Originally Posted by
Jon Nuckles
Edward,
From your description, it sounds like you are using a sliding dovetail joint rather than the type of dovetails that others here are thinking of. If so, you are correct that a 1/2" dovetail bit is going to route a groove too wide to be filled by your 1/2" thick sides. Even if you could cut the male side of the joint so that you removed nothing from the sides at the end of the joint, which would be a very tough task, your 1/2" plywood is probably not a full 1/2" thick to start with. Use a smaller bit.
Jon