While dovetail joints can be found on ancient Egyptian coffins from 3000 BC, they were not used in European and American furniture until the mid 1600s. Dovetails have flared tails like a bird on the end of the drawer’s side boards that interlock into mirroring pins on the drawer’s face board.
When were dovetail joints first used?
Dovetail joints, also called swallowtail joints in England, date back to ancient Egypt, when Egyptians used this technique for coffins. Throughout most of history, dovetail joints have proven to be a durable technique used to hold together various woodworking projects before modern innovations.
Who invented dovetail joint?
History. The dovetail joint technique probably pre-dates written history. Some of the earliest known examples of the dovetail joint are in ancient Egyptian furniture entombed with mummies dating from First Dynasty, the tombs of Chinese emperors, and a stone pillar at the Vazhappally Maha Siva Temple in India.
When were dowels first used in furniture?
The 19th Century Revolution in Wood Furniture Making Dowel joints allowed for even more complex designs and angles than what was possible using pegged construction alone. They also allowed for easier assembly and disassembly of furniture pieces.
When 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. This joint is the first known mechanization for making drawers in the industrial revolution age until eventually being replaced by a machine that cuts dovetails.
How old are dovetail joints on furniture?
17th Century Dovetails While dovetail joints can be found on ancient Egyptian coffins from 3000 BC, they were not used in European and American furniture until the mid 1600s.
Are dovetail joints antique?
Most quality pieces of antique furniture will have a dovetail joint in the drawer construction as it was a very early form of construction, but was so successful, it was used for many 100’s of years. The Dovetail joint, got its name because of its similarity to the shape of a birds tail.
When did they stop using dovetail?
According to oldcopper.org, coppersmiths kept on dovetailing the seams until about 1900, after which better joinery technology made the time-consuming dovetail process obsolete. This means that a dovetailed pot or pan could have been hand-cut or machine-cut.
What are the disadvantages of a dovetail joint?
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.
Are dovetails the strongest of all joints?
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.
How can you tell how old a piece of 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.
What is a Knapp joint?
Knapp joints are known by many names – Pin & Crescent, Pin & Scallop, Pin & Cove, Half Moon and Scallop & Dowel. Image courtesy of vintagemachinery.org. It is a series of semi-circles with a hole in the middle cut into the drawer side that match negative semi-circles with integral pegs in the ends of the drawer front.
How can you tell if furniture is antique?
A few signs that furniture is newer include consistent color, lack of patina, machine-cut moldings/carvings, and modern screws or nails. Things like mortise-and-tenon joints, wood pegs, hand-cut dovetails, and rose head nails are typically found in antique furniture.
What is the oldest type of wood joint?
The mortise and tenon joint is the oldest and strongest joint used in woodworking. It is used to fuse two individual pieces of wood, typically at a 90-degree angle. The two mortise and tenon joineries are the mortise and the tenon.
What is the strongest wood joint?
A mortice and tenon joint is generally recognised as the toughest around. As a result, they are sensible to use for commercial joinery projects. In simple terms, it allows two pieces of wood to be connected together.
How do you date dovetail joints?
When tails and pins of a hand cut dovetail joint are different sizes with large tails (Figs. 3 & 5), it generally means the joint was made before 1860. After 1860, machines began to be used to cut drawer joints and the machine cut pins and tails are virtually always the same size (Fig. 4 & 6).
When did they stop using dovetail?
According to oldcopper.org, coppersmiths kept on dovetailing the seams until about 1900, after which better joinery technology made the time-consuming dovetail process obsolete. This means that a dovetailed pot or pan could have been hand-cut or machine-cut.
Where did dovetails originate?
The earliest examples are from furniture placed with mummies in Egypt thousands of years ago, and also in the burials of ancient Chinese emperors. For thousands of years, a dovetail joint was created by a skilled cabinetmaker using small, precision saws and wood chisels.
How can you tell how old a chest of drawers is?
Look at the bottom board’s grain as well; if it runs from front to back, the chest was likely built in the early 18th century; if it runs from side to side, it was presumably made after 1750. The chest’s handles should also be examined to see if they are authentic.
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.
Are Knapp joints rare?
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.
How can you tell how old a chest of drawers is?
Look at the bottom board’s grain as well; if it runs from front to back, the chest was likely built in the early 18th century; if it runs from side to side, it was presumably made after 1750. The chest’s handles should also be examined to see if they are authentic.
How do you identify a dovetail joint?
Dovetail joints often hold two boards together in a box or drawer, almost like interlocking the fingertips of your hands. As the dovetail joint evolved through the last one hundred thirty years, it becomes a clue for the age and authenticity of antique furniture.
How to date English furniture?
Look at the Wood and Upholstery Fabric After 1700, mahogany and walnut were very popular. Moving into the 1800s, maple and cherry showed up in fine furniture manufacture quite often. Many Victorian furniture manufacturers used mahogany and rosewood through the late 1800s. Then, around 1900, oak became popular again.
How can I tell what kind of wood my antique furniture is?
How do I determine what type of wood my furniture is made from? Usually by the grain. Color may have been stained or bleached, but the pattern of the grain is the same as the raw lumber. Some woods like oak, mahogany, teak and walnut have very distinct grain patterns.
Are dovetail joints worth it?
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.
