Tightening Sliding Dovetails

It's rarely used, uncomplicated joinery. You don't need powered equipment for a quick outcome; the joint readily comes dead on when you do it with a handful of bench tools. Ten minutes gets you there––a chisel hammer, two chisels, a knife, square, steel rule and a marking gauge. You can add a hand router plane and use that for both routing down to final level and in place of a marking gauge if you own one, but that's not essential.

I used European oak, kiln dried. It's a mid-range hardwood, not hard, not soft, it chisels and planes easily, as well as if not better than most woods, soft or hard. The idea behind the joint, unlike most others, is intensional fibre compression combined with the consolidation of end grain. No one ever talks about this. I've never seen anything written on it, so I think I am likely to be the first. I think that that's an interesting thing too!

I've been surprised how minimally this joint has been used over the last hundred or so years. It has great qualities and can be adapted to many situations. I'd encourage anyone to master making it. My upcoming video series for Sellers' home has ten of them throughout the construction. What a remarkable woodworking joint.

If you can cut a reasonably tight housing dado, you might well find the sliding dovetail just as easy, if not easier. Join me on woodworkingmasterclasses.com. It's the real power behind hand made woodworking and furniture making. It'll get you where you always wanted to be but thought maybe you couldn't.