Page 21 - Router Boss Manual

Through Dovetails

While dovetails are often considered a decorative
joint, they are also one of the strongest joints avail-
able which is why they are used most often in drawer
construction. The tapered pins of the drawer fronts and
backs fit into matching sockets in the sides and the re-
sulting joint is very resistant to forces applied parallel
to the sides, such as when you pull out a heavily loaded
drawer. The same drawer made with finger joints would
likely pull apart over time.

The Router Boss specializes in cutting dovetails,
but unlike other dovetail jigs, you have complete con- Through dovetails make a strong joint, excellent for
trol over the bits you use and the size and spacing of use in drawers (we’ll add the bottom in a separate step)
the pins because there are no templates or guide bush-
ings involved. And if you use our special high-speed C
steel dovetail bits, you can create elegant joints that re-
semble hand-cut dovetail joints. (For more about bits,
see pages 13 and 14 in this manual).

We’ll show you a couple of different ways to lay
out and cut through dovetails, but all methods rely on
keeping the workpieces properly oriented during the lay-
out and cutting operation. Otherwise, the parts won’t as-
semble correctly.

For this exercise, we’ll make a small drawer that
measures 12” long X 7” wide X 4” deep. Stock is 1/2” Arrange the sides and end pieces as they’ll be in the
poplar for the sides, 3/4” oak for the front and back. All assembled box, then label the adjacent pieces at each
parts were dimensioned and square cut prior to start- corner with the same letter, starting with “A” and work-
ing. ing around the box. (Different stock shown for illustra-
tion purposes only)
Orient and Mark Up the Pieces
How you arrange the boards depends on how you
plan to use the box. For a decorative box, you’ll prob-
ably want the best faces on the outside. For a drawer,
you may want the best faces on the inside for the sides
and back. Select how you want the pieces arranged and
set them up to form the box.

Now rotate the front around against the corre-
sponding side so the outside faces are against each other.
Clamp the pieces together and draw an “X” across the
top edges so the lines cross at the point where the faces
of the boards meet. Then repeat this step, marking up Rotate the front piece
the back and other side at the “C” corner. The marked around so it faces the
outside face of the cor-
up box should look like the one at the top of this page responding side piece.
with the V-shaped “caret” marks pointing outward. Clamp the pieces together
and mark an “X” on the top edge.
21