Dovetails and stain

[Steve Coons]

Hi all, kind of stumped on a desk I am making. I am making the drawers with machine cut dovetails but I was wondering how the best way to to do this would be since I am going to apply a dark stain to the drawer front? Does one stain and finish the front first and then cut the dovetails? Or is there a better way I am not seeing? I didn't want to stain the drawer sides and this seems the best way, but I thought I would ask this far more knowledgeable group.
Thanks

Steve

[Alan Turner]

Steve,
There are several ways to handle this, none perfect. One method is to build the drawer, cut the joints, and then when ready to assemble, put a wiped coat of shellac on the drawer sides before assembly. Later, when you are staining the fronts, mask off the side. Some will creep under, but with the sealer on, you can wipe it off pretty well.

[Jim Becker]

It's tricky when you need to stain the drawer front material. Alan's method makes sense to me. When I built an armoire (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=12329&highlight=Armoire) project last year, I did a modified form of this in that I dry fitted and sanded the joints, disassembled and applied the dye to the drawer fronts and then glued up the two drawers. The joinery isn't as "level" as I'd prefer, but for an interior part of the project, I was fine with it. This doesn't come up with my work much as I generally prefer to work in cherry or walnut and never color either of them.