FYI

A dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joint technique most commonly used in
woodworking joinery. Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart (tensile strength), the
dovetail joint is commonly used to join for example 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.

A dado (US and Canada), housing (UK) or trench (Europe) is a slot or trench cut into the surface of a
piece of machinable material, usually wood. When viewed in cross-section, a dado has three sides. A
dado is cut across, or perpendicular to, the grain and is thus differentiated from a groove which is cut
with, or parallel to, the grain.

A dado may be through, meaning that it passes all the way through the surface and its ends are open,
or stopped, meaning that one or both of the ends finish before the dado meets the edge of the surface.

Dados are often used to fix shelves to a bookcase carcase. Combined with a rebate (rabbet) on an
adjoining piece, they are used to make the rebate and dado joint, sometimes used in case goods.

For Your Information
Wood Working Joint Terms

Simple and strong, the mortise and tenon
joint has been used for millennia by
woodworkers around the world to join pieces of
wood, usually when the pieces are at an angle on
the theme, the basic idea is that the end of one of
the members is inserted into a hole cut in the
other member. The end of the first member is
called the tenon, and it is usually narrowed with
respect to the rest of the piece. The hole in the
second member is called the mortise. The joint
may be glued, pinned, or wedged to lock it in
place.

A haunched stub tenon corner joint

The dowel rod used in woodworking applications is commonly cut into dowel pins,
which are used to reinforce joints and support shelves and other components in cabinet
making. Some woodworkers make their own dowel pins, while others purchase precut
dowel pins that are typically available in assorted lengths and diameters.

Dowel-based joinery typically employs fluted dowel pins. A fluted dowel pin has a series
of parallel grooves cut along its length. The fluting provides channels through which
excess glue—which is used to secure the dowel pin in its hole—can escape as the dowel is
inserted, thereby relieving the hydraulic pressure that might otherwise split the timber
when the mating pieces are clamped together.

Mortise and Tenon