Hand-cut dovetails vs. router jig, which one actually wins on a deadline?

Ive been doing finish work for a small crew outside Richmond for about 5 years now. Last month I had to build 6 drawers for a custom kitchen and I was stuck choosing between hand-cutting dovetails or breaking out the router jig. The router jig gives me perfect joints in like 20 minutes each, but the setup takes forever and theres always that tear out on plywood edges. Hand cutting took me about 45 minutes per drawer corner, and my first attempt at a half-blind joint came out so loose I had to shim it with glue and sawdust. I ended up doing a mix, hand-cut the front corners for looks and router jig on the back, which saved me about 3 hours total. The customer never noticed the difference, but my shoulder did appreciate skipping the sawing marathon. Do you guys think the hand-cut look is worth the extra time for hidden joints, or are we just showing off for ourselves? Anyone else do the hybrid thing and have it bite them on a corner alignment? I keep second guessing if the extra effort actually matters when the drawer slides close and no one sees the inside.

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emma_clark15d ago

Skip the sawing, hide the backs. Customers only care the front looks clean.