Drawer fronts
Half-blind dovetail
Tails on the side, sockets that stop short of the drawer front face.
Use when
- The drawer front should look like a single board.
Don’t use when
- Do not leave so little face that the sockets blow through.
- Keep
- Waste, hatched on the drawing
- Dimension
- Long parts are broken. The 1 in bar is true scale.
Stock
Thickness steppers move by 1/16 in, or 0.5 mm. You can type 3/4 or 1-1/8.
Sizes
| Mark | Size | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Socket depth | 5/8 in | Front thickness minus 1/8 in of face |
| Face left | 1/8 in | The show face. Do not cut through it |
| Baseline on the side | 1/2 in | Gauge the side thickness around the tails |
| Slope | 1:6 (about 9.5°) | Hardwood 1:6 |
| Tail at the face | 3/4 in | Same layout as a through dovetail |
| Tails | 4 | Half-pins at both ends |
Cut sequence
1Gauge the lip and the baseline
Leave 1/8 in on the front. Sockets stop at 5/8 in. Baseline on the side is 1/2 in.
2Saw the tails, transfer, chop the sockets
Slope 1:6 (about 9.5°). 4 tails. Chop the sockets from the end, and stop at the lip.
Stop when: The side seats and the show face is unmarked.
3Dry-fit, then glue
Close the joint dry. Check that shoulders and faces meet, then glue. If this is a frame or a box, check both diagonals before the glue grabs.
Stop when: Dry-fit is tight with hand pressure, square, and the diagonals match.
Glue
Long grain to long grain
Strength
structural
Movement
The tails lock the side into the front. The face stays clean. The joint still needs a drawer bottom to stay square.