5 Points About Dovetail Joints

A dovetail joint is a joinery technique used in woodworking, traditionally used to join wooden furniture.  Dovetail joints are known for their inherent strength and resistance to being pulled apart (tensile strength). A dovetail joint has a series of pins and tails in a trapezoidal shape and once glued a dovetail joint has no need for mechanical fasteners.

Dovetail joints as a technique predate written history and have been found inside the tombs of ancient Egyptian mummies.  All our bespoke dovetail drawer boxes and premade drawer boxes use dovetail joints. Dovetails are considered a signature of craftsmanship and are an attractive feature of all Probox Bespoke and Classic range drawer boxes.

Dovetail joints are very strong by design and they also offer an attractive finish that is a true sign of craftsmanship. Professionally cut and glued dovetail joints are virtually impossible to separate.

Dovetail joints are traditionally cut by hand with a saw and chisel. Probox achieves precision cut dovetails on leading-edge machines, of note are our plywood drawers as these are not easy to produce and we use only the best birch ply.

As part of the set-up, the dovetailing machine is programmed with the exact drawer box height and style of dovetail required, and then it quickly and efficiently cuts dovetails before the craftsman hand glues and finishes the drawer.

Some dovetailing machines out there will only produce 25mm dovetails, but the precision dovetail machines in our workshops vary the size of the dovetail to suit the size of the drawer box, bespoke cupboard doors, or hardwood spice racks that we are making at the time.

The size of the dovetail itself is worked out by our precision cutting machine and this would be dependent on the height of the box. Half-blind dovetail joints are by far the most popular as they are more cost-effective to make than through dovetail joints.