Dovetails

**Sokolic** · 25th July 2007, 06:12 PM

I’ve been making a few pieces of furniture in the past year. Currently I am making draws by nailing them all together. I’ve been asked if I can make with the draws with dovetails. What I want to know is what is the best way to make them. I am thinking of using a jig and a router is there a better and more efficient way of making dovetails maybe with some sort of a machine what would be the best way to do

**Wood Borer** · 25th July 2007, 06:22 PM

I make mine with handtools, others use jigs.

How many do you need to make?

Good to see you are getting away from that shocking technique of using nails.

**Sokolic** · 25th July 2007, 06:34 PM

At the moment i probaly average 10 draws a week some time more and some time less

**Wood Borer** · 25th July 2007, 06:41 PM

You could do 10 drawers by hand in less than 1/2 a day if you are half reasonable at cutting dovetails. If you haven't attempted dovetails by hand before and you have a quantity to do get a jig.

The Gifkins is a good jig and made in Australia. It is used with a router table.

Some of the cheaper jigs are junk and some of the more expensive ones take a bit of setting up but can do variable spacings etc.

**Sokolic** · 25th July 2007, 06:51 PM

Thanks for the advice using a router table sounds like a good idea, one that I over looked gives me a good excuse to update my router table.

**AlexS** · 25th July 2007, 08:00 PM

If you're doing that many, you'll get the practice to do them by hand in no time. The advantage is that you can do really fine pins, or odd spacings, that you can't do with a jig.

If you must use a jig, the Gifkins is the go, but have a look on here for some good info on how to do them by hand. For drawers, I suggest half-blind DTs on the front, through DTs on the back.

**les88** · 26th July 2007, 08:46 AM

have a look at Leigh jigs for dovetails. I have one and it does a great job. To do it by hand takes a good eye and steady hand, none of these is needed with a jig.
les

**munruben** · 26th July 2007, 02:32 PM

The Gifkins jig is excellent for through dovetails but doesn't do blind dovetails, you would need the Leigh for this. There are cheap jigs for the blind dovetail joints but have heard good and bad reports on those kind of jigs. Maybe someone has one and can enlighten us.
The new Leigh super jigs are now available in Australia including the new 12" super jig.
You can overcome the blind dovetail problem with the Gifkins jig by facing the drawer front with a solid piece of timber. The Gifkins is very easy use.

**munruben** · 26th July 2007, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by Wood Borer

I make mine with handtools,

I wish I had that skill, some of us need jigs

**Ruddigar** · 26th July 2007, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by Wood Borer

I make mine with handtools......

I'm sure you could squeeze one of these next to those other fancy new electron burners of yours, eh Rob?

Save all that mucking around with hand tools.

PS It's a dovetail machine

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