp short boards on your leigh dovetail jig adjustable width. It features a design with template alignment lines as well as router bit depth gauges for easier and efficient projects.
Now mark the angle of rear slope by marking a bisecting line, horizontally across the top of the leg. Learn the keys to a quality through dovetail joint and how to create them. It is not by chance that i spent some time today turning the veritas small plow into a plane to shape the male section of a sliding dovetail. The template guides the router in and out as the dovetails and pins are routed simultaneously. Nov 29, 2014 the dovetail chisel jig blackburn shows is a block with the end cut down to the dovetail angle. The sliding dovetail is an nonpareil joint for joining shelves to amp case opus legs cut sliding dovetail joints to a bernard maas demonstrates the steps to press clipping the dovetail shaped mortise. How to create various dovetail joints the spruce crafts. In this video frank takes the mystery out of this seemingly. I mean people who want to make an immoveable joint across the full width of wide boards with as near flawless accuracy as possible. The sliding dovetail joint is created by joining 2 wood boards at 90 degree angles, where the they intersect different than other types of dovetail joints. Sep 25, 2014 for a table thats not going to take a lot of abuse, i like to use sliding dovetails to join the aprons to the legs. And the exposed dovetail provides a visible signature of your craftsmanship. They are easy to make with a router table, and are a self clamping joint when properly made.
How to cut sliding dovetail joints finewoodworking. In order to provide mechanical strength, the side of the board that receives the slope must be the same side of the board that will receive the force. As you might expect, it is the right option for wooden drawer slides as you can simply slide the drawer in and out but not up or down. The sliding dovetail joint has a number of advantages. They are an excellent choice for bookshelves and cabinet making.
Make a variety of professionalquality dovetails and joints with the portercable 12 in. This joint provides the interlocking strength of a dovetail. An important special type of joint density is one that is constant over a given range a region in the xyplane, and 0 outside outside this. The connection between the legs and the column is formed by sliding dovetail joints. Then the dovetail bit set at the same depth as on the joint above is used to cut the dovetail. Second, the shoulders of the dovetailed piece hide the edges of the slot, much as a tenoned workpiece hides a mortise.
As the tail slides into the socket, the joint gradually locks into place until its rock solid. Aug 28, 20 less glue surface but a mechanical joint that will keep the desk together if the glue ever fails admittedly, i could also pin the tenons to make that joint more mechanical. Apr 02, 2014 the best option i can see is to use is a sliding dovetail joint. They assemble easily, and with this process, they are easy to make too. For the leigh d4r pro 24 dovetail jig leigh dovetail jigs. Sliding dovetails slip perfectly in place paul sellers blog. Tapered sliding dovetails aw popular woodworking magazine. Sliding dovetail this joint adds a shoulder to the dovetail and requires you to make a. Alternative types of the joint, with the dovetail joint transformed into 3d to accommodate 347 or 25 members joining in essence the geometric transformation that creates the universal dovetail joint is a global grammar covering the cases where the dovetail joint is transformed for polygonal arrangements of members. A properly made dovetail joint should terminate at each end with a halfpin, not a halftail. Jan 24, 2015 tapered sliding dovetails by hand the slot january 24, 2015 february 26, 2016 alex a. For accuracy, present the leg to the top and take the marks directly. There are very few jigs that can cut this joint, but with our angle guides and shims, router boss can easily cut tapered sliding dovetails. Make sure the cutter can rotate without touch ing either the guidebush.
Limitless jointing system produces the following joints. For speed and accura cy, a dovetail jig is hard to beat. And, thats a shame, because its a great joint, giving lots of flexibility. This is the method i used, and it worked well for me. The sliding dovetail joint is typically used for shelf support or drawer construction. Theyre easy to make using a straight bit and a dovetail bit.
Fitted to it, using large sliding dovetails, were three lumps of oak probably about 170 x 70mm. Nov 17, 2009 a sliding dovetail joint has two mating parts. The first time i encountered this simple joint was in a table made of 600 year old spanish oak. For a table thats not going to take a lot of abuse, i like to use sliding dovetails to join the aprons to the legs. Woodworking cut sliding dovetail joints pdf free download cutting the both operations are cut sliding dovetail joints done with the router and to. With a router and a dovetail jig you can cut a perfectfitting joint in seconds. Its a great help to keep a fulllength sample corner on hand for reference. A soft mallet can then be used to drive the joint home. The sliding dovetail is a method of joining two boards at right angles, where. This is a common joint in cabinetry, particularly with drawers. The sliding dovetail joint is used when you want to join two pieces of board away from the edges. Through sliding dovetail a more complicated joint, this is made in three steps. Nov 17, 2016 the sliding dovetail joint is a beautiful woodworking technique as it does not show visible evidence of how the wood was joined together.
