dovetails Archives | WoodWorkers Guild of America

Fine Woodworking Tools We Love: Jigsaw

March 21, 2012 By Seth Keller & filed under Buying Advice, Tool Education.

When I started woodworking, I had a lot of tools to acquire. Of course, the table saw was the first big purchase. After a while, I got a really nice sliding miter saw, and then a planer. One of the ‘big’ tools that took me a long time to acquire was a bandsaw. I love…

Making Sliding Dovetails

January 11, 2011 By George Vondriska & filed under Joinery, Skill Building.

Looking for a rock solid way to join drawers that doesn’t require a dovetail jig? If you’ve got a router table, you can easily make a sliding dovetail and get many of the strength advantages a half-blind or through dovetail would provide. You’ll only be able to use sliding dovetails for drawers on which the…

Routed Half-Blind Dovetail Drawers: Part 2

December 27, 2010 By Bruce Kieffer & filed under Cabinet Making, Furniture Making, Skill Building.

In part one of this article I showed you how a half-blind router dovetail jig works, and how to size your drawer parts for routing in the jig. In this final installment, I will explain using the jig to rout the joints, and then how to assemble the drawers. Boards must be correctly oriented and…

Routed Half-Blind Dovetail Drawers: Part 1

November 30, 2010 By Bruce Kieffer & filed under Furniture Making, Skill Building.

This is a two-part story. The focus is on drawers with mechanical slides. In this installment I will explain how a half-blind dovetail router jig works, calculating drawer parts sizes, and where to locate drawer bottoms for drawers with side-mount slides or undermount slides. Part two will be about using a dovetail router jig, and…

Leigh Improves the D4R Pro Jig

April 14, 2010 By George Vondriska & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

The Leigh D4R and D4R Pro dovetail jigs have received a lot of press as great dovetail jigs. Justifiably so. One complaint users have had is that, until now, half-blind dovetails were cut one board at a time, where other jigs allow the tail and socket boards to be cut at the same time.The new…

Dovetailed Step Stool

March 5, 2010 By David Munkittrick & filed under Plans and Projects, Woodworking Projects.

One of the things I like best about woodworking is the chance to create objects that are both useful and beautiful. The humble step stool is just such a project. A stool spends its life down on the floor dutifully presenting its back for people to step on. Like a true friend, a stool is…