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http://www.instructables.com/id/Hand-Cut...r-Dummies/I just think those dovetails w them running with the grain look inherently weak. And wouldn't the long grain to long grain be almost just as strong with a simple butt joint and then glued?
Pedro
I miss nested quotes..........
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Well, they did say it was dovetails for dummies. Definitely not the best way to orient the grain for dovetails. Full disclosure, though, the author did say the orientation was not proper, and that it was just for demonstration only. Still, if you're going to post an instructable, do it right.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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For dummies or not, instructions should be clear and correct.
"Excellent! You guys noticed, I wondered if anyone would. I have updated my instructable to include this information. I used side grain because it was the scrap that I had laying around. Since this was just for demonstration purposes I went with it."
The explanation wasn't that convincing to me. Anyone who has cut dovetails enough needs no one to point out that grain mistake. For demonstration purposes, things should be done right or get fixed before you publish them.
A quick look revealed this (Step 8):
"If the previous steps have been followed, the two boards should not fit together. In order to get the tight great looking dovetails that every carpenter wants, carefully shave wood off the second board in the interface between the two. I used both the chisel and small sanding block to get them to fit."
The first time I saw the suggestion of using sandpapers to fit your dovetail joints. Sandpapers, files and whatnot should be avoided as they may round over the tail or pin edges. I would recommend aspiring dovetailers avoid this article; there are many other free and good articles on the internet.
Simon
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I agree. Follow better instructions, rather than cutting dovetails in a situation where a simple butt joint would be stronger.
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I agree.
The text says this was done long grain for demonstration only. Why?
Why not, say for example, make a dovetail joint? The joint shown has the appearance of a dovetail joint, but it has no reason to exist. It seems to me that if you're teaching someone about a dovetail; someone who doesn't understand dovetails, demonstrating the "why" is significant. Just to play Devil's Advocate, suppose a novice asked (reasonably), "Why should I do that?" The joint shown fails to answer that question at all. If this was truly all you knew about dovetails, the reasonable conclusion would be to not bother with them. They make no sense.
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Handplanesandmore said:
A quick look revealed this (Step 8):
"If the previous steps have been followed, the two boards should not fit together. In order to get the tight great looking dovetails that every carpenter wants, carefully shave wood off the second board in the interface between the two. I used both the chisel and small sanding block to get them to fit."
This sentence says it all. The guy's not a furniture maker.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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Sites like the one mentioned, and "expert village" sites in general, are often laughable. This instance is no exception. I love the post-script apology stating that the long grain was used (mistakenly) for demonstration purposes. Rubbish. The person playing an "expert" in this article clearly did not have a clue about grain orientation. Perhaps better advise would be to direct inquiries to:
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ 
