COMMON WOODWORKING JOINTS BEGINNER WOODWORKING JOINTS Presented by Ed’s Custom Woodcraft’s Visit Me at www.edscustomwoodcrafts.com
FINGER JOINT • Also known as a box joint, is a corner joint with interlocking fingers. Receives pressure from two directions. Usually made with some kind of store bought jig or homemade jig. I usually make mine at the table-saw or with a router.
BUTT JOINT EDGE BUTT JOINT
END BUTT JOINT
• Used to make boards wider
• Not very strong
• The end of a piece of wood is butted against
• Must be reinforced
another piece of wood. This is the simplest and weakest joint.
DOWEL JOINT • Very Strong • Used to make butt joins stronger • The end of a piece of wood is butted against another piece of wood. This is reinforced with dowel pins. This joint is quick to make with production line machinery and so is a very common joint in factory-made furniture.
BISCUIT JOINTS • Used to strengthen end butt joints or edge joint
• A wooden oval is glued into two crescent-shaped holes.
• NOT as strong as dowel joints • A type of a spline joint
POCKET SCREW JOINT • Used in place of a dowel joint or Mortise and Tenon
• Used on face frame construction • Need to have a pocket hole jig, like picture below
• Still considered a butt joint
LAP JOINT • A lap joint may be a full lap or half lap. In a full lap, no material is removed from either of the members to be joined, resulting in a joint which is the combined thickness of the two members.
LOCKING RABBET JOINT • Commonly used in drawer construction • Can be made using a table saw or router • Very strong joint that also has visual appeal especially if you use contrasting woods.
MORTISE & TENON JOINT • Very Strong • A stub (the tenon) will fit tightly into a hole cut for it (the mortise). This is a hallmark of
• Mission Style furniture, and also the traditional method of jointing frame and panel members in doors, windows, and cabinets. This joint is a good strong joint to use.
• Used on leg and rail construction
RABBET JOINT • Characteristic: Always on the end or edge of a board goes with or across the grain
• This joint is used to insert a back panel onto the back of a cabinet
• Its usually cut 1⁄4” deep • Cut as wide as the board going into it
DADO JOINT • Characteristic: Across the grain and in the middle of the board
• Also called a housing joint or trench joint, a slot is cut across the grain in one piece for another piece to set into; shelves on a bookshelf having slots cut into the sides of the shelf, for example.
• Cut 1⁄4” deep, as wide as the board going into it
• Used to hold a fixed shelf
GROOVE JOINT • Characteristic; Goes with the grain • In the middle of the board • Cut 1⁄4” deep and as wide as the board going into it
• Used for drawer bottoms • Like the dado joint, except that the slot is cut with the grain.
MITER JOINT • Main purpose is to cover end grain • Similar to a butt joint, but both pieces have been beveled (usually at a 45 degree angle).
• Can be reinforced • Used on the corners of picture frames
ADVANCED FURNITURE WOODWORKING JOINTS
TONGUE & GROOVE JOINT • USED ON HARDWOOD FLOORING
• EACH PIECE HAS A GROOVE CUT ALL ALONG ONE EDGE, AND A THIN, DEEP RIDGE (THE TONGUE) ON THE OPPOSITE EDGE. IF THE TONGUE IS UNATTACHED, IT IS CONSIDERED A SPLINE JOINT
SPLINE JOINT • Separate piece of wood glued inside • Used to strengthen a miter or edge joint
• A joint used to attach two members end to end.
STOPPED (BLIND) DADO JOINT • Does not go clear through tops about 3⁄4” – 1” short
• Used so you don’t see the joint • Commonly used in book case construction, so as that you don’t see the end grain of the mating pieces
DOVETAIL JOINT • Use in the best drawer construction • Can be made either by hand or by using a dovetail jig
• A form of box joint where the fingers are locked together by diagonal cuts. More secure than a finger joint.
• One of the most elegant joints in woodworking
SCARPH JOINT • A scarf joint may also be used to fix problems caused when a board is cut too short for the application. The board can be cut in half with a tapered cut yielding a scarf joint. When the joint is glued together, the tapers are slid against each other so that the two sections are no longer in line with each other. This has the effect of making the board longer. Once the glue has set, the board can be planed down to an even thickness, resulting in a longer but thinner board.
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