Dovetail Design Details

One of the classic hallmarks of fine craftsmanship in woodworking is the dovetail joint. It features two things you don’t often find as a pair; strength and beauty, where form follows function. A dovetail joint wasn’t originally intended to look great. The shape was born of function — it needed to hold the pieces together.

Dovetails date far back in recorded history. In ancient Egypt, dovetails were used in the wooden coffins of the pharaohs. The mechanical strength of the joint held the sides of the coffin together. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Noah used a few dovetails while building his ark, as in the drawing at right.

Regardless of whether the dovetails are there for decoration or simply strength, the key is getting the dovetail design just right. Let’s take a look at a basic dovetail joint, like the one you see in Figure 1 below.

A dovetail joint consists of two basic parts — the pins and the tails. Like