WOOD JOINTS

• Items to consider when choosing a wood joint.– How will the joint be used?– How durable does it need to be?– What appearance does it have to

have?– How many joints need to be

made?– What special tools are needed to

make and clamp the joint?

•Stronger Joints involve surfaces and edges of stock. •Weaker Joints involve the end grain of stock

Types of Wood Joints

Butt Joints• Butt joints are not strong joints.• They are easy to prepare & assemble.

End Butt joints attaches a squareEnd of one piece of stock to the Surface or edge of another pieceOf stock. (not very strong)

Edge Butt joints fastens 2 orMore pieces of stock edge toEdge. Used for laminationsFor table tops etc.

Edge Butt joints longer thanTwo feet require reinforcementWith dowels or biscuits forStrength.

Miter Joints are used toMake corners for framesor installing moldings.(very weak joints withoutreinforcement)

Lap joints are used for supporting items such as a table top.Are very strong joints

Half Lap

Edge Lap End Lap

Cross Lap

Lap Joints are made by reducing each piece of stock to half its original thickness.

Rabbet Joints

A Rabbet is an L-shaped recess cut atthe end or along the edge of the stock.

Rabbet joints are often used for makingsides of boxes or drawers.

Rabbet joints are strong joints and arerelatively easy to make.

Dado Joints

• A dado is a square cornered recess that runs across the grain.

• Similar to a rabbet but is not located at the edge of the stock.

• Commonly used to hold shelves in cabinets or for drawer slides.

• Groove joint is like a dado except it runs along the grain, not against it.

Mortise & Tenon Joints

• Used in furniture construction.• Very strong joint when properly made.• Mortise is rectangular recess.• Tenon is rectangular projection.• Two types of mortise & tenon joints: blind & through.

• Difficult to make by hand.• Several methods can be used to create

this joint using; doweling jigs, routers or mortising attachment on a drill press.

Tenon

Mortise

Dovetail Joints

• Joint consists of wedge-shaped projections that fit into matching recesses.

• Difficult to make by hand.• Dovetail fixtures used with a

router make for an easier job.

•Primarily used in drawer construction.

•Used in high quality furniture.

Wedge shaped fingers interlock.

Plate or Biscuit Joints

• Becoming one of the most popular methods of making joints for all types of products.

• Biscuit is a flat football shaped piece of beech which fits into a semicircular slot cut by a biscuit or plate joiner.

• When glued together, biscuit swells & tightens the joint.

Box Joints

• Box joints are similar to dovetail joints but are quite as strong.

• Projections are rectangular in shape instead of wedged shaped as in the dovetail joint.

• Difficult to make by hand but easy to make with fixtures on the table saw or the router.

Rectangular fingers