Shelves, legs-to-tops in some styles
Sliding dovetail
A tapered housing and a matching tongue. Strong, and unforgiving of a wide glued panel.
Use when
- A shelf must lock and you can fit a long sliding joint.
Don’t use when
- Do not glue the full length of a solid shelf wider than about 8 in.
- 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.
- A solid shelf glued the full length of a sliding dovetail will fight movement. Glue the first 2 in only.
Sizes
| Mark | Size | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Socket depth | 3/8 in | Half the side, clamped between 1/4 and 3/8 in |
| Bit angle | 14° included | A common dovetail bit is 14° included, about 7° per side. Hand work often uses 8–10° per side |
| Length of the socket | 12 in | Runs the depth of the case |
| Ease | last 1 in | Taper the last inch, or wax the joint. Do not force a full-length glue-up |
Cut sequence
1Plane the socket walls
Depth 3/8 in. The walls slope. A 14° included bit is the usual angle if you are matching a router bit later.
2Fit the tail on the shelf
The tail should slide, not drop in. Taper or wax the last inch.
Setup: last 1 in
Stop when: It slides home with hand pressure and the faces flush.
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 end grain
Strength
structural
Movement
The dovetail stops the shelf from pulling out. Across a wide solid shelf it also stops the shelf from moving, which is the problem.