Some advice on hand cut dovetail please.

Hi everyone. I’m a realitivly new builder still trying to figure things out and I was hoping for some advice. So far I can confidently build the body of an instrument but I am yet to finish one as I fall as the same hurdle each time. The dovetail. I have done as much research and practice as I can and I still cannot get it right. I just cannot make it fit. I have decide to explore other joints and move on from the dovetail but I am still seeking advice as I am curious as to what it is I have been doing wrong. I just want to add I have no access to machines or anything so all dovetails are cut by hand.

Thank you.

Some more pictures...

Your heel has to match the contour of the body at the joint. You could chalk it in after rough shaping the heel, but you may have to also face off the dovetail if it wants to bottom out, then shim the joint to pull the heel into tight contact with the body again.

I think you will find that few uke makers use a tapered dovetail joint. Some will use a butt joint, others a biscuit or dowel, and many the bolted joint with/without a tenon. Those that do a dovetail will have made or bought jigs in order to use a router to make the joint.

I used a hand cut dovetail on perhaps the first ten instruments before making jigs for my router. I have used bolt on necks for a few instruments but still prefer the tapered dovetail.

I'm guessing that you are having a problem with getting a good fit between the neck and the body (or maybe its an alignment issue?). It helps if there's a flat area on the box whether its a tenon or dovetail, and its common that the fit is improved by slightly undercutting the neck joint and flossing the joint. There are videos on Youtube showing how this is done (maybe guitar rather than uke) Note not everything said is applicable to a uke but these 2 videos should give you some idea of how its done and that its not simply a one saw cut and it all fits process.

Hand cut dovetail:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbBYzcu2oqM

Bolted Tenon with shoulder flossing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlZvDyKnPI&t=159s