DOVETAIL JOINT
Dovetail Joint - A joint where a mortise and tenon combine to for a solid structure. Created entirely from wood.
From Wikipedia
Dovetailed woodworking joint on a Romanian church.
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| photo credit wikipedia |
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| photo credit wikipedia |
A
dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joint technique most commonly used in
woodworking joinery including furniture, cabinets, log buildings and
traditional timber framing. Noted for its resistance to being pulled
apart (tensile strength), the dovetail joint is commonly used to join the sides
of a drawer to the front. A series of pins cut to extend from the end of one board
interlock with a series of tails cut into the end of another board. The pins
and tails have a trapezoidal shape. Once glued, a wooden dovetail joint
requires no mechanical fasteners.
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| tutankhamun excavation photo credit british museum |
The
dovetail joint probably pre-dates written history. Some of the earliest known
examples of the dovetail joint are in furniture entombed with mummies dating
from First Dynasty of ancient Egypt, as well the tombs of Chinese emperors. The
dovetail design is an important method of distinguishing various periods of
furniture. In Europe the dovetail joint is also called a swallow-tail joint or
a fantail joint.
