Stopped Dovetails...

[Mailman14]

Hi folks!

Right, having searched for, - stopped dovetail , - and "stopped dovetail" (note the difference), and receiving 2503 threads with the possibility of staying up late.... I thought I'd ask straight out.

Does anyone know of the correct way to set out stopped dovetails for shelf / sides? I'm making a display unit to hang on the wall, and similar case for books, standing on the floor / one on top (don't ask - the wife's designed it :wink: )

I've got several books that mention the enigmatic phrase "stopped dovetail" - but don't state any accepted minimum thickness on the front of the sides - obviously deep enough so the bottom of the dovetal doesn't peek through (I'm using a router for that bit - was that obvious?). But do I leave 1", 2", 1/4 of the shelf width? HELP PLEASE!

I'm also nervous about routing dovetails properly - no coping saw in my workshop... also no gauges... I've got a dovetail router bit, but then technique and knowledge evade me! I'm concerned about getting it wrong, and so wrong I don't know what to put right...

 

[Anonymous]

No "correct" way. If they are visible, then the spacing and size are down to aesthetics and common sense (strength required), if not visible, then strength is the only concern. For a small drawer, fine pins and not many required, for a child's toy box, big pins and plenty of them!!!

I tend to leave around 4mm of wood thickness to the front of half blind dovetails (what I think you mean by 'stopped') on a piece around 10-15mm thick.


Lay them out to please your aesthetic tastes. I think the beauty of dovetails over other joints is just that, their beauty

 

[OPJ]

I assume you're talking about a sliding dovetail joint here, as you mention fixing shelves to the sides? This is where you would rout out a series of dovetail-housings (grooves) in the sides so that the shelves can slide in from the rear...

You'd need to look at the cutters you have available but, I wouldn't cut the housings deeper than two-thirds of the thickness. Half-depth would work well while some people stick to a general rule of about 8mm.

I'm assuming this is the joint you want to create?

I found this image by Googling "sliding dovetail". You could try searching there for how-to guides as I couldn't honestly find much on the forums here.

 

[bobscarle]

A stopped sliding dovetail is relatively easy to cut with a router and a straight edge. You need two bits, a straight cutting one to remove most of the material and a dovetail bit to form the final slot. Make sure that you keep the router against the guide and also don't lift the cutter out at the end of the housing. Easy mistake to make! Let the cutter stop and slide it back out the way it came.

Once you have ploughed out the housing with the dovetail bit, leave the router depth set. Don't change this. You then need to cut the tenon. You need some way of making a platform on the end of the shelf to stop the router from wobbling. Clamping a block to the back will work. Use a parallel fence on the router to set the depth of the cut. Bit of trial and error here.

Trim the end of the tenon with a saw so that if extends past the the end of the housing.

There is a lot of surface area in the joint so it can get very tight. The temptation is to whack it together! Aim for a fit that can be pushed most of the way home by hand, possibly use a mallet for the last bit.

HTH

Bob

 

[Mailman14]

Right, here we go:

Tony, thanks - half blind / lapped are the same in my collection of books - "Stopped" is where the sliding dovetail doesn't reach the front of the shelf, so it looks like there's no support - or possibly using a through housing joint... I know what you're talking about though - seen it on here in a couple of pics, and have photo's in books....

OPJ - yes (ish) as above - the d/t doesn't come all the way to the front though. 1/2 - 2/3's taken on board - will see what I can cut with the tools to hand!

BOB - Nail on the head chap!

Thankyou, and thanks for the votes (100% "we'll take the mick...") aprreciate all teh help - I'll take pics to show where I went with this when I get there...

"Anyone seen my towel?"