 | Don Swank is General Manager of Spring Valley Woodworks, Inc. in Canton, KS. Spring Valley custom builds commercial furnishings for businesses throughout an area of the Midwest of approximately 500 to 700 miles radius of Canton, with the care and precision of its more than 30 year Mennonite tradition. These commercial furnishings include but are not limited to Desks, Credenzas, U-Units, L-Units, U-Groups, Hutches, Files and Workstations, made in a variety of woods including Walnut, Oak, Cherry, Birch, Ash, Mahogany, Poplar, Teak and more. You can visit Spring Valley Woodworks at www.springvalleywood.com. You can contact Don by email don@springvalleywood.com, or call him at Spring Valley Woodworks, 620-345-8330. |
Commercial Furnishings
2013-02-01 10:18:55
Types of joints in woodworking - series
Q-Woodworking is a subject that many people it seems have an interest in…and perhaps more so today than ever before. I have read some of your articles on seating, types of wood and the vernacular used in the industry. Can you talk about the different joints one uses in woodworking?
A-Goodness, there are a lot of these, and different types are used for different projects. I had to do a little research on the Internet for some of this. One site I used that proved to be most helpful was at www.about.com.
Wood joinery is one of the most basic concepts in woodworking. If one didn't have the ability to joint two pieces of wood together in a solid fashion, all woodworking pieces would be sculptures, carved out of a single piece of wood. However, with the many varied types of wood joinery, a woodworker has a number of different joints in his arsenal from which to choose, based upon the project. If you master these wood joinery concepts, you'll be well on your way to becoming a very accomplished woodworker. I have included different pictures of these types of joints that I found on the Internet, with the applicable numbers.
1. Basic Butt Joint
There is no more basic wood joinery than the butt joint. A butt joint is nothing more than when one piece of wood butts into another (most often at a right angle, or square to the other board) and is fastened using mechanical fasteners. This type of joint is often used in wall framing on construction sites.
2. Mitered Butt Joint
A mitered butt joint is basically the same as a basic butt joint, except that the two boards are joined at an angle (instead of square to one another). The advantage is that the mitered butt joint will not show any end grain, and as such is a bit more aesthetically pleasing. However, the mitered butt joint isn't all that strong.
3. Half-Lap Joint
The half-lap joint is where half of each of the two boards being joined is removed, so that the two boards join together flush with one another. This type of wood joinery can obviously weaken the strength of the two adjoining boards, but also is a stronger joint than butt joints. There are a number of projects where this type of wood joint is quite desirable, in spite of its drawbacks.
4. Tongue and Groove Joint
When joining two boards square to one another along a long edge, one can simply butt the joint together and hold it with fasteners. However, the tongue and groove joint is much stronger and provides more adjoining surface areas, which is particularly useful if you're going to glue the joint.
5. Mortise and Tenon Joint
The mortise and tenon is a classic wood joinery method. These joints have been used since the early times of woodworking, and are still among the strongest and most elegant methods for joining wood.
6. Biscuit Joint
Another method for joining boards along the edges (like the tongue and groove joint) is to cut slots and use beechwood wafers (known as biscuits) to hold the boards in place. This is a very useful modern woodworking joint, particularly for creating table tops, relying on glue and the swelling of the beechwood biscuit to hold the boards in place.
7. Pocket Joint
The Pocket Joint is a type of wood joinery that involves cutting a slot and pre-drilling a pilot hole at an angle between two boards before connecting the two with a screw. This pre-drilling needs to be very accurate, so it is typically accomplished by use of a commercial jig. Pocket joints work great for cabinet face frames and other similar applications where a lot of strength is not needed.
8. Dado
A dado is nothing more than a square-grooved slot in one board where another board will fit. Similar to tongue and groove joinery, this is a commonly-used wood joint for connecting plywood, such as building cabinetry.
9. Rabbet
Another common wood joint used in cabinetry is the rabbet. A rabbet is essentially a dado cut along the edge of a board. Rabbets are often used at the back of cabinets and other similar assemblies for attaching the back to the sides of the box, adding a considerable amount of strength to the assembly.
10. Through Dovetail Joint
Of all wood joinery methods, the through dovetail may be the most revered. A classic through dovetail is beautiful and very strong, and adds a touch of class to any piece. There are a few methods for creating through dovetails, from hand cutting to machining with a jig.
11. Half-Blind Dovetail Joint
There are situations where a dovetail joint is the connection of choice, but both edges of the dovetails should not be visible. A perfect example is a drawer front, where you don't want to see the end of the through dovetail on the face of the drawer. For this type of joint, the best choice is a half-blind dovetail.
12. Sliding Dovetail
A sliding dovetail is a versatile joint with a lot of possible uses. A good way to think of it is as a locking dado.
13. Box Joint
Dovetail joints are beautiful and strong, but not always practical. A box joint is a simpler alternative to the dovetail joint.
