Filehost_The Art of Woodworking - Handbook of Joinery

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WORKSHO GPU I D E CUTS BASICWOODWORKING Whether tt te aa baetc ae a buLt joinL or aa elaborate aa a curved throu7h doveLail, any joinL can be made with one or more of the baotc cuLe ehown below. A tenon, for example, ie formed wtth Lwo or more rabbeL cut6; a morLtee te noLhinq more Lhan a deep etopped 7roave. A lap jotnL ia made from Lwo dadoea or wide rabbeLo.

The aecret tn creal;inq any jotnl; ie mak' in4 Lheee otmple cute precieely and tn rha

ANATOMY OFA BOARD

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Compoundcut Thtckneea

Eevelcut

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Miter cut Croaacut.

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Rip cut

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9topped groove

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. Wearappropriate safetygear:safety g l a s s e sa, f a c es h i e l df o r e x t r ap r o t e c t i o na , n d h e a r i n gp r o t e c t i o nl f. t h e r ei s n o d u s tc o l l e c t i o sn y s t e m , weara dust mask.Forexoticwoods, t ay u s ea r e s p i r a t otrh; e s a w d u sm r ork c a u s ea n a l l e r g i rce a c t i o nW. e a w glovew s h e nh a n d l i n g r o u g hl u m b e r . o Keepyourworkareacleanandtidy; c l u t t e rc a n l e a dt o a c c i d e n t sa,n d s a w d u sat n dw o o ds c r a p sc a n b e a Iire hazard. o D o n o t u s ea t o o li f a n yp a r ti s w o r n ordamaged.

o Drapethe powercordof a portable p o w e r t o ool v e r y o u r s h o u l d e rkt e oep i t o u to f t h ew a y .

o Usethe appropriate tool for the j o b a t h a n d ;d o n o t t r y t o m a k ea t o o ld o s o m e t h i nfgo r w h i c hi t w a s n o ti n t e n d e d .

. Usesafetyaccessories such as p u s hs t i c k sf,e a t h e r b o a r d a sn ,dh o l d d o w nw h e e l s .

r C l a m py o u rw o r k p i e cteo f r e eb o t h h a n d sf o r a n o p e r a t i o n .

o K e e py o u rh a n d sw e l la w a yf r o m a turningbladeor bit.

. C u ta w a yf r o my o u r s e rl fa t h e trh a n towardyourbody.

. C o n c e n t r a toen t h e . l o b ;d o n o t rush.Neverworkwhenyouaretired, s t r e s s e do,r h a v eb e e nd r i n k i n g a l c o h ool r u s i n gm e d i c a t i o ntsh a t i n d u c ed r o w s i n e s s .

. D o n o tf o r c ea t o o l ;i f p o s s i b l et r,y removinglessstock. . A l w a y ks e e pt h e e d g e so f c u t t i n g t o o l ss h a r p .

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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

HANDBOOK

oFIOTNERY

THEART OF WOODWORKING

NDBOOK

oFIOTNERY

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TIME.LIFE BOOKS ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA ST.REMYPRESS MONTREAL. NEWYORK

I

t I I THE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced by ST. REMYPRESS PUBLISHER PRESIDENT SeriesEditor SeriesArt Director SeniorEditors Art Directors Designers ResearchEditor Picture Editor Writers Research Assistant Cont r ibuting lllu strators

Administrator ProductionManager SystemCoordinator Photographer Proofreader Indexer

KennethWinchester PierreL6veill6 PierreHome-Douglas FrancineLemieux Marc Cassini(Text) HeatherMills (Research) Normand Boudreault,Luc Germain, SolangeLaberge Jean-GuyDoiron, Michel Gigubre, HdldneDion Iim McRae Christopherfackson Andrew Jones,Rob Lutes BryanQuinn GillesBeauchemin,RollandBergera, Jean-PierreBourgeois,Michel Blais, RonaldDurepos,RobertPaquet, famesTh€rien NatalieWatanabe Michelle Turbide fean-LucRoy RobertChartier JudithYelon ChristineM. Iacobs

Time-Life Booksis a division of Time-Life Inc., a wholly ownedsubsidiaryof THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY

TIME-LIFEBOOKS President Vice-President Editor-in-Chief Director of Editorial Resources MarketingDirector EditorialDirector ConsuhingEditor ProductionManager

JohnD. Hall NancyK. fones ThomasH. Flaherty EliseD. Ritter-Clough ReginaHall LeeHassig John R. Sullivan MarleneZack

THECONSUTTANTS JonArno is a consultant,cabinetmakerand freelancewriter who lives in Tioy, Michigan. He alsoconductsseminarson wood identification and earlyAmerican furniture design. GilesMiller-Mead taught advancedcabinetmaking at Montreal technicalschoolsfor more than ten years.A nativeofNew Zealand,he has worked asa restorerof antiquefurniture. fosephlruini is SeniorEditor of Horne Mechanixmagazine. A former Shopand Tools Editor of PopularMechanics, he hasworked as a cabinetmaker,home improvementcontractor and carpenter.

Handbook offoinery p. cm.-(The Art of Woodworking) Includesindex. (trade) ISBN0-8094-9941-X (lib) rsBN 0-8094-9942-8 l. foinery I. Time-Life Books.II. Series TH'663.H36 1993 694'.6-4c20 93-24638 CIP For information about any Time-Life book, pleasecall I-800-621-7026,or write: ReaderInformation Time-Life CustomerService P.O.Box C-32068 Richmond,Virginia 2326r-2068 @ 1993Time-Life BooksInc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by any electronicor mechanical means,including information storageand retrievaldevicesor systems,without prior written permissionfrom the publisher,except that briefpassages may be quoted for reviews. First printing. Printed in U.S.A. Publishedsimultaneouslyin Canada. TIME-LIFE is a trademarkof Time Warner Inc. U.S.A.

