How to hand cut dovetail joints

I’ve cut lots of dovetails over the years, some by hand, some with dovetail jigs and a router. If I’m doing a run of drawers, I’ll use the jig and router ten times out of ten. But for a small project, I’ll still cut them by hand.

Why? First, in the time it takes to get the jig and router set up and dialled in, I could be well into cutting them by hand. Second, cutting them by hand is fun and rewarding.

There are lots of “right ways” to hand cut dovetails, so let me show you how I learned it. Most importantly, work as accurately as you can, but don’t be concerned with perfection. Enjoy the look of something truly handcrafted!

Here are 10 woodworking joints you should know.

Chisels

Clamps

Dovetail saw

Marking gauge

Sharpening guide

Sharpening stones

Sliding T-bevel

Woodworking vise

Materials required

Hardwood timber

Wood glue

After milling your parts to final dimension, use a marking gauge to lay out the depth of the dovetails on each piece. For through dovetails like these, that depth is equal to the board’s thickness.

Set the dovetail angle on a sliding T-bevel with its blade protruding both directions. This angle is up to your discretion, but there are guidelines. As opposed to degrees, this is typically set out in a rise:run format. Soft woods are traditionally 6:1, and hard woods are 8:1.

Lay out the tails with a marking knife. Unlike even a sharp pencil, a line cut by a marking knife is exact. The size of your dovetails is up to you, but there should be a half pin (pins are the interlocking part on the other board) on both edges of the pin boards.

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Using a square and a marking knife, transfer the tail marks across the ends of the tail boards. From there, bring the tail layout down the other face of the tail board.

Staying just inside of your layout marks, saw down each line just shy of the depth line. If you like, mark the waste areas to be cut out so that you don’t cut on the wrong side of the lines. (No, of course I’ve never made that mistake.) You can cut off the half-pin space waste on the outer edges now as well.

Learn the marking hacks every DIYer should know.

Here’s where your sharp chisels come into play.

Starting inside the depth line, just wiggle the chisel up to the line. Next, set the chisel on the layout line, press down lightly and wiggle the chisel up to the depth line again. This method sets the dovetail depth accurately. If you chop in hard right on the line, the chisel will push its way past your layout mark.

Here’s how to use a wood chisel.

Once you’ve chiselled down about 3mm, you can start more aggressive chopping. Leave the outer ends of the pin waste intact and proceed until you’re about halfway through the board’s thickness. Leaving the outer ends intact gives the waste support when you’re chopping from the other side, helping to prevent tear-out.

Start the second side as you did the first side, just wiggling up to the line. Then proceed with chopping each pin space waste all the way through. Go lightly as you reach the end.

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Clamp your tail boards in a vise and use a chisel to pare the tails to their layout lines. Be sure to look at both sides of the board so you keep the tails perfectly square.