There are many different components that play an important part of woodworking. One useful segment of woodworking is knowing how to make joints. Joints are used in nearly every project to hold wood together. Here are some of the woodworking joints that anyone with an interest in the craft should know how to make.
Most of the time, the joint that people begin with when they start woodworking is the most basic one, called the butt joint. The joint simply has two pieces of wood held together at a right angle and then fastened with either fasteners or glue. The joint is pretty popular in construction areas where it is used for wall framing. The joint can be put together in a short time and can be pretty sturdy for a lot of woodworking projects.
Similar to the butt joint is the mitered butt joint, another simple joint that is easy to make. The key difference between the butt joint and the mitered variant is the angle at which the wood is joined. Rather than being squared at right angles, the joint is made with 45 degree angles. The mitered joint has a disadvantage of not being as strong as a regular butt joint, however, it does come with a positive. The mitered butt joint is more visually pleasing due to the end grains being cut to make the 45 degree angle. The meeting of two ends of the pieces of wood makes a perfect seal that makes the project look more beautiful.
The half-lap joint is a little bit more complex than the butt joint, but it is a little stronger. To make the joint, half of two pieces of wood is removed. When the boards are attached on top of each other and either glued or fastened, they form a seal where the wood is entirely flush. Door frames, indoor and outdoor furniture, and workbench legs are projects where a half-lap joint would be useful.
A tongue and groove joint is useful for joining wood along their long edges. A slot, called the groove, is cut into one piece of wood along an edge. On the other piece of wood, a tongue is cut on one edge by cutting wood off the top and bottom until there is a piece in the middle that is the same thickness as the groove. Glue is then placed in the groove and the tongue is placed inside of it and clamps are held around the joint until the glue dries. Floorboards and wood paneling use this joint because it’s strong and visually attractive.
Mortise and tenon joints have been used since ancient times and are still popular today. The joint uses a mortise hole, which is a square or rectangular hole cut into a piece of wood. A tenon tongue is cut on one end of another piece of wood using the same dimensions as the mortise hole. Glue is put on the tenon and inside the mortise, and the tenon is then put inside the mortise.
These woodworking joints will come in handy during projects. There are more that woodworkers will learn about as their skills increase, but these are a pretty good place to start.