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CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION

T2 14 16 18

JOINERYBASICS Wood movement Form and function Bondingwood

20 22 24 27 28 32 36 38 39

BUTT IOTNTS A catalogof butt joints Making butt joints Through bolts Dowel joints Platejoints Pocketholes Splinejoints Butterfly key joints

40 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 51 54

MrTER IOTNTS Common miter joints |igs and accessories Making miter joints Facemiters Copedjoints Miter-and-splinejoints Feather-splinejoints Edgemiter joints Mitered platejoints

s6 LAR RABBET,GROOVE, AND DADO JOINTS 58 Lapjoints 60 Rabbetjoints 6L Tongue-and-groovejoints 62 Dado joints 64 Corner half-lapjoints 66 Crosshalf-lapjoints 67 Half-blind half-lapjoints 68 Angledhalf-lapjoints 69 Dovetailedhalf-lapjoints 70 Glazingbar half-lapjoints

73 75 76 77 79 80 81 83 84

Rabbetjoints Stoppedrabbetjoints Mitered rabbetjoints Tongue-and-groovejoints Gluejoints Through dadojoints Blind dadojoints Slidingdovetailjoints Doubledadojoints

86 88 9I 94 97 101 103 106 108 110

MORTTSE-AND-TENONIOINTS joints andjigs Mortise-and-tenon joints Openmortise-and-tenon joints Blind mortise-and-tenon Wedgedthrough mortise-and-tenonjoints joints Haunchedmortise-and-tenon joints Angledmortise-and-tenon Tusktenonjoints joints Twin mortise-and-tenon joints Roundmortise-and-tenon

rr2 114 115 116 118 126 128 130 L32 134

DOVETATLAND BOX IOINTS A selectionof dovetailand box ioints Designingand marking dovetails figs and accessories Through dovetailjoints Curvedthrough dovetailjoints Outlined through dovetailjoints Half-blind dovetailjoints Box joints Fingerjoints

136 IAPANESEIOINERY 140 GTOSSARY I42

INDEX

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Mike Dunbar discusses

MAKING \AINDSORCHAIRS withthem chairsfor 20yearsandI amstillasfascinated { havebeenmaking\,Vindsor I aswhenI began. Thischair'sdurabilityislegendary-afamethatiswellearned. 200years or moreof hardusebut TherearemanyWindsorchairsthathavesurvived isin thejoints,whicharehighly remainassolidasthedaytheywerebuilt.Thesecret engineered. Windsors usesocketconstruction-aroundtenonthat Likemostcommonchairs. of a fitsinto a roundhole.Thereisverylittleedgegrainaroundthecircumference is endgrain,a mostof thecircumference holeto create a goodgluejoint.Because apart.Itsonlyvirtue roundtenonin a drilledholeisaverypoorjoint thatsooncomes quicklyandeasily. Tomakeit worksomeadditional strenghisthatit canbeproduced eningis required. theturnedlegsto theseat. Themajorjointsin aWndsorarethosethatconnect with a lockingtaper,similarto thedevicethatholds-or Theseareheldtogether headstock. Thelegtenonismadeconelikewhile locks-thedrivgcenterin alathe's thepartisstillin thelathe.Theholein ttreseatisthenfittedto thetenonwith atapered in abrace, liketheoneI'm holdingin thephoreamer, atypeof conicalbit inserted holelocktogether, securing the Whenassembled, thetenonandmatching tograph. joint.Shouldthejointeverloosen, theweightof apersonsittingin thechairtightens wearsthejoints. in othertypesof chairstheactof sittingactually it again,whereas system. Thechairmaker ensures that A Windsor's legsareconnected bya stretcher jointsremainpermanently The themundercompression. secure byassembling these thelegswhilethechairisbeingassembled. thedistance between trickisto measure distance. Beingatad Thestretchers arethenmadeslightlylongerthanthemeasured toolong,theypushthelegsapart.Fortheirpart,thelegsholdthejointsin compression.Asa result,theycannotcomeapart-evenif thegluefails.

in Mike Dunbarbuildsfinefurniture at hisworlcshop NewHampshire.Theauthorof sevenboolcs Portsmouth, and a contributingeditoro/AmericanWoodworker Dunbarako offers andEarly AmericanLife magazines, NorthAmerica. Windsorchairmakingseminarsacross

INTRODUCTION

LyleKrugertalksabout

IIGSANDIOINTS s a youngboy,thebesttoysthat I possessed were-in order-TinkerToys, LincolnLogs,anErectorset,andAmerican Flyerelectric trains.These toys preparedme for an adulthoodin which I am not afraidto tacklecomplexmechanicalproblems. As mostof my powertoolsareoldermodels(my tablesawis a 1940sSearsthat I inheritedfrom my wife'sgrandfather), I mustgetasmuchaccuracy asI canfrom my variousjigsandattachments. years Overthe I havefoundthat,with a bit of time and patience,you can adjustand fine-tunemanyolder toolsand makethem perform almostaswellasthedaytheyleftthefactory.I geta certainsatisfaction out of restoring theseauctionand garagesalebargainsto usableitems. I takedelightin applyingonetechnologyto anotherdiscipline.Thehome-made tenoningjig in thephoto,for example,worla muchlike the crossfeedon a metallathe. It slidesbackandforth on waysmadeof walnutandfeatures a feedscrewthatindexes movementto Yo+inch.With a little thoughtandextracarein thefinish,thesejigscan becomeheirloom-qualityandbe passeddown througha familywith pride.I would evensuggest that you signand dateyour betterjigs. I find that when I am in my shoptrying to figureout a problemor a betterway to build a jig, my creativejuicesgetgoingandtime seemsto fly by.BeforeI know it, the eveningis over-and I've missedthe final baseballscoreson the radio. joint that RecentlyI haveexperimented with a Southwestern-American-inspired joint lockstogetirerwithout glueandyetis stillverystrong.This hasa steppedcorner and a specialkeythat slidesinto a mortiseandlocksthejoint. It canbe madeon the jigsandon thedrill pressfittedwith tablesawwiththehelpof a coupleof shop-made a mortisingbit. Thesteppedcorneris cut without changingthebladeor fencesetting on the tablesaw.

LyleKrugeris a professional landsurveyor from Effingham, Illinois,whoenjoysbuildingfull-scale woodenreplicasof antiquesurveyinstruments. He haspublishedarticles and shoptipson woodworking in variousmagazines.

