Cabinet Joinery, Do You Know What To Look For?

Cabinet joinery is the best way to find out how well a cabinet is made. Complex and strong joints take time and the right machinery to make a long lasting and sturdy joint.

With a dovetail joint there is no need for mechanical fasteners such as nails or screws. This joint has a large surface area for glue, more glue surface means higher strength.

Once the glue has dried there is no way the joint can come apart. Even if the glue fails, which is highly unlikely, the joint will still stay intact due it's mechanical nature.

What I recommend is to take out the drawer and look at the construction techniques. A dovetail joint is the preferred method of joinery. The material used is also very important.

There are many types of dovetail joints the most used are half blind, through dovetail, and full-blind dovetail. Which joint used in a specific cabinet varies, depending on what needs to be accomplished.

The Through Dovetail
A through dovetail is the most common in cabinet joinery. The through dove tail is strong but the downside is it can be seen from all sides. I personally like the looks of a dovetail joint.

The Half-Blind Dovetail
A half-blind dovetail is also common in cabinet joinery. The benefit of a half-blind dovetail is that only half of the joint is visible. With this type the joint can be covered by the drawer front. This is good if you don't care for the looks of the joint.

It's even stronger than a through dovetail, because it has an even larger glue surface.

The Full-Blind Dovetail
The other method of dovetail joints is a full-blind dovetail. A full-blind is not commonly used due it's complexity. A full-blind is the strongest of all dovetail joints.

The full-blind dovetail has the benefit of having a dovetail joint that is invisible from all sides. As well as having an even larger surface area for glue.

Very complex machinery is needed to make this joint. A craftsman can make this joint but the time involved is immense and very costly.

It's not commonly used in cabinets because it is unneeded. Dovetails are used only in drawers and because drawers are shut most of the time and the extra cost of a full-blind dovetail is usually not warranted.

In summary a dovetail joint is the easiest way to find out the overall quality of a cabinets joinery. Dovetails are very strong and relatively easy for a manufacturer to make. In my opinion there is no better way to judge a cabinets quality.

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