Woodworking Techniques for Dovetail Joinery

Learn woodworking techniques to cut, sand, and assemble wooden pieces with classic dovetail joints

• Introduction
• Preparation
• Making a Dovetailed Box
• Finishing Touches and Other Dovetail Constructions
• Final project

If experience has taught Helen Welch anything, it is that a few good tools and a solid technique will save your day. She started her career as a joiner and later as a guitar maker. But her true passion has always been passing on her extensive knowledge of her trade to students. Thus, in 2013 Helen founded the London School of Furniture, where she has taught ever since.

Now, in this online course, she teaches you a classic woodworking tactic – the dovetail. They are used to create strong, attractive joints for a range of items, including boxes, cabinets, and drawers. The technique is a mark of quality and skill of the maker. As a tool lover at heart, Helen takes you through all the materials you’ll need to get started and how to use them before crafting your dovetailed box. Once you’ve mastered the method, you can bring it to your other furniture-making endeavors!

• About Me
• Influences
• Tools and Materials
• Marking Systems
• Dovetails 1
• Dovetails 2
• Grooves
• Cutting the Joints 1
• Cutting the Joints 2
• Cutting the Joints 3
• Surface Preparation and Assembly
• Making the Lid 1
• Making the Lid 2
• Fitting the Lid
• Surface Preparation of the Lid and Outside Faces 1
• Surface Preparation of the Lid and Outside Faces 2
• Finishing the Box
• Carcase and Drawer Construction and Half-Lap Dovetails
• Woodworking Techniques for Dovetail Joinery