A dovetail joint is a series of overlapping, flared connectors that join two pieces of wood. The connectors are called tails and pins. When viewing the face of the board, the tails resemble a dove’s tail. So do the pins when viewing the end grain. The gaps between tails are called pin sockets, with the gaps between pins known as tail sockets.

The dovetail joint is made up of two parts. The tails are the flared, triangular shapes, cut through the thickness of one board. The pins are the more slender projections, cut along the grain of the other board.

There are two parts to a dovetail joint: pins and tails. The tails look like the tail of a dove (hence the name), and the pins are on the opposite board and fit in between the tails to create a joint that is impossible to pull apart in at least one direction.

Whether you cut half-blind or through dovetails, the dovetail joinery components include the same key elements: pins, tails and sockets.