For cutting joinery, you want to have a repeatable way to make joints at the quality level that you desire – whatever that is for you. It would be nice if that process was also semi-efficient.

I have been getting okay-but-not-great dovetails in the past. More disturbingly, I have never felt I had a repeatable process. It was always time-consuming. I researched it a lot, and tried a few methods. In the end, I’ve settled on something very close to this amazing video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibyTMTLjaq8

Here is what I do:

• Mark the tail board on four sides with a cutting gauge.
• Mark the positions of the tails at the end.
• Saw the tails with a guide. Two cuts per tail.
• Remove most waste with a coping saw (middle) or dovetail saw (ends).
• Clean-up with chisels. Chop in about a third from each side/end. From the sides, under-cut a bit.  The remove the rest without touching the crisp outside edges.
• Mark the pin board on two sides with a cutting gauge.
• Mark each pin.
• Cut right up to each line with a guide, but leave the line.
• Remove most waste with a coping saw.
• Clean-up with chisels. Chop in about a third from each side. Under-cut a bit.  The remove the rest without touching the crisp outside edges.
• On the inside of each tail, round the inside of each edge a bit.
• Try to tap it together, fitting it as needed.