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INTRODUCTION

PatWarner on

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of contemporary furnitureandcabinets. I usehardr,l,ood $ ama desigr-rer-craftsman A lumberfor nearlyeverlahing I make.Thereare,holveveq occasions rvhenI must useplpvoodor fiberboard, suchasin dralverbottoms,doorpanels, or cabinetbacks. \{4riietheyareoftenessential, I don'tfind thesematerialsasenjoyable to rvorkassolid lumber,sincethewoodjoinerymethodsI oftenusecannotbe appliedto them. Plpvoodis gluedup in laversthatlie in somanydifferentplanesthat it cannotachieve thestructureof solidrvood.Solidlunber,on theotherhand,consists of cellsthatare distinctlyoriented-likea br.rndle Thislong-axisarchitecture, of strarvs. in ntyr,ielv, ailowsmanyjoinerypossibilities. No matterhowcomplexthepieceof furniture,there is alwaysa meansof joiningthepiecestogether. I findtheelectric routerveryhandyforjoinerybecause ofits abiliqv to accept a rvide varietyofjigs,flLxtures, andaccessories. \\hetherthetoolisguidedbv a pilotedcutter, anedgeguide,a template collaror sub-base, in a table,therouterprovides or secured thekind of controlthatmakesit ideailyusefulfor joiner,v. No othersinglepowertool canproduce thesamerangeofjoints,including tongues, grooves, rabbets, tenons, morjointises, dadoes, dovetails, laps,notches, fingers, andkeys.Complernentary template er1,-orjoineryalongcun edlines-canonlybedonewith a router.Thetoolcanalso be usedto maketheprecisiontemplates requiredfor theprocess. Because it issousefula too1,I havecollected lB differentrouters. Theycanbecoujigs,andcutters pledwith anynumberof accessories, to expandtheirjoint-making capabilities. Fortunately, thisisusuallyquitesimpleandinexpensir,e. Mostrouterjigs areeasyto makeanduse. Mostof my portableroutingis donewith theassistance of an acryiicoffsetsubbaselike the oneattached to the routerin the pl-roto. It pror,ides extrasupporton thebase,makingit indispensable for routingcertaintemplates, Anotheljig that I find handyis my tenoningjig; in the photoit is upsidedownrvithther,vorkpiece clampedin placeagainstanadjustable fence.I liketo useit rvitha plungerouter,which can be adjustedto cut diff-erent depthsmore easil.v than a standardrouter. Bothjigshaveprovedso usefulthat I havestartedmanufacturing them for the commercial market.

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Pst Warner rnakescontetnporary.firttittrre ht Esco rttlido,Colifortria,arul worksns a cotrstiltant the rotfter arul tool bit irdustry. for He is o contributingeditor forWoodwork mtgazineartd teacltes rotrtirtgttt Palonnr Cortrnunity Collegein SanMarcos.

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IOINERYBASICS I oinery,the foundationof woodJ working,isa subtleblendof artand Whether theproductis a engineering. simpletabletopor an ornatechest,its joinerywill establish its worth:Strong jointswill giveit longevity, andtheir will enhance designandcraftsmanship itsbeauty. Theneedfor jointmakingderives make from thefactthatwoodworkers demands on theirmaterialthatnature neverintended. Interlocking curvesof fiberlink a branchto thetreetrunk. whilea legis attached to a tableat an abrupt90ointersection. Thus,although a properlygluedjoint is stronger than woodfiber.thatbondaloneis seldom ableto withstandtheforcesexerted on chairs,cabinets, anddoorsdurtables, ingnormaluse.

TYPES BASIC JOINT

Mostjoints needsomesort of mechanicalaid-a reinforcement designed to meetthe stresses head-on.Fromthat needspringsthe craftofjoinery. The simplestsupportsare nails, screws)splines,biscuits,and dowels. Theserequiresimplycuttinga holeand addingwood or metalto the intersection of thepieces. Often,thisis enough to satisfrstructuralandestheticneeds. Sometimes-mostoftenwhenfurniture is involved-greater strengh and beautyarecalledfor. The solutionthen is to cut the intersectingpiecesso that thegluingareais increased or theyform an interlockingbond. Theblind andthroughmortise-andtenon joints shown below at right improvethe strengthof a right-angle joint and increase the long-grainglu-

ing area.Theblind versionalsopartially conceals the joint; the throughversion,in whichthetenonpasses through the matingworkpiece,canbe tightened by the additionof smallwedges. In addition to lendingmechanical strengthand gluingareato a connection, joinery must alsoallow for the movementof wood-its swellingand shrinkageas it absorbsand releases moisture.The bestjoineryrelatesall threeneeds. Thestresses on joints andsomeways to relievethem aredetailedon the facing page.Wood'smoisture-absorbing characteristics arediscussed on pages l4 and 15.Jointselectionis discussed on pages16 and 17.Pages18 and 19 containusefirlinformationaboutchoosing and usinggluesand clamps.

Blind joint

?aneljoint

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TOINERYBASICS

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()FSTRESS TYPES Recognizing thestresses onjoints Theillustration at leftshows thefourbasic typesof forces thataffectjoints:compression,tension, vertical shear, andracking. Compression forces a jointtogether, while pullsit apart.A typicalexample tension of tension is anoverloaded shelfjoined joints; to a carcase withdado theweight ontheshelfwilltendto pulltheshelfout of thedadoes. Vertical shear occurs when thetwohalves of a jointslideagainst each other, common withbuttjoints.Racking, characterized bytwisting andbending, is thetoughest stress fora jointto endure.

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IMPROVING A JOINT'S RESISTANCE T()STRESS 1topped aliding dovetail joint Fixinqa ahelf to a carcaee eide with a etopped olidinqdovetail allowethe joint to regtgt teneian a5 weilaa compreeeion,ohear, and rackinq

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Tong ue-a nd -g roovejoi nt ?imple,unreinforcedbuLLjointe reaiet compreeeiononly:they providepoor reetatance to Lenaion,ehear,and rackinq.Keplacinqan edqebuLt wiTha tonque-and-4roove joinL makestL muchmoresLreog^reaietant

Dadojoint A aimpledadojoint reaieta compreooion,ehear,and rackinq,buL Leneioncan pull if, apart

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WOODMOVEMENT woodasa hygrodescribe Q cientists r.) scopicmaterial-thatis,it absorbs moisture.Longaftera treehasbeen felledanditswoodmilledandmadeinto furniture.thefibrouscellsabsorband release moisture, mirroringthehumidity of thesurrounding air. The consequences for the woodworkercanbeserious: Woodswellsas moistureandshrinksasit it absorbs expels it, causing motionthataccounts for mostfailedjoints,wobblychairs, stickingdoors,andsplitpictureframes. is unAlthoughwoodmovement avoidable, suchconsequences arenot: An understanding of wood'scharacteristicswill enableyou to accommo-

date this swellingand contractionand producejoinery that is both durable and stable. Thewoodof mostspecies is characterizedby growthrings,which areconcentricbandsperpendicularto the axis of the trunk. The mannerin which the ringsareexposed on a woodsurfacecan help you anticipatehow the piecewill reactto humidity changes. As the illustration below shows,there is more swellingandshrinkagealongthe growth ringsthan acrossthem.The waylumber is cut from a log hasa crucialeffect on how muchthewoodwill shrinkand which dimension-length, width, or thickness-will be most affected.

