How to Cut Beautiful Hand-Cut Dovetails, Per a Master Woodworker

The dovetail is woodworking’s signature joint, and it’s the gold standard for connecting drawer parts and the pieces of furniture that are called the case (or carcass, if you prefer the centuries-old term for it). Hand-cutting a dovetail joint is kind of a woodworking high-wire act; one slip of the saw or chisel and the joint either won’t fit together or will look sloppy. It takes a lot of time to master the ability to cut dovetails quickly and well (by hand or machine), without a lot of fussing around.

This brings us to Rob Cosman, a master woodworker but, more than that, a master teacher. His video on cutting dovetails by hand has gathered north of a million views.

Cosman has spent the last 30 years studying every aspect of how to cut the signature joint. He emphasizes tools and technique, in that order, saying that 70 percent of success comes from using a well-made saw specifically designed to cut dovetails. Another 20 percent comes from technique, he says, which can be learned pretty readily. The remaining 10 percent is due to practice. Of course, he promotes his own tools, but he also wants you to think for yourself and evaluate what you’re seeing. “Don’t skimp on tools,” Cosman says. Buying an inexpensive saw in an effort to save money will only increase your frustration and likely result in you giving up the pursuit. “When you’re beginning,” he says, “that’s when you need the most help.”

Here are links to some of Cosman’s tools and others we recommend that will prove helpful in your quest for woodworking expertise. We then lay out Cosman’s methods on how to cut the perfect dovetail joint.

• Dovetail saw: Rob Cosman’s Regular-Handle Dovetail Saw
• Fret hand saw: Rob Cosman’s 6-Inch Fret Saw
• Power saw: Metabo HPT 10-Inch Miter Saw
• Chisel: Rob Cosman’s Half-Inch IBC Bench Chisel
• Knife: Rob Cosman’s Dovetail-Marking Knife
• Square: Starrett 13A 6-Inch Double Square
• Marking gauge: WoodRiver Wheel-Type Marking Gauge

---

Cutting the Dovetails

Cosman’s method begins with marking the dovetails. In the joint shown above, made from poplar and walnut, the tails are the lighter-colored poplar pieces. He marks these and saws their sloping faces. Rather than completing the dovetails at this stage, he stops progress on them and uses the sloping saw kerfs to mark the outlines of the pins (the corresponding adjacent part of the joint), the darker-colored walnut portion of the joint. By using a specialized marking knife that follows the sloping saw kerfs cut in the tails, he achieves an exact transfer of the dovetails so that the pin will match. It greatly improves the likelihood of getting the joint right on the first try.

---

Cutting the Pins

You’ll use the cuts that form the sides of the dovetails to mark the pins. Cosman’s stroke of genius was to invent a toothed marking knife exactly the same width as the saw blade, so that he can make a direct transfer of the dovetails’ outlines onto the end grain of the corresponding piece of wood.

---

Final Cuts and Assembly

With the tails and pins sawed, the most difficult part of the job is complete. From this point forward, you saw away the bulk of the waste and then use a chisel to make the end-grain cuts. Then you simply glue and tap the joint together.