Dovetail joint joint technique probably pre-dates written history. Some of the earliest known examples of the dovetail joint are in ancient Egyptian furniture entombed with mummies dating from First Dynasty, as well as the tombs of Chinese emperors. The dovetail design is an important method of distinguishing various periods of furniture. In Europe the dovetail joint is sometimes called a swallowtail joint, a culvertail joint, or a fantail joint. The dovetail joint is very strong because of the way the 'tails' and 'pins' are shaped. This makes it difficult to pull the joint apart and virtually impossible when glue is added. This
Dovetail rail Dovetail rail A dovetail rail or dovetail mount can refer to several types of brackets found on firearms primarily for mounting sights. Dovetail "rails" usually refer to any rail with a inverted trapezium (dovetail) cross-section (though the hexagonal-profiled Weaver rail and Picatinny rail are also derivative dovetail designs) running parallel to the bore for mounting a scope or diopter sight to a rifle. These are sometimes also called "tip-off" mounts, and allow the user to easily take on or off the sight. "Dovetail mount" can also refer to a dovetail track running perpendicular to the bore, see "Other uses" below.