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Anypieceof woodprovidesthreeviewsof theannualgrowthrings. 5sslisn-lies at right anglesto the Thetransverss sssfisn-sv svs55 grain and is visiblein theendgrain of stock.Thetangentialand radialsections areat right anglesto thetransverse section.Being ableto distinguishthedffirent viewsof theringson a workpiece canhelpyou compensate for woodmovementin yourjoinery.

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RINGS ANDMOVEMENT GROWTH Anticipating woodmovement Lumber doesnotshrinkuniformly. Tangential shrinkage-parallel to theannual growthrings-isalmosttwicetheradial shrinkage, whichoccurs across therings. Thisdifference forthewarping accounts andpanels aswoodcontracts of boards withf luctuations in moisandexoands turecontent. Radially cutboards, also knownasquartersawn. aremoredimenthantangentially cut,or sionally stable plain-sawn boards because theyshrink andswelllessacross theirwidth.Plainsawnboards tendto cupat theedges. Greater tangential thanradialshrinkage cancausesquare boards to become diamondshaped andcylindrical onesto become oval,asshownbythepieces on theright-hand sideof theillustration.

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IOINERYBASICS

Logsaresawnin two basicways,with manyvariations.Themostcommonsystem, calledplain-sawing,slicesthe log tangentto the growth rings.The other method,lesscommonlyused,is called quartersawing or edge-grainsawing.It takesslicesat right anglesto the growth rings.Althoughthe techniquesusedin

eachsystem areverydifferent, eachwill producesomeboardswith characteristicsof theother.Forexample, plain-sawingthroughthecenterofalogproduces a pieceof stockthatlooksmuchlikea quarter-sawn board. boards havetheirannuQuartersawn algrowthringspeqpendicular to theface. Thisorientationof the growthrings accounts for thesuperiordimensional stabilityof quartersawn boards.Wood shrinksandexpands roughlytwiceas muchtangentiallyto theringsasitsdoes radially. Whenquartersawn boardsswell or shrinktheydosomostlyin thickness, whichisminimal,whereas aolain-sawn boardchanges across itswidih.A table madefromplain-sawn pineboards, for example, canchange asmuchasI inch in width;a similartablemadefrom quartersawn boardswouldonlyswellor shrinkby one-quarter asmuchor less, depending on thespecies.

Althoughyou maynot be ableto control the environmentwhereyour furniture will be used,you can makeyour joinerychoicesto compensate for wood movement.Orient the growth rings in the matingpiecesof a joint sothat they movetogether.For example,the rings ofthe two partsofa cornerjoint should be parallelto eachother so that they shrink or swellin tandem.When the ringsof thepiecesmeetat right angles, joint, make asin a mortise-and-tenon suretheirtangentialsurfaces arealigned. Workpiecesthat featureirregular grain requireparticularattention.A squarechairlegwith growth ringsthat run diagonallythroughit whenviewed in crosssection,for example,will eventuallyloseits squareshapeandbecome a diamondshape,pullingthechairframe out of squarewith it.

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Theannualgrowthringsin the plain-sawn oak board (top) appear on thefaceasan ellipticallandscapefigure. Plain-sawnstockis slicedtangentto the rings.The growth ringsin thequartersawn oakboard(bottom) appearas linesperpendicularto theface.

Theimportanae of grain alignment A drawer6luedup from plaineawnboardeilluetrrateshow 6rainaliqnmenlcan makeor breaka joinL.by aliqninqthe boardsso I'hat Lheannual qrowth ringecurveinward (toil, vheioint may oeparare aI the too and bottom when lhe fron| cuze ae it dries. lf the boardeare ali1nedoo thallhe annualringecurve outv'tard(bottom), dryinq of Nhewoodwilltend oushlhe top and bolt om biswardthe mating Viece,keepinqthe joinlNoqether.

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FORMAND FUNCTION

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Selecting thejoineryfor a projectinvolvesbothstructuraland ThecurvedthroughdovetaiUabove) esthetic considerations. blendsstrengthand attractiveness for drawersthat will bethe highlightof a piece.Theutilitarian dadojoint (right) ls a goodchoiceto anchortheshelvingin a moderncabinet.

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joineryshouldachieve yourjoinery, Onceyouhavechosen a bal- solid wood, plywood, and particlef deally, joint and prepare yourstock.Carefully form andfunction. board.A joint like the frame butt, for I ancebetween Thefoltheover- example,canbe usedwith any mater- smoothall matingsurfaces. Eachjointmustcomplement lowingchapters illustratedozensof the ial, but only if the connectionis reinall designof a piecewhileresisting jointsandprovidedetailed instructions stresses to whichit will besubjected. forced.(As a rule of thumb, anyjoint Thechoiceof a joint will oftenbe involvingendgrainmustbe reinforced for makingthem.If you areunsure aboutwhichjoint to selectfor a given dictatedby its functionandlocation. in someway.)The dovetail,while it application, choose thesimplest one, cornerscanbejoinedwith a reouires no reinforcement.is only Carcase particularlyif it will behidden. hostof joinerymethods, but a carcase appropriatewith solidwood. thatis morelikelyto bevisible,suchas a drawer,will benefitfrom a visually joint likea half-blinddovetail pleasing JOIl{ERY TIPS or boxjoint.Forotherprojectcomponents,theoptionsaremorelimited.A .Avoidworking rWhenarranging the matingboards withfreshlycut lumframe-and-panel door,for example, of a joint,alwaystakeintoaccount ber,as it will shrinkafterthejointis of theelements, and Usewoodthat hasdriedto thegraindirection maycallfor eitherblind or haunched assembled. for the orientthe piecesto compensate a moisture contentapproximating mortise-and-tenons, whilea chairwith woodmovement. in whichthe levelof theenvironment roundrungsshouldideallybeassempiecewillbe used. finished .Cut theelements of a jointparallel to bledwith roundmortise-and-tenons. rWhendesigning thegrain, a pieceof furniture thegrain.A tenoncut across will alsohave Thewoodyouchoose forexample, will notwithstand shear thatwill beara heavyload,uselarger a bearingon youroptions.Thechart jointsor jointswith largerstructural andrackingstress. members, liststhevariousjointsshown suchastwin mortise-andopposite r Forsomejoints,suchasdovetails, use t e n o n sT. h i sw i l ld i s t r i b u t eh e l o a d in thisbookandratestheirutilitywith joint(thepins) part overa widerareaandreducestresson thejoint.lf the designof a pieceprohibitsthe useof largejoints,usea jointsto spread the number of smaller loadandreducestress.

o Makesuretheelements of a jointare properly proportioned. lf a tenonin a jointis toothick,the mortise-and-tenon mortise member willbeweakened.

