Replies

1. 
   hotdogman | May 22, 2008 01:58pm | #1

   Buy a 3/8 dovetail bit or the size you prefer. It will take some trail and error to get the fit just right. Cut your depth first, then use scrap of the same dimension to experiment to get the mating piece just right. The height should be the same but the width is what needs to be right. Not too tight not too loose. If it is too tight and you glue the whole joint it will bind as the moisture in the glue expands the wood. Take your time.

1. 
   kent51 | May 22, 2008 04:43pm | #3

   Thanks for the advice.  I'll probably make a few trial cuts until I get the hang of it.  I was think that I would only glue the last couple of inches or I'd end up with the parts siezed together and not set all the way.

2. 
   MBerger | May 22, 2008 02:00pm | #2

   Questions like this seem to come up now and then yet I've never found an article that explicitly dictates the depth. Maybe that means we need one, but until then I'll say 3/8 in. deep in a 3/4 in. board.

   I'm standing about 4 feet away from a bookshelf I made with sliding dovetails and it looks like I cut about 1/2 through the thickness of the board. Any deeper and it would have been too much. I think I could have gone a bit more shallow and still achieved the same strength.

   - Matt

1. 
   kent51 | May 22, 2008 04:48pm | #4

   Thanks.  I pretty much expected that the depth would be about half the thickness of the wood or less. Since the joint will not be seen, as long as there is sufficient strength, I will probably not do any experiments.  If I was going to be able to see the joint I might be temped to try a shallower slot to see how it looked.  Thanks again.