dovetail

Dovetail

An popular joint amongst woodworkers because of its strength and beauty. The joint consists of perfectly-interlocking pins and tails and is frequently found in drawers and case construction. Distinguishing between pins and tails can sometimes be a challenge. Just remember that when looking at the flat face of a board, tails will literally look like a dove’s tail. When it comes to drawers, the sides will receive tails and the fronts will receive pins (see image below).

Here’s a video tutorial on making machine-cut dovetails – Video: When Dovetails Cry

There are also a number of variations of the dovetail, as you can see in the images below.