Dovetailed Bookcase

Prepare the Stock

Glue up and mill the shelves (A), sides (B) and top (C) to final width and length (Fig. A, Photo 1). All the pieces are equal to or less than 12 in. wide, so you can run them through a planer to even up the joints. To succeed with the dovetail joinery, it’s essential that all these parts are dead flat. Use a crosscut sled to ensure the ends are square (see “A Simple Crosscut Sled,” AW #87, June 2001).

Rout the Tails

Use my shop-made dovetail jig to make perfectly tapered dovetails on the shelves and sides (Photo 2; Fig. B, below). You’ll find complete information on how to build and use my jigs in “Tapered Sliding Dovetails”.  Note that a joint’s wide end goes on the front of a shelf but on the back of the side (Fig. A, below). The shelves slide in from the front, so the exposed dovetails are the wide end. The top slides in from the front because the joint is stopped. Rout both ends of each shelf and the top end of each side.

Rout the Side Sockets

Lay the two sides together, like an open book, and mark the centerlines of the shelf sockets (Fig. A). Align the socket jig with these marks and rout all six sockets using my shop-made tail jig (Photo 3).

Assemble the Case

Sand the shelves and sides; then glue them together (Photo 4). Apply a thin layer of  glue to either the socket or the dovetail—it’s not necessary to spread glue on both parts. It’s easy to slide the joint most of the way home by hand, but keep a mallet or pipe clamp handy for the final push. 

Rout the Top Sockets

Be fussy when laying out the sockets in the top, because there’s little or no room for error. Mark the center of  the top dovetails on the sides. Turn the glued case upside down and place it on the top. Transfer the centerlines of the dovetails to the top (Fig. C. below). Line up the socket jig on these marks (Photo 5). Note that the jig’s narrow side faces the top’s front. 

Add the Top

Trim the side’s dovetails (Photo 6, Fig. A). Sand the top and glue it on (Photo 7). Round over all the edges of the top, sides and shelves with sandpaper.

Photo 1: Cut the shelves, sides and top to length using a crosscut sled. The ends must be absolutely straight and square to make tight-fitting dovetail joints. Clamp a long stop arm to the sled to ensure similar pieces are cut to the same length.

Photo 2: Rout tapered dovetails on the ends of the shelves and sides. I’ve devised a shop-made jig that makes this complicated joint virtually foolproof (see “Tapered Sliding Dovetails”).

Photo 3: Rout sockets in the sides. This jig has a tapered opening that exactly mirrors the dovetail’s taper. Line up the jig’s alignment mark with each shelf’s centerline (see inset).

Photo 4: Assemble the shelves and sides. Glue all three shelves to one side; then add the other side before the glue sets. Tapered sliding dovetails don’t become tight until they’re almost home, so you can work at a comfortable pace.

Photo 5: Rout stopped sockets in the top. Place a block in the jig to stop the cut. These sockets don’t go all the way across, because the top’s front overhangs the sides. Here, the dovetail joint is “blind,” or hidden.

Photo 6: Trim the front end of each side’s dovetail. This is much easier to do with a handsaw than by machine. The shoulder you create will sit under the uncut portion of the top’s socket.

Photo 7: Slide the top into place. Dovetail joinery makes this bookcase extremely rigid, even without a back panel. You can load it with heavy books and never worry about it sagging or falling apart.