marymorgan•1mo agoMost Upvoted

The day I stopped using glue on all my dovetails

Spent 10 years putting glue on every dovetail joint like my old boss taught me. Last spring I built a walnut chest and skipped the glue on one drawer just to see what happened, and that drawer is still tight as a drum while the glued ones have needed touch ups. Anyone else try a dry fit on high end pieces?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan1341mo ago

Watched my old man glue every single joint for 30 years, so I just assumed it was the only way to do it. Built a small side table last fall and left the dovetails dry on one drawer just to mess around, and honestly it's held up better than the one I glued on the same piece. The friction fit on walnut especially seems to lock in tighter without glue squishing out and messing up the finish. Kind of embarrassed it took me this long to test it out.

irisw731mo ago

Glue squishing out is honestly the worst part of any joint. Always ends up messing with the stain or finish and then you're sanding it off forever. That dry walnut dovetail trick is something I might have to steal, sounds way cleaner for a nice piece.