Are Dovetail Joints becoming a thing of the past?

[Artemus]

Well for starters dovetail joints look good and "right". I know that is purely subjective, but I don't think I alone there. The machinery to make them is readily available for high end mass production, cabinet shops, and the home shop. They can even be made by hand. This indicates to me that they will be around for a long time to come.

None of the above can be said about the Knapp joint.

Box joints meet most of the above but they just don't look right on furniture to me. For utility use though they are fine. (IMHO.) I don't see why one couldn't make a half blind box joint just as easily as a half blind dovetail joint by using a similar template and router except using a straight bit. Art

[Lew Hodgett]

You could make the joint; however, you loose the wood to wood interference and must depend on the shear strength of the adhesive when on say a drawer, you pull on the front to open the drawer.

Lew

[Jack Stein]

Me too. I still have that jig and last time I used it, it worked fine.

As far as box joints vs DT joints... both have there place. My first ever project was a 13 drawer work bench and my first ever drawers were box joints. 35 years later and they not only look great on a work bench, they are strong as hell, and will never fail other than if in a fire or (big) explosion.

[StephenM]

There is lots of precident in architecture/design previously functional elements becomming a part of the aesthetic domain long after their origin purpose became moot.

By analogy, hops used to be a beer presevative, now it's a required flavoring.

I have no doubt that maufacturers will continue to mass-produce ineligantly proportioned DT's obscured by epoxy-coated drawer slides in "cherry-finish" kitchen cuboards.

For me, I don't think I will ever make a dovetail again for purely functional reasons. I've cut them by hand and I have cut them with a jig. I'm sure that I will do it for "heirloom" work (BTW, kitchen drawers to not quality), but certainly would not bother anymore for a shop drawer.

A lock-rabbet in conjuction with a glued-in plywood bottom creates drawer that would only come apart by smashing the drawer to bits. That's strong enough for my needs, it presents face grain on the front and is a whole lot quicker to execute.

-Steve

[Chris Friesen]

I don't see the problem. Use a router with a bit the size of the desired fingers. Same mechanism as half-blind dovetails.

Not much point though except maybe on a really tiny box where you could use a 1/8" straight bit for itty bitty fingers.

Chris

[J. Clarke]

The problem with that approach is that the diameter of the router bit has to be dead nuts accurate, which in my experience most of them aren't, or else you need to do some fine tweaking on spacing to avoid a joint that is too loose or too tight. With dovetails you can fine tune the fit with cut depth, with box joints you don't have that option.

[Chris Friesen]

The Leigh jig uses an elliptical bushing and a bit smaller than the desired finger size. You turn the router base slightly to adjust the fit.

Woodworking magazine used a pattern bit smaller than the desired finger size and aluminum tape on the sides of the fingers to adjust the fit.

Chris

[dpb]

...

Only if a long time is defined as "as long as wood is used for making furniture"... :)

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[Leon]

Actually you adjust the bushing slightly and keep the router orientated the same for a repeatable cut.

I have to wonder however why they changed over to this set upas the D series system used a tapered bushing. Rotating the router had no adverse effect on the cut assuming the set up had the bit centered in the bushing.

[Jeff Gorman]

............. and they have been/can be elaborated on

showing off.

[Mark & Juanita]

OK, now you're just making the rest of us look bad. :-)

Nice job, neat effect.