Sliding Dovetail Drawer Construction

And i have used this traditional woodworking joint in many. Building dovetail drawers is one of my favorite things to do in the shop. For a 12 in wide sliding dovetail first remove some waste from the socket with a 14 in.

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In this video i show how to make a sliding dovetail and a housed sliding dovetail using power tools.

Sliding dovetail drawer construction. Set up the fence so that the 14 in. This technique works extremely well for constructing drawers that will be mounted with mechanical drawer slides. Theyre easy to make using a straight bit and a dovetail bit. When you follow these in structions youll end up with an inset drawer that has a perfect 12 wide space for a drawer slide.

After you watch this take a look at mitchs video with the link above. The sliding dovetail can be tricky to assemble however the thin panel can be flexed to open the dovetail slot greatly facilitating assembly. Sliding dovetail drawers sliding dovetails arent just for building bookcases. I dont even need to taper the sliding dovetail.

How to make this joint is a question i get asked all the time. Youve probably seen a drawing of the sliding dovetail joint. Strong and versatile the sliding dovetail joint has many applications from case construction to leg and rail joinery. Sliding dovetails provide several advantages over a dado joint.

While they do take some planning and careful setup they are achievable for the average home woodworker. Making a sliding dovetail joint with hand tools is easier than it looks. Its a handy way to fit drawer fronts in projects where the drawers run on metal slides. A dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joinery technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery carpentry including furniture cabinets log buildings and traditional timber framingnoted for its resistance to being pulled apart tensile strength the dovetail joint is commonly used to join the sides of a drawer to the fronta series of pins cut to extend from the end of one board.

The sliding dovetail joint is typically used for shelf support or drawer construction. Second the shoulders of the dovetailed piece hide the edges of the slot much as a tenoned workpiece hides a mortise. First theyre stronger because they dont rely solely on glue. The sides and back of the drawer should be 12 or 58 thick.

The floor panel grain runs crosswise to the drawers depth as is uh was standard in western drawer making. Bit is centered exactly in the dado and use a backer board if it is a through cut. In general the drawer front should be 34 thick unless its a drawer with a false front false front drawers are a simple drawer box with the front screwed to the box. For the woodworker building furniture and cabinets the sliding dovetail is a joint well worth mastering.

For years i thought the joints were for only the best woodworkers and would be difficult if not impossible to master. And the exposed dovetail provides a visible signature of your craftsmanship.