You dont need a whole lot of fancy tools to create it, just a router, router table and a dovetail bit. Sliding dovetails with the veritas small plow plane. It looks intimidating, but let me assure you a 7th grader can make this joint. Now i have seen many sliding dovetails thought my lifetime of working wood but the flaw levels in one part or another were always too high. The sliding tapered dovetail is a very strong joint that is commonly used in drawer dividers, joining a table top to the legs and more. A classic through dovetail is beautiful and very strong and adds a touch of class to any piece. Make dovetail joints without a jig weekend with wood 2015. With it, the slender sides of a large drawer can be so securely joined to the front and back that, overladen as it might be, when you pull the handle, the entire drawer follows. Dovetail joints provide considerable mechanical strength because when the. A sliding dovetail joint is one that is not commonly used, but in specific instances, a sliding dovetail joint can be just what your project needs.
A little glue cements the connection, and a good dovetail joint has great strength and durability. May 28, 2015 im often asked how to create sliding dovetails. This is the total opposite of the through joint insofar as it is completely. Check out my websites for further woodworking informati. I adapted this slightly, planing the edge of a board to this angle, so that i could set up the board in one spot and move the chisel along it. Quick and easy setup with the included 4 brass setup bars. The only problem is that it can be very fussy to cut. Recently, i had a project that involved making repetitive precise. Youll only be able to use sliding dovetails for drawers on which the front will overlay the sides of the opening.
These are no different from more familiar dovetails except that they are long and solitary. Sliding dovetails the legs attach to the column by means of dovetails that slide. Aug 30, 2015 hand cut sliding dovetail joint watch how easy it is to cut a sliding dovetail joint with hand tools. This pin and slot combination gives the joint great strength and aesthetics but it requires good precision and accuracy during the construction of the. If youve got a router table, you can easily make a sliding dovetail and get many of the strength advantages a halfblind or through dovetail would provide. Cut a wide variety of joinery for drawers, boxes and furniture in stock from 14 to 118 in. Sliding dovetail joints are stronger than dados, and they look better. Last weekend i was demonstrating hand tool joints while building a bedside table night stand at the perth tool event formerly the ln tool event.
A dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joinery technique most commonly used in woodworking. Its a member of the dovetail family that often gets overlooked. A shelf could theoretically pull out of a dado joint. The relationship between dovetail angle and joint strength pdf. Using the incra routertable fence, you can rout a striking double dovetail joint. Sliding dovetail joints are commonly referred to french dovetail joints. Interlocking dowel joints and staples rely on the tension and adhesive strength of small areas inside the sections of wood to provide strength. A sliding dovetail joint consists of a long groove with angled sides to serve as the tail for the sliding dovetail joint, while a corresponding long pin is cut into the end of the adjoining board. Sliding dovetails provide several advantages over a dado joint. This free download sends you on your way to building dovetail furniture with variations of the sliding dovetail and variablespaced dovetails.
For this exercise, start by milling a clear piece of wood 1. It is common to slightly taper the socket, making it. They intersect by sliding the tail of one board into the middle socket of the other. The tapered sliding dovetail is one of the most difficult joints in woodworking. Candle stand and the sliding dovetail project guides the. Sliding dovetails and dovetail keys are close cousins of. There are a few methods for creating through dovetails, from hand cutting to machining with a jig. Your woodworking with a french dovetail axerophthol sliding dovetail spliff thats made totally on the router table with essentially one setup. This secretary desk from about 1780 was built by a good country carpenter, notice the dovetails on the side of the drawer, and holding the top and side planks together as well. Sliding dovetails are assembled by sliding the tail into the socket. Sliding dovetails candle stand and the sliding dovetail.
It is often used to attach shelves to the sides of a bookcase. The key to making them properly is to use the right technique, and having a well tuned router table. These will enable me to quickly and easily slide the various presses on. Although this jig can execute finger joints, sliding dovetails, and even throughdovetails when equipped with suitable. May 17, 2016 the sliding dovetail joint is a locking joint. With the pieces removed from the jig, test the fit of the joint. Square lines on the upper and lower faces of the top indicating where the left and right cheeks were gauged. And if one use of the dovetail stands proud above all others, it is in drawer construction. Dont tackle your next halfblind dovetail assignment until you check out this expert advice. Uncategorized sliding dovetails, the woodwright shop in my continuing quest to not be embarrassingly bad at hand tool work i decided to add a learning project to the queue of house projects demanding attention. First, theyre stronger because they dont rely solely on glue. Rough cut this piece just outside the black lines, to make a taper template. You run the chisel flat across this angled face into the endgrain of the dovetail tongue. This is the joinery i opted to use for the assembly of the press stands.
553 959 1277 1084 864 1073 586 73 813 1414 1150 1423 954 228 908 529 342 1389 738 753 1365 48 1078 950 1508 638 1148 1271 198 884 188 1101 313 471 1111 1273 921