I dry-assembled a pair of bookcases I'm building out of red oak, with the shelves housed in stopped sliding dovetails. All of the joints were tight enough to have to be tapped home, however some of them have gaps after assembly between the end of the pin and the bottom of the groove.

When I pull them tight with clamps they appear to fit well. I bought some veneer edgebanding with the intent of building up one side of the dovetail but looking at the joints when clamped I don't think they are very much undersized.

How strong is the glue joint on a sliding dovetail? If I glue it up as is and clamp it, will the joint last? Do I need to build up the pins with veneer and re-rout the dovetails?

Thanks for any advice you can give me.... Jim