Hi About Joints There are many ways of fastening pieces of wood together, some are purely functional such as butt joints, while others such as dovetails are functional as well as decorative. To add additional strength or appeal two or more types of joints are often combined such as splined miter joints when making picture frames.
Biscuit Joints Biscuits are small oval shapped disks made from composite wood material that expands when moistened with glue. They are often used to to keep boards aligned when gluing up for panels. Blind Dovetail Blind dovetails are often used in drawer construction because of the strength the locking design provides. They can be cut by hand or with a router and a special jig. Box Joints Box joints are square interlocking fingers to join two pieces at a right angle, they are cut on a table saw with a dado blade or with a router and a straight bit. Either method requires a jig to space the fingers evenly. If a router is used it is mounted under a table. Dado Joint Dado's are typically used in making book shelves, they support the shelf without the benefit of any additional fastners, any glue or hardware simply holds the shelf in place. Dados may be made with a dado blade on a table or radial arm saw, or with a straight bit in a router. Basic Dado This type of dado joint tends to look better, any space in fit is not as obvious, yet is a strong as the basic style. Dowel Butt Joint Making a dowel butt joint requires nothing more than a drill and a drill bit if the positions are carefully measured, however there are tools and jigs which make the job a lot easier. A jig can be purchased or made to align the holes, using a drill press will make straight holes and it has a depth gauge. Using dowel centers Dowel centers are used to mark the position to drill holes for dowels, they are small buttons with a shank that goes into the drilled hole in one piece and the point is then pressed against the other piece. If two or more dowels are required, drill all the holes and put a dowel center in each hole. They come in different sizes, it is a good idea to buy several sets at the same time because the length of the points vary from brand to brand and can not be used together. Dowel Centers Buy them in individual sizes or as a set. Dowel Centers Dowel Centers Making Dowels If you cut your own dowels notch the ends with a pair of pliers to make glue channels. Miller Dowel System This is a new system using stepped dowels and a special bit. Finger Joints Finger joints are long tapered fingers that interlock to join two pieces lengthwise as in commercial moulding or side by side in panels. They are cut with high powered routers or shapers. Lap Joint Lap joints are made by laying one piece on top of another, they can be used in angle or lengthwise joints. Half lap joints are when half of the thickness from each piece is removed, they can be made by hand with a saw and chisel, on a table saw or radial arm saw with a dado blade, or with a router and a straight bit. Basic Lap Joint Half Lap Joint To make half lap joint Half lap joints must be cut exactly centered so the surfaces line up. Set your saw blade or router bit height to cut just under half way through a test piece of material exactly the same thickness of the wood being used, preferabaly a cut-off of it. Cut through one side of the board at the very end, turn the board over and make a second cut, you should now have a sliver of wood on the end of the board. Raise the blade or bit a little at a time to leave a paper thin sliver and cut the half lap. If you are using a saw blade make several cuts across the lap, remove excess with chisel. Locked Rabbet Drawer Joint Locked rabbet drawer joints fasten the front of a drawer securely to the sides. They may be made on a table saw or with a router and straight bit mounted in a table. Miter Joint Miter joints are made by cutting the ends of the pieces on an angle egual to one half of the angle of the finished product, a square 90° corner is made by cutting each piece at a 45° angle. The angles are cut in a miter box by hand, with a power miter saw, or on a table or radial arm saw. A compound miter is when the angles are cut at an angle both to the face and edge of the piece as in crown moulding installation. Special clamps are used for miter joints, they can be fastened with glue only, glue and nails or screws, or with a biscuit or spline. Mortise and Tennon Mortise and tennon joints consist of putting a square peg in a square hole, they hold extremely well and were used in most antique furniture building. Mortises can be cut with a dedicated machine, a drill press attachment or be done by hand by drilling holes and squaring the corners with a chisel. Tennons are usually cut on a table saw with a jig, they can also be cut by hand. Pocket Hole This is a type of butt joint where screws are driven in on an angle to join the material, a special jig is used for this. Spline Joint This is a thin strip glued into grooves cut into the pieces being joined, these are used to fasten panels together and to fasten the mitered corners of picture frames. They are made with a table saw and dado blade or with a router and straight bit. Splines add strength to a miter joint, a simple jig can be made for use on a table saw or router table. The glued corner is clamped into the jig, the jig is run along the fence on your table saw or router table, the short dowel is used as a handle to keep the jig tight to the fence. Insert the spline, trim and sand even with frame when glue has set. Types of Joints Biscuit Joints Blind Dovetail Box Joints Dado Joint Dowel Butt Joint Finger Joints Lap Joint Locked Drawer Joint Miter Joint Mortise and Tenon Joint Pocket Hole Spline Joint To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! 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