Hand cut dovetailsHand cut dovetails are a lot of fun to make.If you like detailed work, that is.
The first step in making dovetails is the milling process. The trickier the joinery the more important it is to have stock that is properly milled. Dovetails are a lot easier if your wood is square, flat and all the same thickness.Tend to that first. The next step is to organize your tools. For cutting dovetails by hand you will need a small square, a marking gauge, an angle gauge, a couple chisels, a mallet and a saw. You also need either a sharp pencil or a marking knife. It makes all the difference if your tools are sharp. So get everything nice and sharp - that includes the marking knife and/or pencil.
If yoiu look at a dovetail joint you'll notice that you can pull the pin out vertically, but the tails lock the pin in place if you pull horizontally. This makes the joint stronger in one direction than another. You should keep this this difference in strength in mind when deciding where to put the pins and where the tail. If you are making a drawer for instance, you want to have the pins on your front and back, because the pressure will come from pulling the drawer open, not from the sides. Your next step is to use your marking gauge to set the depth of the dovetails. You want them to be the thickness of the wood you are using plus a hair. Set you marking gauge using the wood itself as a guide. I usually set it so the pin on the gauge just overlaps the board. Then drag it along the faces of the pin boards and the faces and edges of the tail boards. This line tells you how deep your dovetails should be. 
At last you are ready to layout your dovetails.
You can make your pins and tails the same, or the pins can be smaller. Of course, they don't all have to be the same size across the board, nor do they have to be evenly spaced. One of the nice things about cutting dovetails by hand is that you can lay them out any way you like.
It's helpful to use the size of your chisels as a guide. If you have a 1/4 inch chisel and 3/16 pin you're in trouble. Also, note that the last pins on the edges of the boards are called half pins because they have one flat edge. They don't have to be half the size of the others.
Here's a tip I learned from an old-timer about how to divide your wood into even sections. Slant a ruler across the board so that the ends are on even numbers. Then you simply mark your points. For example, in the photo the ruler is laid out so that zero is on one corner and four is on the other. I marked my lines at 1", 2" and 3". Those marks are all equidistant from each other. I marked off my pins from those marks, then just eyeballed what was left to make the half pins on the end.
Pins first or tails first is a discussion that can entertain people for weeks, but I like to cut the pins first, so that's how I will describe it. You can reverse the order if you prefer. The pins are angled on the end of the board and parallel with the face. Use your angle gauge to get the correct angle (usually 1:6 or 1:8) and your square to transfer the line down the face. Tip: if you want to find the correct angle, draw a line 6" (or 8") high, then make a mark one inch beside the base. Now you have a triangle with the correct ration Six up, one over = 6:1 - and you thought you'd never use all that math you learned in school).
With layout complete and lines marked on top and face of your board you are ready to cut the pins.
But first: mark each joint so you know which board joins where and make sure and mark "inside/outside" as well. With pins the small end of the angle faces out. Tails are laid out using the finished pins as a guide. Okay, now you are ready to cut your pins. Make sure and stay on the waste side of the lines and keep your angle consistent. It's a good idea to put an "x" in the waste spot so you don't accidentally cut out the tails instead of the pins. Here's another tip. Look at the reflection of the wood in the saw. If the reflection is straight you are cutting in a straight line. If you want to cut at an angle -as you do when cutting the pin, set your saw on the line then keep the reflection the same angle all the way down the cut (see photo). The reflection is useful to use as a guideline. Once you have made you cuts you can chop out the waste. You want to keep your chisel straight when you do this, so you can clamp a simple stop right on the line you made with your marking gauge to help align the chisel. Keep an eye on it though, it's easy to knock your straightedge out of alignment. Once you have made a preliminary cut on one side flip your board and repeat it on the other side. By going at the dovetails from two sides you will eliminate chip out. Once you have nice clean cuts your two sides you continue chopping. At this point angle the chisel slightly into your board. This undercuts the center so your tails won't get hung up.
Once you are finished chopping clean up any "crumbs" left behind and check that all your pins are the way you want them. Then, take your board and, making sure you have your ins and outs correct, place it on the tails board.
Make sure you have everything properly flush, then trace the pins. You now have your tails properly laid out.
I like to use my thumb to help guide the saw.
When you clean up the tails check them against the pins. Be careful not to cut too much off. When you are done you should have something that looks like this
(only nicer, because I used a marker to make the pins stand out more).
The fit should be snug but not so tight you have to pound on it to get the pieces together. It's also important to pay attention to the humidity in the air. If it is already humid your joint won't swell much more, but if it's dry leave room for expansion.
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This article is about cutting through dovetails. It's also possible to cut half blind dovetails, but it's better to wait until you feel confident with through dovetails before you go on to half blind.
