Redbourn, HertfordshireBespoke joinery since 1998
Cut by hand. Held for a hundred years.
Staircases, fitted furniture and cabinetry, made in our workshop in Redbourn by four joiners who still cut every dovetail with a saw.
The through dovetail
How a dovetail goes together
- 01
Mark
A knife line, never a pencil. The 1:6 slope is struck once and followed everywhere, so the fit is decided before a saw touches the board.
- 02
Saw
Tails first, sawn a hair to the waste side of the line. The pins are scribed straight from the tails, so each joint is a pair that only fits itself.
- 03
Pare
The waste comes out with a chisel and a mallet, a shaving at a time, back to the baseline. You stop when the fit is a whisper.
- 04
Close
A few taps. No screws, no biscuits, no clever glue. Wood locks against wood, and the harder it is pulled the tighter it holds.
Why bother
Furniture should still be tight when your grandchildren sell the house.
Machines can cut a dovetail in seconds. We cut ours by hand because it lets us fit each pair to the board in front of us, with all its knots, twists and grain, instead of to a drawing. It is slower, and it is the reason drawers we made in 2004 still run without a sound.
- 1:6slope on every joint, softwood or hardwood
- 8–12weeks from signed drawings to fitting
- 4joiners, one workshop, no subcontracting
What we make
Four things, done properly.
No catalogue and no flat-pack. Every piece starts as a conversation and a drawing, and ends in your home with the maker’s initials and the date pencilled inside a drawer.
- 01Cabinetry Sideboards, tables and chests with dovetailed carcasses, drawers that run on wood, and tops oiled by hand. Walnut · Oak · Ash
- 02Fitted furniture Alcove bookcases, wardrobes and utility rooms, scribed to walls that are never quite straight. Painted · Veneered · Solid
- 03Staircases & doors Cut-string and closed-string stairs, framed doors and screens, templated on site and made to fit it. Oak · Ash · Softwood
- 04Repair & restoration Sashes, period doors, panelling and mouldings matched to the original profile, not close to it. Like for like
How a commission runs
From a chat in your hallway to a last coat of oil.
- Week 0
Visit & measure
We come to you, measure, and talk through the room and the budget. Free within twenty miles.
- Week 1
Drawings & a sample joint
Scaled drawings, a fixed quote and a sample corner in your chosen timber so you can hold the joint.
- Week 2
Timber
Boards chosen one by one from air-dried stock, then rested in the workshop for a fortnight to settle.
- Weeks 3–10
Making
Everything cut, pared and dry-fitted before glue. You get photographs at each stage.
- Week 11
Fitting & oiling
Two joiners fit it in a day, then hand-finish with hard-wax oil. We take the dust sheets with us.
Timber
The same board, three trees.
We buy English hardwood from three local sawmills and let it dry for at least two years per inch. Pick a species and move the lamp: the pores and rings are real features, not a finish.
Walnut · rich, dark, slightly oily. Best for pieces that live in lamplight.
Start a commission
Tell us what you would like made.
WorkshopThe workshop
Redbourn, Hertfordshire AL3
Telephone01632 960214
Emailhello@redbourndovetail.example
HoursMonday to Friday, 7.30 am to 5 pm