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thecompleted of the to layoutthe matingpart(thetails) to reduceinaccuracies.

rAvoidlayingoutjointsbyeye;usethe appropriate measuring andmarking tools. r lf a jointrequires reinforcement, use gluealongwithfasteners, dowels, biscuits,or splines.

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APPROPRIATE JOINTS F(|RW()OD TYPES TYPEOFJOINT Butt joints (page22)

SOLIDWOOD

PLYWOOD

PARTICLEBOARD

Frame andcasebutt Panelbutt Edgebutt

(reinforce) Excellent

Good(reinforce) Poor Good(reinforce)

Fair(reinforce) Poor Fair(reinforce)

Face-to-face butt joint Scarf andpocketholes joint Butterfly

Excellent Good(reinforce)

Excellent Notused

Excel lent Notused

Excel lent

Notused

Notused

Good(reinforce) (reinforce) Excellent Good(reinforce)

Good(reinforce) Good(reinforce)

Good(reinforce) Good(reinforce)

Fair(reinforce)

Fair(reinforce)

Excellent

Fair Poor

Fai Poor

Notused

Notused

Excel lent Excellent

Miterjoints (page42) Facemiter Edgemiter Endmiter Miter-and-spl ine Feather-spl ine joint Coped

Fair Good(reinforce)

Lapjoints (page58) Fulllap,Halflaps:T, mitered, dovetailed,keyed dovetail, angled, cross, glazing edge,half-blind, corner, bar Rabbetioints (page60)

(reinforce) Excellent

Fair

Fai

Rabbet, shiplap, stopped rabbet, mitered rabbet, doublerabbet, dovetail rabbet joints (page61) Tongue-and-groove

Good

Fair

Fair

Through tongue-and-groove, blindtonguegluejoint and-groove, Dadojoints (page62)

Excellent

Fai

Fair

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Through, blind,andstopped dado

Good

Good

Fair

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Dado-and-rabbet, tongue-and-dado, doubledado Lockmiter

Good Excellent

Fair

Fair

Good

Fair

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Slidingdovetail, slidinghalf-dovetai l, stopped slidinghalf-dovetail joints (page88) Mortise-and-tenon

Excellent

Notused

Notused

Blind,haunched, angled, loose, round, twin,through, wedged through,pegged through, tusk,open Dovetaifioints@age114)

Excel lent

Notused

Notused

Through, blind,half-blind, curved through, outlined through, boxjoint, half-blind boxjoint,fingerjoint

Excellent

Notused

Notused

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BONDINGWOOD f) roperbondingof matingsurfaces I canbe achieved in threesteps: preparingthe surfacemeticulously, applyingtherighttypeandamountof adhesive, andproperclamping. First,thematingsurfaces of ajoint mustbe madeasflat andsmoothas possible with ajointeror handplane. Roughsurfaces havehundredsoftiny airpockets thatcancause unevengluing.Surfaces shouldalsobeclean;oil, grease, anddirt canweaken sawdust, a gluebond.Someoily woods,such haveextracasteakand rosewood. tivesthat inhibit the gluingprocess, but planingor jointingthesewoods just beforeglue-upremoves mostof the residuefrom thesurfaces. While gluesmadefrom organic Over-tightening theclampson a gluejoint cansqueeze outall the materials suchasfishglueandhide "starved" glue adhesive, resultingin a havebeenin usefor centuries, joint. Applya thin, evenlayerof mostmodernadhesives arederived glueon thematingsurfaces and fromsyntheticcompounds. Gluessuch stoptighteningwhen a smallbead asresorcinol andepoxycurebv chemicalreaction,whilevellowandwhite of adhesive squeezes out ofthejoint.

ACCESSORIES GTUING

Glue bruah Longhandleamakebruah ideal for delicate work; to prevent rust stains, linen-woundferrule has no metal parto Printer's brayer Rubberroller evenlyapreada a thin film of 4lue over a widearea; can be cleaned by repeatedly rollin7 it over a ocrap Doard

For ocrapinq away excega qlue.?laatia type leao likely to mar wood

gluecureby evaporation of thesolvent theycontain.Mostgluesseepinto the wood,lockingthewoodfiberstogetherandcreatinga bondthatisstronger thanthewooditself.Toselectthepropfor your ioinerytasks,see er adhesive thechartopporit.. Whenapplyingglue,spreadit evenly overboth matingsurfaces of the joint; it is betterto applya thin coat to both surfaces thana heavycoatto one.Avoidspreading gluewith your fingers;a setof stiff-bristled brushes of differentsizescanhandlemostgluing tasks.Someotherapplicators are shownbelow. Iointsshouldbeclamoed immediatelyaftertheadhesive isapplied;position your clampscarefullyto avoid cuppingor bowingof theworkpieces. Clampingpresses theglueinto a uniform thin film betweenthe mating surfaces, whileholdingthepieces until curingtakesplace.Seethebackendpapers for a selection of clamps.

Plate joiner glue applicator Holde qlue bottle upeide-down ao that adheaive remains near tip, keepinqit ready for application; nozzleia ehaped to apread qlue evenryon 5Ee9 of alota cut by plate joiner

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Olue ayringe For applyin4qlue in awkwardplacea:available with flexibleor curved tip whichcan be cut back for faater flow

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IOINERY BASICS

I(lINERY ADHESIVES TYPE

CHARACTERISTICS

USES

White glue

. Strongbonding; Polyvinyl-acetate based;nottoxicor flammable working time3 to 5 o Setting minutes timeabout30 to 45 minutes; curesfullyin 24to 72 hours. Dries o Doesnotsandaswellasyellowglue clearandcolorless

General woodworking

Yellow glue

o Betterimmediate Aliphatic-resin based; nottoxicor flammable adhesion forfasrer General woodworking grabthanwhiteglue;working o Setting time3 to 5 minutes timeabout30 to 40 minutes; (fadedyellow); curesfullyin 24to72hoursr Driesopaque moreheat-resistant for better properties sanding thanwhiteglue

