Calculate dovetail pin and tail spacing for a hand-cut dovetail joint.
Tail Spacing
— in (center to center)
Across the board.Usage Tip
Lay out from the center outward so any half-pin at the edges comes out symmetric; mark the waste side clearly before sawing.
THE MATH
spacing = width ÷ tails
tail width = spacing − pin width (1/4 in typical)
tail width = spacing − pin width (1/4 in typical)
Dovetails alternate pins and tails across a board. Even spacing comes from dividing the board width by the number of tails, then subtracting the narrow pin width.
Enter the board width and the number of tails.
Spacing is center to center, and tail width assumes a 1/4 inch pin at the narrow end.
Spacing is center to center, and tail width assumes a 1/4 inch pin at the narrow end.