Thread: Dovetail slots

I suggest that you use a 14 degree dovetail bit and cut the dovetail grooves about 8 mm deep in the sides of the cabinet. You only need to dovetail the front 65 mm for the front drawer divider. The rest of the dado can be vertical-sided for the drawer runner part of the web frame and the back drawer divider. You should use a straight bit first to remove the bulk of the waste, before routing the dovetail grooves. It is best to clamp a piece of scrap wood to the front edge of the side, when you are routing the dovetail grooves, to prevent tear-out as the bit emerges from the front edge. Similarly, you should use a backing scrap when routing the dovetails on the dividers. It is best to use a gap-filling glue (epoxy) to glue the dovetails, since it is hard to achieve a perfect fit of the dovetails.

You can see a picture of a cabinet I made using dovetailed drawer dividers in the Timber forum under the thread Cherry a few weeks back.

Thanks Rocker very much for your helpful info.

I think you have answered all my queries except perhaps the diameter of the dovetail bit I need to use. Would a 14.3mm dia. bit be ok?

Thanks also for the advice about glue, breakout, dado etc.

I think a 14.3 mm diameter dovetail bit would be fine, so long as it is a 14-degree one. If you use a shallower-angled dovetail bit, it is harder to get a good fit. Also, when cutting the dovetails, make plenty of trial cuts on scrap timber of identical thickness to your drawer dividers, until you have achieved a a fence setting that yields a good fit. Only then should you cut the dovetails on the drawer dividers themselves. You also need to ensure that all the drawer dividers are exactly the same thickness, so that you can use the same setting to cut all the dovetails. You need a dial or electronic caliper to measure the wood thickess accurately.

Thanks again Rocker. All your much appreciated advice is perculating into the grey matter. Cheers