Epory glue

Resinandhardener mustbe mixedpriorto use;notflammable butmaybe Bonding acidicwoodssuchas toxicr Strong, waterproof bonding; working time5 minutes to 2 hours(depending on oak;useon exoticwoodsthat type)o Setting time5 minutes to 2 hours(depending ontype);curesfullyin 24 hours bondpoorly withotherglues . Average Protein-based; nottoxicor flammable bonding; working time60 to 90 Furniture construction, luthier . Setting minutes andcuringtime12 hourso Sandable, driesanopaque color,resists work,antique restoration andtasks r Notwater-resistant: solvents Gluebondcanbesoftened withwaterfor disassembly thatrequire a longworking time . Strongbond- Cabi Protein-based; available in granular or liquidform;nottoxicorflammable netconstruction, antique r Setting ing,working time3-5 minutes timet hour;curestullyin 24 hoursr Sandable, restoration, veneering, andfine gluebondcanbesoftened driesa darkcolorr Notwater+esistant, withwaterfordisassembly woodworking

Fishglue

Hideglue

Casein glue

. Average Milk-based, comesin powdered form;nottoxicorflammable bonding; working 0ily woodsthat bondpoorly . Setting time l5 to 20 minutes withotherglues, time15 to 20 minutes, suchasteak, curesfullyin 8 to 12 hours e Highresistance yew,andlemonwood; laminating to water,driesan opaque color,sandscleanly, stainsacidicwoods

Plastic resin

Urea-formaldehyde-based, available in powdered form;notflammable buttoxic . Strongbonding, working time20 minutes. Settingtime4 to 6 hours;curesfully in 3 days. Waterresistance glues,doesnotstainacidic higherthanthatof aliphatic woods, sandscleanly

REMOVING EXCESS GLUE Scraping awayadhesive Onceall yourclampshavebeentightened,usea puttyknifeto remove as glueasposmuchof thesqueezed-out sibleafterit setsbutbefore it cures. Themoisture fromadhesive leftonthe surface will beabsorbed bythewood, causing swelling andslowing drying time; gluecanalsoclogsandpaper, hardened dullplanerknives, andrepelwoodstain. Oncetheadhesive hasdried,usea paint scraper to remove anysqueeze-out thatremains(/eff).

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Veneering, laminating, and edge-gluing hardwood

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BrrTTIONTS pocketholes, isdetailed on page36. f allthejointsusedto assemjoinery joint needsare Most other is the butt bleboards, filled by dowels, compressed-wood most straightforward. certainlythe "biscuitsl' which or splines, wafers or Affixingthe edge,end,or faceof parts of a to align can also serve another may oneboardto that of joint not require reinforcethat do produce the strongest not always mastery of a ment.Eachdemands joint. However, a properlyreinprothe technique-but joint specialized is an excellent forcedbutt aresimpleandtheyallow cedures ofwoodworking optionfor dozens quick assembly of strong,attracjoining the smallerboards tasks,from in which themechanical tive ioints carintoawidepanelto assembling parts hidden fromview. can be cases andframes. techjoint At least one butt-joining no Thesimplebutt contains joint-is key nique-the butterfly parts,relyinginstead interlocking jig shownabovecutsaccurate notmeantto behidden;in factit is Thecommercial on thegluebondfor its strength. asfor usedasmuchfor decoration pocket of setup time. a minimum holeswith Thesolidityof thatbondis deterjoint jig In this a doublestrength. the the damped in Wth thewo*piece minedby thegrainorientationof dovetailkey-the butterfly-is cut router-likecutterispivotedinto thefaceof the matingboards.Gluinglong woodandused froma contrasting hole. cut the theboardto grainto longgrain,asin panel,edge, Docket joints two edge-joined (page to tie together 22), andface-to-face keycan patience, but a well-set demands The butterfly All boards. requiringno reinforcement. produces a solidconnection, The steps to making oneare joints feature of a tabletop. proa striking be involveendgrain;thisporoussurface otherbutt page 39. gluingsur{acethan anequivalentarea shownon videsamuchleseffective scale istheuseof At theotherendof theform-to-function endgrainjointsmustbereinforced. of longgrain.Therefore, asbutcher workaday surfaces rods to reinforce such but cabi- threaded Nailsandscrewscanbeusedfor reinforcement, builtup These are often and countertops. netmakerstry to avoidthem for two principalreasons: blocla,workbenches, page rods 27 andthe serveto on stochasshown thefasteners, andnei- of face-glued Additionalworkis requiredto conceal , joining humidity changes. job when room theheavyslab endgrainassomeof thealter- stabilize therdoesasgooda startingonpage28;bisareexplained Dowelingtechniques superiorfor oneapplication, areconsidered natives. Screws joinery page and the correctuseof splines 32, beginson atabletopto itssup- cuit however, andthatis thetaskof fastening page on 38. drillingangled is detailed whichinvolves portingrails.Thetechnique,

provideeffective buttjoint reinforcement. Biscuits Here,theovalwafersare usedtojoin thesidesof Thegluecausesthebiscuitsto expandin a carcase. strongjoint. their slots,creatingan excePtionally

2l

A CATALOGOF BUTT IOINTS SIMPTE BUTT IOINTS (Seepage24)

Edge-to-edge; panel butt

PTATE JOINTS (Seepage32)

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BUTTIOINTS

DOWET JOINTS (Seepage28)

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SPTINE JOINTS (Seepage38) , '

End-to-edge

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BUTTERFTY '(lINT (Seepage39)

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MAKINGBUTTIOINTS T umberis seldomavailablein planls I--r wide enoughfor a tabletopor a panel;sometimesit cannotbe carcase found thick enough for a specific task-a tableleg,for example.Often, whenyou canfind suchstock,it is prohibitivelyexpensive. To compensate for theseshortcomings, woodworkersglue individualboardstogether.Panelsare constructedfrom edge-to-edge butt joints, asshownbelow.Legblanksare madeby facegluing boards (page25). Providedthe matingsurfaces havebeen jointed smoothand square,and the propergluingand clampingtechniques arefollowed,the resultsarestrongand durable.In fact,a well-assembled edgeto-edgeor face-to-face butt joint pro-

videsa sturdierbondthanthewood fibersthemselves. Beforeedgegluingboards, arrange thestocksothefaceof thepanelwill be visuallyinteresting. Thepinel should createthe illusionof a singlepiece

of wood ratherthan a composite.To minimizewarping,mostwoodworkers arrangethe piecessothat the endgrain ofadjacentboards facesin opposite directions(page25). Usea pencilto markthe endgrainorientationon eachboard.

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A jointerproduces a smooth, straight,evenedge.Gluingjointed boardstogetheredge-to-edge will panel a that is every bit as form strongasa singlepieceof lumber.

