Visited a custom shop in Portland that still uses hand-cut dovetails exclusively

Last month I drove up to Portland for a weekend and stopped by a small custom cabinet shop a buddy recommended. The owner, an older guy named Roy, showed me around and I noticed every single drawer in their builds uses hand-cut dovetails. No jigs, no CNC, just a saw and a chisel. He said they average about 45 minutes per joint, which seems crazy slow to me. But the fit was perfect, no gaps at all. Has anyone else run into a shop that still works that way, or am I the only one who thinks that's overkill for production work?

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holly_foster1mo ago

Are you sure it's 45 minutes per joint and not per drawer... cause that's a whole different level of crazy. I mean, one joint taking 45 minutes sounds like he's carving a sculpture instead of building furniture. Don't get me wrong, hand-cut dovetails are beautiful and all, but that kind of time commitment feels like a hobby more than a business. I guess if you're charging enough to cover that labor, more power to you... but I'd be worried about ever getting a project finished.