BUTT JOINT

The butt joint is the most

basic and simple joint to
construct because it is made
with only two pieces of
timber that are butted
together at the ends, this
also means that the joint
isn't very strong in fact it is
the weakest joint that is
used in woodwork but it is
also the easiest to make.
REINFORCING BUTT
To overcome their inherent weakness, butt joints are
JOINT usually reinforced by one of the following methods:
NAILED BUTT JOINT
This is the most common form of the
butt joint in building construction.

Members are brought together and a

number of nails are driven in to hold
them in place.

The technique of skew-nailing is

applied so that nails are not parallel
to each other and so resist the pulling
apart of the joint.

This form of butt joint is rarely used

in furniture making.
DOWEL REINFORCED BUTT JOINT

This produces a joint which is much

stronger than a butt joint without
reinforcement.

The dowels offer some holding

strength even after the glue has
deteriorated.

Over time, dowels may shrink and

become loose. They take on an oval
shape in section owing to the different
rate at which wood moves with different
orientations of the grain.

Loose dowels allow the joint to flex,

although it may not fall apart. This
phenomenon is evident in creaking
chairs and wobbling book cases. For
this reason, dowel joints are not
preferred for high-quality furniture.
BISCUIT REINFORCED BUTT
JOINT

The biscuit is an oval shaped piece

of specially dried and compressed
wood, usually beech, which is
installed in matching mortises in both
members of the joint in a similar
fashion to a loose or floating tenon.

A mortise for the biscuit is created

using a biscuit joiner

When the mortises have been cut,

the biscuit is inserted with some glue
and the joint is brought together,
aligned and clamped. The biscuit
absorbs some moisture from the glue
and swells up in the mortise, creating
a tightly fitting joint.
SCREWED BUTT JOINT

The screwed butt joint uses one or

more screws usually inserted into an
edge on the long grain side of one
member and extend through the joint
into the end grain of the adjacent
member.

For this reason, long screws are

required (usually 3 times the
thickness of the member) to ensure
good traction.

These joints may also be glued

although it is not necessary.
 In solid timber work it is common to
counterbore a hole in the frame or
carcase member to conceal the head
of the screw.

This also allows more of the body of

the screw to penetrate the adjacent
member for greater traction.

After the screw has been driven into

the joint, the counterbore can be filled
with an appropriately sized piece of
dowel or a wooden plug cut from an
offcut of the same timber using a plug
cutter.
BUTT JOINT WITH POCKET HOLE
SCREWS
This is a variation of the screwed
butt joint in which the screws are
inserted into pocket holes drilled in
the rear face of one of the joint
members.

The screws extend into cross grain

in the adjacent member, so much
shorter screws can be used.

This method is preferred when the

edges of the frame will be visible.
DADO JOINT
A dado (US and Canada),
housing (UK) or trench (Europe) is
a slot cut into the surface of a
piece of machinable material,
usually wood.

When viewed in cross-section, a

dado has three sides.

A dado is cut perpendicular to the

grain and is thus differentiated
from a groove which is cut parallel
to the grain.
DIFFERENTIATING A DADO FROM A
GROOVE AND A RABBET
RABBET JOINT
A rabbet (also known as a
REBATE in some parts of
England is a recess or
groove cut into the edge of a
piece of machineable
material, usually wood.

When viewed in cross-section, a rabbet is

two-sided and open to the edge or end of the
surface into which it is cut.
LAP JOINT
TYPES OF LAP JOINT
FULL LAP - In a full lap, no material is removed from either
of the members to be joined, resulting in a joint which is the
combined thickness of the two members.
LAP JOINT
HALF LAP - In a half lap joint, material is removed from each of the members
so that the resulting joint is the thickness of the thickest member but most
commonis that the members are of the same thickness and half the thickness
of each is removed.
HALF LAP VARIANTS
1. END LAP

TYPES:
Also known simply as a 'PULL LAP',
is the basic form of the lap joint and is
used when joining members end to
end either parallel or at right angles. PULL LAP

When the joint forms a corner, as in a

rectangular frame, the joint is often
called a CORNER LAP. This is the
most common form of end lap and is
used most in framing.

CORNER LAP
2. CROSS LAP

The main difference between this

and the basic half lap is that the joint
occurs in the middle of one or both
members, rather than at the end.

The two members are at right angles

to each other and one member may
terminate at the joint, or it may carry
on beyond it.

In a cross lap where both members

continue beyond the joint, each
member has two shoulders and one
cheek.

When one of the members

terminates at the shin , it is often
referred to as a TEE LAP or MIDDLE
LAP.
 3. DOVETAIL LAP

This is a lap in which the housing

has been cut at an angle which resists
withdrawal of the stem from the cross-
piece.

4. MITERED HALF LAP

This is a variation of the end lap

which shows a mitre on the face of
the finished work.

The mitred half lap is the weakest

version of the joint because of the
reduced gluing surface.
MITER JOINT
Similar to a butt joint, but both pieces have been bevelled (usually at a 45
degree angle).

The mitre joint is another one of those

woodwork joints that is almost as
easy to construct and make as a butt
joint. Even though it is similar to a butt
joint this joint is marginally stronger
and has much greater aesthetics.

The reason why this type of joint is

stronger and more appealing than a
butt joint is because the ends are cut
at a 45 angle and then glued
together, this creates better surface
area for adhesive to be applied while
also concealing the end grain giving it
a nice flush look.
MITER JOINT WITH SPLINE
TONGUE AND GROOVE
Each piece has a groove cut all along
one edge, and a thin, deep ridge (the
tongue) on the opposite edge. If the
tongue is unattached, it is considered
a spline joint.
GLUE JOINT
A special interlocking grooved pattern that is used to join
two pieces, edge to edge, securely.