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EDGE GTUING theglue 1 Applying I Settwobarclamps ona worksurface andlaythe boards on top.Useasmany clamps asyouneedto support thepieces at 24-Io 36-inchintervals. Keepthebars uprightbyplacing themin notched wood blocks. Arrange thestockto enhance its appearance, making suretheendgrain o f t h e b o a r d rsu n si n a l t e r n a tdei r e c tions.Withthe piecesbuttededge-toedge,marka triangleon the stockto helpyourearrange theboards at glueup. Nextcut two protective woodpadsat leastaslongastheboards. Leaving the firstboardfacedown,standtheother pieces onedgewiththetriangle marks facingawayfromyou.Applya thinglue beadto eachedge(right),then usea small,stiff-bristled brushto spread the adhesive evenlv.

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BUTTIOINTS

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r) Tightening theclamps L Settheboards facedownandlineuptheirends,making surethesidesof thetriangle align.Tighten theclamps under justenough theboards to press Install themtogether. a third clampacross thetop centerof thestock.Finishtightening theclamps(above) untiltherearenogapsbetween theboards anda thin beadof gluesqueezes outof thejoints.To level

adjacent boards thatdo notlie perfectly flushwitheachother, usea C clampanda woodpadcentered overthejointnearthe endof the boards; usea stripof waxpaperto prevent the pad fromsticking to theboards. Thentightentheclampuntilthe boards arealigned(insef).

FACE GTUING

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Gluing upboards face-to-face Cutyourstockslightly longer andwider youto square thannecessary to enable theblankif theboards shiftduringglueup.Layouttheboards face-to-face, alternating t h ee n dg r a i no f t h ep i e c eas n d grainand arranging thestockto maximize glueononematingsurface color.Spread of eachjoint,thenuseC clamps to hold thepieces together. Starting neartheends of the boards, spacethe clampsat 3protect to 4-inchintervals; thestockwith . ighten w o o dp a d s T t h e c l a m p sj u s t enough to presstheboards together. Turn theassembly overso it sitson thef irst rowof clamos andinstalla second row alongthe otheredge(/eft).Finishtight e n i n ga l lt h ec l a m p us n t i tl h e r ea r en o gapsbetween theboards anda thinglue beadsqueezes outof thejoints.

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25

BUTTTOINTS

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CLAMPING TECHNIOUES F(lRTHREE BUTT JOINTS

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Gluing upa jointwithendgrain gluingalongendgrain, Sincebothjointsshown above involve youwill needto reinforce theconnection; useoneof themethodspresented laterin thischapter, suchasdowels, biscuits, or glueonthecontacting splines. Spread surfaces, thenusebar clampsto holdthejointtogether. Forthecasebutt loint(above, left),settheclampon itssideandtheboards onedgeon a worksurface. Tighten theclampasyouholdthestocksnug upagainst thebarandkeepthejointsquare. Fora framebutt

I I I right),seItwobarclampsuprightin notched wood loinl(above, blocks asyouwouldforgluingupa panel(page 24).(Thesecondclampserves to keeptheboards level.) Laytheboards face downontheclamps, making surethestockiswellsupported. Applytheadhesive, buttthepieces together, andtighten the clamps whileholding theboards in alignment. Forbothsetups, usewoodpadsto protectyourstock.

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Clamping anedgebuttioint Settwobarclampson a worksurface and laytheboards ontop,onefacedownand oneonedge.Usenotched blocks andwood pads. Spread someglueonthemating edge piece andboard face.Holdtheupright flush against thebarwhiletightening theclamps a littleat a timeuntiladhesrve soueezes out of thejoint(right).lnslallasmanyadditional clampsas necessary between the.first twoto closeanygapsbetween the boards.

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BUTTIOINTS

BOLTS THROUGH

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Throughboltsare an effectivemeans of reinforcingworkbench topsor butcher blocksmadebyfacegluing boards. In additionto helpingto aligntheboards, the boltswill reducethepossibility of splittingor warpingas thewood's moisturecontentfluctuatesfrom seasonto season.

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WITHTHROUGH BOTTS BUTT J(IINTS REINF(|RCING

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thepanel Gluing upandholting placing Markthreeholesfortheboltsonthefaceof oneboard, center onea fewinches fromeachendandonein themiddle; Installabit in thedrillpressthat themarks between theedges. isslightly larger thantheboltsandalignthebitwiththemiddle mark.Clampa stopblockagainst theendoftheboardanda wood fenceagainst itsedge.Usethissetupto drilltheendholesin all (above, /eff).Usea similarsetupto borethemiddle theboards thetwofaceoieces to accommodate thenuts. holes.Counterbore a nutononeendof eachthreaded Prepare theboltsbythreading

andpunchto jam rod;striketheendof eachrodwitha hammer thenutin place. Stand thefrontpiece onedgeandlayalltheothSqueeze someglueonthe boards ersfaceupona worksurface. witha brush(above, right).Press the board andspreadit evenly keeping theirendsaligned. Feedtheboltsthrough facestogether, washers andnuts,andgivean theholes, slipontheremaining to press theboards together as initialtightening. Usebarclamps in thephotoabove. Finish tightening theboltswitha socket wrench andadda thirdclampacross thetopof theassembly.

27

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DOWELIOINTS

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Dowelscantransforma weakbuttjoint into solidjoinery. In edgegluing(right), thewoodenpins helpalign the boards.In frame (above,left) and case(above,right) bun joinery,thedowelsreinforcetherelativelyweakbond betweenendgrain and longgrain.Doweljointsgenerally hold up well to shearstress-whenthepiecesarebeing pushedpasteachother;theyare lesseffective at resisting tension-whenthepieces arebeingpulledapart (pageI 5).

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EDGE WITHDOWEL GTUING JOINTS thedowelholes 1 Marking yourstockon barclamps I Arrange as for edgegluing(page24). Leauingone boardfacedown,standtheotherpieces on edge.Toensure thatthedowels are precisely centered, marklinesacross the edgesof the boards---one about4 inches fromeachendandoneinthemiddle. Then adjusta cuttinggaugeto one-half the t h i c k n e sosf t h e s t o c ka n du s ei t t o m a r kt h e c e n t e o r f t h e e d g ea t e a c h point(right). dowellocation Theinterl i n e sw i l la c c u r a t epl yl a c et h e secting Forlonger dowels. stock,youmaywant t o m a r ka d d i t i o n da ol w ehl o l e s .

