Laying Out The Tails — How To Make A Dovetail

On the tail piece, measure in 10mm (⅜”) from the outside edge on each side and make a pencil mark. Use your sliding bevel (or dovetail template if you have one) to mark out the angles down to the depth line. Make sure the sliding bevel is well registered along the top, as it can be tricky on narrow pieces.

Next, square the sides of the tails along the end of the tail piece.

Note: The square ends of the tail piece are crucial to ensure a good fit. Make sure that the square is registered correctly when laying out these cut lines on the end. Again, it can be tricky when working on narrow stock. It’s less of an issue if using a dovetail template as this is designed especially for this type of accurate layout.

On the end of the tail piece, measure 10mm from the ends and make a small mark

Go with ⅜” if using imperial measurements

Lay out the cut lines on the sides using a sliding bevel set to a 1:7 angle

Make sure you lay out the angles in the right direction!

Square the ends of the tails, making sure your square is registered correctly

To watch Paul cutting dovetails, see below: