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by kazinator 2570 days ago
> A precision made box joint glued with wood glue is stronger than a finely made dovetail joint.

To clarify, do you mean "than a finely made dovetail joint without glue"?

1 comments

No, I do not. According to the strength tests I've seen (and my experience with joinery reflects this), there is hardly any difference in strength between a box joint and a dovetail when done with equal precision and glued with modern glue, given that they have roughly equal amount of glue surface area. But a box joint is much easier to cut with precision on a table saw with a simple jig.

Dovetails aren't usually used without glue (or wedges). A tightly cut dovetail will stay together just fine without glue, but it has relatively little resistance against shear stress. A small bump can turn a square box into a trapezoid even with good joinery.

When I do dovetails, I use a small drop of glue on the long grain of the pins and tails. That's enough to keep it from trapezoiding and allows me to plane the joint flush.