My whole life my mother has reiterated time and time again how you should only buy wood furniture that has dovetail joints. Naturally, this trivia seeped into my mind, and stuck with me. Recently, I heard myself sharing the little gem of knowledge with a friend who has to furnish her new home form top to bottom. But, this prompted me to look into the full explanation of why this woodworking joinery rules the roost.

Yes, because my mother says it is so can be a very potent argument for some, but facts are what I wanted. What I learned was that the dovetail joint more than likely predates written history. In fact, the method has been successfully used in the structure of churches and bridges. Now, that is some seriously strong support for the muscle of the joint technique. If the approach is good enough to sustain such important structures, then it is definitely what I want in the construction of my wooden furniture.