By 1730, through dovetail joinery was abandoned in English furniture making in favor of the lapped construction. As furniture became more refined, furniture makers began to take pride in the construction of their drawers as well.
When did dovetail joints stop?
The English cabinet maker first started using the dovetail joint in the mid 17th Century on walnut furniture and carried on doing this by hand until the late 19th century when they were produced by machines, mainly in the Edwardian periods.
Are dovetail joints still used?
They are still used today by many experienced custom furniture makers. Dovetail joints are not only used to make a strong joint for drawer construction, but cabinet makers often use them to join the tops, bottoms and sides of cabinet cases, as was done on antique furniture.
Why are dovetail joints bad?
The disadvantages of dovetail joints are that they can be fairly difficult to mark out and cut, and if they are made badly these joints lose the advantages listed above. Depending on the project, function, and design, there are a number of different types of dovetail joints to choose from.
How can you tell how old furniture is?
Search for any labels, stamps or manufacturing tags underneath or on the back of furniture, or in the drawers. These marks will be able to tell you who made the furniture, where it was manufactured and often the year that it was made. If there is a label, look for signs of ageing as they can be faked.
When did dovetail joints stop?
The English cabinet maker first started using the dovetail joint in the mid 17th Century on walnut furniture and carried on doing this by hand until the late 19th century when they were produced by machines, mainly in the Edwardian periods.
What is an alternative to a dovetail joint?
The finger joint resembles a dovetail joint in the way that both boards mesh together and create a visually appealing pattern when the joint is assembled, but the finger joint is significantly easier to master.
Is dovetail the highest quality?
Dovetail joinery is a benchmark of high-quality construction because these fasteners are all potential weak points that can degrade or break-down over time.
Are dovetail joints worth it?
This adds extreme strength to the drawer box joints. It is almost impossible for the joints to break because of the dovetail cuts as well as it being made from solid wood. In addition to this, most companies will also add the full extension, undermount, soft closing drawer guides.
What is the most popular dovetail joint?
Single-lap Dovetail The single-lap (known to many folks as a half-blind dovetail) is the best known of the dovetails since it’s used to join the front to the sides of a drawer.
Are dovetails the strongest joint?
Dovetail is arguably the strongest joint in millwork. It’s made so that it can’t be twisted or pulled in any direction except for one. This means that it’ll take more force to break or damage the joint. Because of the preciseness of each piece, this joint is held into place without the need for extra reinforcement.
Is dovetail joint permanent?
The strongest and most permanent right-angled joints made in wood are the ‘dove-tail’ joints, as illustrated below. The so-called tails and pins fit together to form a secure joint.
Should you glue dovetail joints?
Michael Dresdner: The only areas that require glue on dovetails are the diagonal faces. All the diagonal faces are long grain, all the square faces are end grain, and all the flat faces abut end grain. Therefore, you need only apply glue to the diagonal faces on the tails or pins, or both.
What year is considered vintage furniture?
Most antique dealers consider an item to be vintage if it is at least 40 years old. So, in the context of this blog date, a vintage item would be made between 1918 and 1978.
How to identify 1800s furniture?
The finish on the wood can also date the piece. Until Victorian times, shellac was the only clear surface finish; lacquer and varnish were not developed until the mid-1800s. The finish on a piece made before 1860 is usually shellac; if the piece is very old, it may be oil, wax, or milk paint.
How long were Knapp joints used?
What makes the Knapp joint so special is that it was only used for about 30 years, from 1870 until 1900.
Are dovetail joints necessary?
Making sure that you pick a drawer joint that can withstand this type of wear and tear is crucial to the longevity of your kitchen cabinets. Dovetail joints are considered one of the strongest joints used in kitchen cabinetry construction and are the best solution for a kitchen cabinet drawer box.
How to date antique hardware?
Dating antique furniture screws The head of an older screw will be less uniform and off-centre due to being manufactured by hand. Handles from the late 17th century onwards were secured with pomels and nuts, antique pomels were cast from a single piece of brass, with the grooves only running halfway up the length.
Are dovetail joints worth it?
This adds extreme strength to the drawer box joints. It is almost impossible for the joints to break because of the dovetail cuts as well as it being made from solid wood. In addition to this, most companies will also add the full extension, undermount, soft closing drawer guides.
When did dovetail joints stop?
The English cabinet maker first started using the dovetail joint in the mid 17th Century on walnut furniture and carried on doing this by hand until the late 19th century when they were produced by machines, mainly in the Edwardian periods.
What is a Knapp joint?
The Knapp Joint is a very strong form of drawer joinery but was only utilised from 1870 until about 1900, when it basically fell completely out of use. It was replaced by machine cut dovetails, which are still mass produced in factories today.
What are the rules for dovetail joints?
The general rule is that they measure half the thickness of timber plus around 1 mm along the shoulder line. So these two awl dots are 7 mm in from each edge. These two dots, which mark the corners of the half pins, are now converted into a 1:8 slope at each side.
Can you make dovetail joints with plywood?
A wide variety of methods can be used to make dovetail plywood drawer boxes. They are generally considered by the woodworking industry as time-consuming and difficult to make. The dovetails can be cut by hand with a dovetailing saw and chisel or you can use a dovetail jig and router.
What is the difference between a dovetail and mortise joint?
Dovetail joints are trapezoidal in shape and thus lock into each other to prevent joint separation. Mortise and tenon joints are rectangular in shape and while still a good joint, it will separate if the glue dries out or fails.
Is a dovetail joint strong or weak?
Dovetail joints are known for their inherent strength and resistance to being pulled apart (tensile strength).
What are the traditional dovetail angles?
Although softwoods are more compressible than hardwoods, you needn’t change the dovetail angle to add strength to the joint. Any angle between 7° and 15° will work, regardless of the wood. But stay within that range. If you go below 7°, you’ll start to lose the mechanical strength of the dovetail.
