Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
Will the dovetails hold the drawer together for 200 years? An investigation of Period antiques will reveal that this requirement is easy to meet. There is so much redundancy in the joint that the occasional gap is irrelevant and overcuts just mean the maker was more worried about getting the drawer done than making a statement. The only thing to feel inadequate about is how long it took to make the drawer (compared to 1780).

I have a first hand account of drawer making in a British shop where the daily quota was 6 drawers per day.