We all know what dovetails are, but how many of us can actually make them, or make them well? Whether you’re just learning how to create dovetails or you’re looking for some tricks to make them easier, check out our list of resources below.
Informative Guides
There are a surprising number of dovetail types! If you’re new to this joinery, this guide from Tools Today will be useful as you start your dovetailing journey. Even if you’re pretty experienced making dovetails, this guide can help you understand what to work on if you’re planning to master all the forms.
How to buy chisels for dovetailing
Richard Maguire of The English Woodworker gives you a thorough rundown of everything you’ll need to consider if you’re looking to upgrade your chisels for serious dovetail work. This is a great guide for anyone who really wants to use dovetail joinery in most of their work.
If you’re ready to make your first dovetail joints, this easy-to-follow written guide from Rockler will make it easy for you to mark, cut, and fit your joints together.
Tips and Tricks
Laying out your dovetails quickly and easily
If you’re looking for a faster way to lay out your dovetails, you’ll want to check out this method from Stumpy Nubs. He’ll show you step by step how to prepare for your cuts whether you’re using a jig or not.
This 5-minute video from Rob Cosman, one of the top dovetailing experts, shows you what he does to get plumb cuts on all his pins to ensure a perfect fit. This is perfect for someone who’s been working on their dovetail game for a little while.
Using forstner bits to speed up the process
If you make a lot of dovetails, especially when you’re working on larger pieces, you may find this Stumpy Nubs video helpful. Here he shows how he likes to use a drill press and forstner bit to remove the waste between his dovetail pins.
Gaps are bound to occur when you’re learning how to dovetail. This video from Simple Cove shows how he makes small shims out of his material to fix these gaps and make it look like they never happened.
You can make your own dovetail jigs, or if you’re willing to spend the money and want to start learning dovetail joinery as soon as possible, check out this list of the best dovetail jigs from Tools First.
Do you have any tips, tricks, or resources not listed here? Let us know in the comments!
