Half Blind Dovetails

When connecting two pieces of wood, probably the most renowned joint is the through dovetail. The through dovetails is strong and beautiful, but there are instances where a through dovetail simply isn't the most aesthetic choice.

For instance, when connecting sides of a drawer directly to the drawer front, one wouldn't want to use a through dovetail joint, as the ends of the tails would show through the drawer front. In this case, the best type of dovetail joint to use is the half blind dovetail.

The traditional method of creating half blind dovetails doesn't differ much from the method of creating through dovetails, but there are some points to keep in mind:

The section of the pin board that is not to be cut (thus forming the blind portion of the joint), is called the lap. The lap on the board should never be less than 1/8" thick, yet should never exceed 1/3 of the pin board's thickness, to ensure the strength of the dovetail joint.

Cutting half blind dovetails uses the following basic steps:

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