This is my 13 year old son's 4-H project for wood working this year. He cut the dovetails by hand. I wish he had a more experienced teacher. I've only used hand cut dovetails on one project. He also hand cut the dado's for the hidden shelf. While the piece is relatively small it exposed him to several processes. He is a bit of an artist, so I hope he will use it for sketches and the like.