How to Create a Lapped Dovetail Joint
John Bullar walks you through a lapped dovetail joint in American rippled ash and American walnut.
Saw the Sides
Saw the dovetail sides leaving narrow sockets, but wide enough to fit a bevel edged chisel in the base.
Fig 1
Remove the Waste
Carefully chop the waste from the sockets between tails just ahead of the shoulder line.
Fig 2
Cut to the Shoulder Line
Pare the sockets down to the shoulder line.
Fig 3
Tidy the Bases
Using the bevel edged chisel, clean the socket bases as accurately as possible.
Fig 4
Tidy the Outer Shoulders
Use the flat back of a 26 mm bevel edge chisel as a reference surface to pare the outer shoulders flat and horizontal.
Fig 5
Saw the Sockets
Saw the lapped dovetail sockets with the wood angled so you can see both the face and the end at once.
Fig 6
Shape the Sockets
Shape the lapped dovetail sockets with an alternating series of vertical and horizontal chisel strokes. Start by chopping down just ahead of the shoulder line.
Fig 7
Continue Clearing the Sockets
Next pare along with the grain to remove a chip of waste as far as the previous chop line.
Fig 8
Using the Skew Chisel
Keep going until you have chopped and pared down the socket base, then use the skew chisel to clean out the socket corners.
Fig 9
Gently Test Fit the Final Joint
Test fit the dovetails into their lapped sockets by pressing or gently tapping them. Do not use force as this would split the wood. Be prepared to dismantle the joint and pare away any jamming points with a fine chisel.
Fig 10
Tools Used for this Project
CH/S-12L Left Hand Skew Chisel 12 mm
CH/S-12R Right Hand Skew Chisel 12 mm
CH/B-26 Bevel Edge Chisel 26 mm
CH/B-6 Bevel Edge Chisel 6 mm
CH/B-12 Bevel Edge Chisel 12 mm
PAX-TEN/10 Pax 10" Tenon Saw 15 TPI
