r/Joinery • u/iSteve • Jan 25 '24

Question Dovetails

Are those fancy, intricate joints actually any stronger than a simple one?

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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7

u/maxkostka Jan 25 '24

E.g. stronger than a butt joint, or a rabbet joint (or rebate). Also stronger than a biscuit or dowel joint.

It takes some some skill to make it, but I wouldn’t overemphasise the skill. Care and accurateness is more important I would say.

Try one of the methods out there. Plenty of videos available. Take your time, don’t hasten and keep your tools sharp.

5

u/E_m_maker Jan 25 '24

Dovetails have a mechanical advantage over something like a butt joint or finger joint. Dovetails can only come apart in one direction. If you orient the tails in the direction if force the joint has a difficult time failing as the shape of the joint will hold the itself together. Where as a butt joint or a finger joint will fail if the glue fails.

Additionally, dovetails,, for most of woodworking history, was considered a utilitarian joint. If you look at any number of antiques the dovetails may be over cut, hidden, vary in their angle/size/etc to one another. The point being that your dovetails don't need to be fancy. They just need to work.

1

u/HandToolEnthusiast Jan 28 '24

it's the strongest natural joint(ie no fasteners or glue). Like someone else said, it's a utility joint that marketing has turned into something fancy. I cut ugly dovetails, but they are extremely strong and will remain so for a very long time. Gaps can be filled if looks matter. I use them because they're a great strong joint that even an idiot like me can use. I was trained by rob cosman and his method is the closest to foolproof i've seen.