# rabbeted half-blind help



## turbo6justin (Apr 27, 2011)

I bought the Porter Cable dovetail jig system and have played with it a few times, with enough success that I think I am ready to try some real parts. My confusion is all my test pieces were standard half-blind dovetails and my real drawers are rabbeted. I have read the instructions a few dozen times and the thing I can't get my head around is why they say to use a spacer (equal to the rabbets width) between the stop and the tail/vertical board? I am the kind of person who once I understand why it will make perfect sense but if the spacing from the end of the board of the tails and pins is set by the stop why are we adjusting the vertical piece out or to the right in my case 3/8 of an inch? Wouldn't that mean that the two boards would be mismatched by 3/8" after we run the pin side based on where the stop is set? When making regular half blind joints you just center the tail board between two indents in the jig and move the stop over to that point and that's it. I'm confused...

Any help is appreciated, I was hoping to make some drawers tomorrow afternoon.

I'm not on this forum often but man I love knowing it is here and for searching, I can't seem to search my way out of this one. Something in the search terms "rabbeted half-blind dovetail porter cable" gets lost in the mix.:fie:


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## turbo6justin (Apr 27, 2011)

I think I may be onto something. If I look at the picture at the top of the page where they show the completed drawer and joint they show a drawer front that is rabbeted all the way around the perimeter so that would sit recessed in the face frame. If that is the case then I think I understand why the spacer the width of the rabbet. In my case and I thought most cases I am using the rabbet to hide the drawer slide so the rabbet will only be on the side. My use is a vanity with a door that hides 2 or 3 slide out drawers so the slide would be visible. The other drawers I need to make are just drawer boxes with a faces screwed on so the slide is hidden by the face plate. 

Am I getting this right? If I am only rabbeting the sides of the front then I line it up without the spacer.


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