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 square
End of one piece of stock to the
Surface or edge of another piece
Of stock. (not very strong)
Edge Butt joints fastens 2 or
More pieces of stock edge to
Edge. Used for laminations
For table tops etc.
Edge Butt joints longer than
Two feet require
reinforcement
With dowels or biscuits for
Strength.
Miter Joints are used to
Make corners for frames
or installing moldings.
(very weak joints without
reinforcement)
Half Lap
Cross Lap
Edge Lap
End Lap
Lap joints are
used for
supporting items
such as a table
top.
Are very strong
joints
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 at
the end or along the edge of the stock.
Rabbet joints are often used for making
sides of boxes or drawers.
Rabbet joints are strong joints and are
relatively 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
Tenon
Mortise
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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.
Dovetail Joints
•Primarily used in
drawer construction.
•Used in high quality
furniture.
Wedge shaped fingers interlock.
• 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.
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
Rectangular fingers
• 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.