To make solid, durable wooden drawers to go into your built-in cabinets, it will pay you to use one of the time-proven assembly methods that have been developed by professional cabinetmakers. Of the lot, the drawer joints that are in most general use today are the half-concealed French dovetail, the open French dovetail, the rabbet assembly, the lock mortise, and the dovetail mortise.

These five joints are all strong, rigid and durable, but the one best for you will depend on your particular needs. Here's how professional furniture makers rate the joints as to durability and best use.

French dovetail joints, both half-concealed and open, are the oldest and most popular for fine furniture making. When accurately cut, they provide maximum strength and rigidity. The half-concealed type is used where drawer sides are mounted into the drawer front, and the open type for the backs of drawers.

Rabbet assemblies are the simplest and most common drawer joints. By using them, the do-it-yourselfer can get good results with comparatively little work. They require a few finishing nails in addition to gluing, or No. 6 flathead screws if the drawer is large. The nails or screws should be countersunk and the holes filled with wood putty.

Lock mortises were first used by cabinetmakers to replace the French dovetail with a very rigid and all-machinemade joint. Since then, special dovetail routers have offset this advantage. But if you own a table saw you'll find lock mortises easy to cut and highly satisfactory for interlocking drawer fronts and sides.

Dovetail mortises are especially suited to locking sides into a drawer front which is to lap the front edges of a piece of furniture. That's because the grooves for these concealed joints can be placed anywhere along the inner face of the drawer front. At the same time, thanks to the dovetail-like shape of these cuts, mating tongues on the front edges of the drawer sides get a grip that withstands drawer pull better than any other assembly method.
 
How to Make a Half-Concealed French Dovetail

Make guidelines on the ends of the drawer front with a marking gauge, to indicate depth of concealed dovetails. This dovetail depth should be two-thirds the board thickness.

With the same setting, use the marking gauge to indicate dovetail depth at the front of each drawer side. Then turn boards over and mark them similarly on the opposite sides.

Use marking gauge on inner face of drawer front, to indicate thickness of a drawer side at each end. Make guide marks for dovetails. Saw diagonally between the stop lines.

Use a sharp knife (a mat knife is best) to square off the diagonal saw cuts to full depth. Force the blade down by tapping its back with a hammer. Don't stray from saw cuts.

Cut across base lines of the dovetails' open sections with your knife before starting to chisel the wood out. This will insure accurate and clean-cut edges for a professional fit.

Remove stock with a sharp, narrow chisel, lifting chips out through the inside face of the drawer front, rather than the edge. Clear undercuts after removing the center portions.

Align the inside face of the drawer front with mating drawer-side guide marks after cutting and trimming dovetails. Trace the dovetail outlines accurately onto the drawer sides.

Use a knife, again, to start base cuts that will clear the open sections. Do this on both faces; then complete the cuts with a chisel, working in to the center from both faces.

Finished joint is snug and will remain strong, even if the glue applied before assembly dries out at a later date. Never use nails when making a French dovetail joint.

How to Make an Open Dovetail

Use open dovetails to attach the back to a French dovetailed drawer. Mark thickness of a drawer side at each end of the drawer back, on both faces, to serve as stop marks.

Cut dovetails in the drawer back first, using contours shown. This way, you can drive the back in place last, locking the drawer bottom in its grooves and binding the assembly.

With dovetail marks traced on back edges of the drawer sides, saw perpendicularly to stop marks. Remove open-section stock with knife and chisel, angling tools.

Open dovetail joint is assembled. It takes patience and practice to produce precision fits like this, but French dovetails are the hallmark of the good furniture builder.

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