Assembling The Dovetails — Joint Variation: Double Dovetail

Test your joint by clamping the pin piece in the vise and presenting the tails from above. You may want to put a slight leading edge on the inside corners of your tails to ease the entry between the pins. Line up your joint and press the tails down as far as they will go. If it does not feel overly tight, use a chisel hammer to help fully seat the joints.

Finally, use a sharp chisel to pare the protruding nubs, if necessary. Ensure you are choking up on your chisel and pressing down with your other hand to keep it flat. Always keep your fingers behind (or above) the cutting edge.

You can plane the two faces if you want. Always start from the corner to avoid splitting unsupported fibres.

Create a slight leading edge from the insides of the tails if necessary

Test the joint for fit using just hand pressure to start with

When confident, tap all the way with a chisel hammer

Pare any protruding nubs with a very sharp chisel

Multiple dovetails are always stronger because of the increased long-grain to long-grain glue surface area.