Consist of wedge-shaped openings, the dovetails, holding
matching pins
cut in the joining piece. These joints are the pride of cabinetmakers,
in both old and new furniture. The through dovetail is the early
version; in this joint, the dovetail goes completely through both
pieces of wood. The pins in handmade dovetails are usually narrower
than the spaces between the pins. On a real antique piece, only a few
dovetails are used and the tails and pins don't match exactly. With
modern equipment, the tails and the pins are exactly the same size and
more dovetails are used in each joint. Some dovetail joints are blind;
the pins don't extend completely through the joining piece and only the
top or face of the joint is visible.
The dovetail is a strong, precision-cut joint, used in the best
furniture. On antiques, dovetails were hand-cut; these are less even
than machine-cut joints. The dovetail joint goes way back in history.
It was an ancient invention.
