Dovetail

[mr s]

I made some handcut lapped dovetails to attach some drawer fronts. White Oak fronts onto Ash sides. They have broad tails - 2 per side. The results are OK however two of the drawer fronts had cupped and I had to use clamps to bring them together on glue-up. Now I am wondering whether in the future, stresses might force the joint apart. I thought about drilling 2.5mm pilot holes into the corner of each tail and then hammering in a nail with the head cutoff. I will then punch the nails below the surface & then fill the holes with a bit of filler. Now I know it ruins a bit of the appeal of the dovetail and should be unnecessary for a properly made joint however I reckon it must make a very strong and stable joint.

Anyone think this is a good idea?

[Leon]

If you are considering putting the nail in the side of the drawer I would not bother. If the glue won't hold it the headless nail certainly will not. Now if you put the nail in through the joints like a hinge pin you might add strength. If your joints are tight fitting the glue should be enough.

[charlie b]

Orienting the grain right helps. Easy to remember - The IDIOT acronym helps - Inside of Drawer is the Outside of the Tree

Did a 7 drawer unit for under the drill press - drawers half blind dovetailed together - front and back. No glue at all and they've worked fine since late 2002. So far so good.

I suspect that the parts weren't flat to begin with

charlie b