Dovetail joint

A dovetail joint is a joinery technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery (carpentry), including furniture, cabinets, log buildings, and traditional timber framing. Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart, also known as tensile strength, the dovetail joint is commonly used to join the sides of a drawer to the front. A series of pins cut to extend from the end of one board interlock with a series of 'tails' cut into the end of another board.

The pins and tails have a trapezoidal shape.
Once glued, a wooden dovetail joint requires no mechanical fasteners.

Back to Cuts & Techniques →

Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

TABLESAWGUIDE

Table saw guides, woodworking know-how, and the calculators behind every clean cut.

Get new guides by emailOccasional emails. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

InformationAbout Contact Privacy Policy Terms of Service Disclaimer Affiliate Disclosure Cookie Policy

Every species, image, fact, and figure is drawn from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, used under public-domain and Creative Commons licenses. No content is AI-generated.