Some natural phenomena have long inspired inventors to discover not even by the principle of their action, but by only one view. The snail prompted the development of a pump of the same shape as its shell. It is possible that round celestial bodies became the prototype of the wheel. Found use even a dovetail. Its characteristic bifurcation with an angular neckline is recognizable; it has become the prototype of many technical and theoretical solutions. Some of them are discussed below.
How to make a “non-pull out” bracket?
For wall mounts, there is often a need for an arm that is subject to multidirectional forces. If the support is simply hammered into the wall like a nail, the possibility is not excluded that under the influence of loads it will leave its place and fall out. In order to prevent this from happening, a simple but original solution is often used. In the bracket (for example, a segment of a plate or a metal corner), a longitudinal section is made, and the resulting ends are unbent in opposite directions. It remains only to knock out a hole in the wall and wall it with a mortar into it, which has received the name "dovetail" for its bifurcation. The mount is very reliable, it is difficult to pull out such an arm. Especially successfully, this method is used for walls made of soft limestone rock, for which other methods (dowels, nails or chopped) are ineffective.
Construction and wooden architecture
In Russia, and not only recently, ecological housing construction has spread. Log houses, huts, traditional wooden houses meet safety requirements, they are environmentally friendly, retain heat perfectly and, finally, can be just very beautiful. The logs that make up the walls at the corners can be articulated in several ways, but most often builders use the so-called "dovetail". The fastening is based on a beveled groove, which prevents the components of the structure from leaving their places under the influence of external forces. The advantage of the method is that it does not require fastening metal products (staples or nails - “crutches”), and therefore, the cost is reduced, and if necessary, you can move the structure by disassembling it in the reverse order of the assembly, removing each beam in turn. Dovetail - a way of erecting towers "without a single nail." Old Russian architects who created true architectural masterpieces perfectly owned it. Some of them are presented in the open-air museum in Kizhi, where they were transported unassembled from all over the country due to the fact that the joints are detachable and can withstand virtually unlimited number of disassembly-assembly cycles.
Furniture & Accessories
Trends in furniture design change cyclically, like any other fashion. One thing remains unchanged: quality is always highly valued. The "aerobatics" of a highly qualified carpenter (also called cabinet maker) is considered to be such a manner of work in which the articulations of the components of a table, chair or cabinet are not hidden, but are, as it were, displayed. Here, they say, how the drawer of the bureau worked, no fiberboard and plastic, everywhere there is wood, and the accuracy of the fit can be appreciated visually. In order to prevent the walls from spreading during transportation and simple operation, the good old “dovetail” is often used. The mount looks quite organic in expensive furniture, especially when the shades of the rocks contrast. The general principle is the same as in the construction of wooden log cabins, however, grooves are performed using special equipment in a structurally integral element, a board.
Joiner's equipment
The dovetail machine is nothing like bird plumage. It looks like a combination of a metal comb and a wooden base. But with its help, a qualified carpenter-furniture maker will make incoming teeth and reciprocal slots with high accuracy so that they connect at right angles and with minimal gaps. Manually such an effect is difficult, if at all possible. At its core, this machine is milling, special cutting nozzles (milling cutters) are used to work with it, which form spikes in the wood and their corresponding grooves with uniform periodicity and high quality.
How did shipbuilders do this?
Requirements for rigidity, strength and reliability have always been presented to watercraft. Shocks of ocean and sea waves can undermine the strongest hull of the ship, especially if it, as in ancient times, is made of wood. The type of connection parts "dovetail" was very often used, for obvious reasons, by shipbuilders. It is worth mentioning that the industry has always been characterized by the most advanced technologies. For cutting large protrusions and indentations in the woods, there is even a special dovetail saw, which in itself is completely unlike a forked bird silhouette. In contrast, the cutting part of this tool is straight and even. The name saw-hacksaw received for its purpose, it is convenient to cut grooves and teeth with inclined edges. It is used in combination with other carpentry tools, among which the most important are the chisel and chisel. This type of hacksaw today is used only in limited areas of production, for example, in the construction of yachts or luxury housing in the eco style. The real masters of carpentry, as a rule, have this tool.
The walls of the ancient Kremlin
Yes, yes, the Moscow Kremlin and many other medieval fortifications have been carrying the same dovetail on their walls for centuries. It is enough to carefully examine any of the teeth crowning the fence of the heart of Russia in order to discern the bifurcation of its specific shape. It is difficult to say how unique this form is, similar decisions were made in other European fortresses of that time. For what? It is possible that practical considerations moved the architects, and the forked depression served as a support for the squeakers or cannons, although for this purpose there could be enough gaps between the teeth. And maybe that was a kind of architectural fashion. Nevertheless, similar merlons (prongs) adorn the walls of the Kremlin in Tula, as well as the fortresses of many European cities (Pisa, Florence, Pistoia, Lucca, etc.). It is not known who invented “swallow tails” to decorate fortifications first. Most likely, architects invited from Italy brought them to Russia in fashion (for example, Pietro Solari took part in the construction of the Moscow Kremlin at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries).
Trailer
Trailers are used to transport vehicles and other equipment that cannot be transported on their own (from faulty cars to tanks). They are also called dovetail. The trailer has a characteristic retractable or rising structural elements, sometimes equipped with guide rails designed to pass the wheels of loaded machines. During transportation, these "tails" rise. Why such a name stuck, it is clear: retractable or raised ramps are two parts that look like a bifurcated plumage of a swallow.
Tripod use
Indispensable for tripods is the dovetail movable joint. This connection can be found on various tripods of optics of various purposes (from telescopes to movie cameras) and other devices, the design of which requires high-precision translational mobility. Among its advantages are minimization of backlash, ease of movement along a given line, the ability to install a measuring scale, which can be equipped with a carrier bar. The “Dovetail” in this case is a kinematic pair of a fixed guide having side cutouts (angular in cross section) and a carriage moving along it, equipped with a corresponding part of the corresponding shape. Of great importance is the possibility of unification of such tripods. The distance between the side parts may vary, the main thing is that the angle of the edges coincides. To pair different devices with one base, a dovetail adapter is used, in the design of which there are adjusting threaded elements that allow changing the base of the bearing part.
Every hunter desires …
Each shooter knows that the essence of aiming is to combine three points: a slit of the bar, the top of the front sight and the place where you need to get. Only if the distance, wind and lead are correctly taken into account (if the hunting object is mobile) can one hope to be hit. The design of the weapon, and therefore the sights, may vary. There are semicircular, rectangular slits and those bearing the name "dovetail". This type of sight allows an experienced shooter with certain skills to quickly calculate the distance to the target.
And the method of mounting it is often the same as on tripods of optical instruments, and as it is called, it is easy to guess. In general, modern weapons without a dovetail are almost hard to imagine.