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BUTTJOINTS

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tlltll|l'fl|l llltlltlllltlllllltlltl]llfillilullllfilltllllluljlllll] 1HO?TI? Dowelingjig Thecommercial dowelina jiq ehownhereauLomalicallycenlero S1 dowelholeeon $b.\ Lhe eLock and

epa.ceeLhem n#-"t aT,tnT,ervala you choooe.Clampthe workpiece \... in handecrews,Lhee ncureNhe \ boardto a worksurtace.Clampthe jiq ontroIheed4eof the etock.FiIyourdrill wibha biILhe samediameheras Nhedowele, Nheninolalla sloo collarNocontrollhe drillinqdepIh.)lideNherecLanqular buehinq carrieralonqLhe)iq,and ineerl lhe appropriate buehin7io keeVthe bit equareLo Lhe board.Holdinqlhe drillfirmly,borethe hole.

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/) Boring thedowelholes yourstockwith l to avoidsplitting thepins,usegrooved dowels thatareno morethanone-half thethickness of the boards. Fita drillpress witha twistor brad-ooint bitthesamediameter asthe d o w e l st h, e ns e tt h ed r i l l i n g d e p t ht o %ainchmorethanone-half thelength of thedowels. Clamp a fenceto thedrill press tableto helpkeeptheboard edges perpendicular to thebit asyouborethe holes. Then,holding theworkpiece flush against thefence,position onemarked poind t i r e c t luyn d etrh eb i t a n db o r e thehole.Repeat to drilltheremaining holeshbovd.

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BUTTIOINTS

Forholeson a boardedge,clampthe JIG CENTER.DRILTING andsetthejig onthe Thissimplejig willletyouboreholes stockedge-up on a board's thatarealways centered faceor edge.Cutthe 18-incharm trom2-by-2stock,Markthe center of thetoofaceof the armandborea (inset).The holefor a guidebushing larger than shouldbeslightly bushing the holesyouplanto drill,Sizethe g i l lf i t s n u g l y , h o l es ot h eb u s h i nw thenpressit in place. Turnthearmoverandmarka line downits middle.Markoointsonthe lineroughly1 inchfromeachend fromthecenter, thenbore equidistant through the a %-inchholehalfway armat eachmark.Dabsomegluein dowels. the holesandinsertgrooved Theyshouldprotrude byabout%inch, To usethejig, placeit on theworkpiecesothatthedowelsbuttagainst opposite edgesof thestock,Fit the d r i l lb i t i n t ot h e b u s h i n ag n db o r e the hole (right).

themating dowelholes Q Pinpointing r-J lnsertdowelcenters thesamediamet e r a st h ed o w e l si n e a c ho f t h e h o l e s (right),thenlaythe boardsonthe clamps w i t ht h et r i a n g lm e a r k fsa c i n gu p .A l i g n the marksandpressthe boardedges endsof thedowel Thepointed together, pierce edgeof theadjawill the centers pointsfor providing board, starting cent Bore these holes mating dowel holes. the 2. as in step to thesamedepth

flushagainst stockwiththedowels facesof the board. opposite

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uptheboards 1l Gluing -T Arrange theboards on barclamps, usingwoodpadsandnotched blocks, 24). asyouwouldfor edgegluing(page Applya thingluebeadontheedges to joined and spread it evenly. Use a be s t i c kt o d a ba s m a lal m o u not f a d h e sivein the bottomof eachdowelhole. gluedirectly Donotspread onthedowels;themoisture willcause themto swell. Insert thedowels andusea hammer to poundAvoid tapthemintofinalposition. ingw , h i c hc a nc a u s a e b o a r tdo s p l i t . C l a m tph ej o i n tu n t itl h eg l u ei sc u r e d .

Iltilllttllllll]tlllI]l}tljltll]tlljtll}Illlflltlll1 fiI]llltfit]ultlll1 5HO7Tt? Ueing a dowelbo etrengthen a butt joint, )crewe do noNholdwellin endqrain,so a fasNeneron iNeownie eelTo dom eNronqenouqhNokeepan end-No-face buLt,joinLNoqebher. reinforceIhe connecNion, holeverlically borea 3/e-inch-diameter Nhrough NheendgrainpieceabouNl/z inchfrom iIe end,Gluea dowel in Nheholeand leNLheadheeive dry.Thendriveyour ocrewethrouqh the maLinqpieceinNothe dowel.The ecrewewillbewell anchoredin Ihe lonqqrainof trhedowel.

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PLATEJOINTS tt,.

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Theplate,or biscuit,joint is strongand simple,althoughit recluires theuseof a specialized toolcalleda platejoiner,shownonpage33. Thetool'sretractable bladeplungesinto thematingboqrds,cutting beech.Once semicircular slotsthat acceptovalwafersof compressed glueis added,thebiscuitsswell,creatinga solid,durablejoint-even permitin endgrain. Theslotsarecut slightlylargerthan thebiscuits, proper ting a smallmarginof errorwhileensuring alignment.

EDGE GTUING BOARDS

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t I slotlocations 1t Markins I Arrange theboards to bejoinedandmarka triangle onthesurfaces asin edge (above). gluing(page24.fhen markcenterlinesfortheslotsacrosstheboardseams Startatleast2 inches in fromeachendandadda markabouteverv 8 inches.

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r) Cutting theslots L Setthe platejoiner's depthof cut t o s u i tt h eb i s c u i tyso ua r eu s i n ga n d adjustthefenceto centertheslotsin the board edges. Laying thefenceontop of thestock,aligntheguideline onthe faceplate witha slotlocation markon t h ew o r k p i e c T eu . r no n t h e t o o la n d plunge thebladeintotheboardto cut theslot(/eff).Repeat the procedure at theotherslotlocation marks. Withthin stock,thetool'sbaseplatemaytouch theworksurface, shifting thealignment of theslots.Toprevent this,position the workpiece at theedgeof thetablesothe baseplatedoesnotrestonthetabletop.

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thebiscuits Q Inserting r-,1andgluinguptheboards Onceall theslotshavebeencut,Ieave thelastboardfacedownandstandthe others on edgewiththeslotsfacingup. A p p l ya b e a do f g l u ea l o n gt h e b o a r d edges andin theslots,insertrng biscuits asyougo (right).(lf youareworking with longboards it is betterto waituntilallthe adhesive hasbeenapplied before inserti n gt h e b i s c u i ttso p r e v e nt th e mf r o m youhavetimeto complete swelling before g l u eu p . )T h eb o t t l es h o w ni n t h e i l l u s t r a t i o ni s s p e c i a l ldye s i g n etdo a p p l y adhesive evenly onthesidesof theslots; gluebottle, if youareusinga standard s p r e atdh eg l u ew i t ha s m a l w l ooden stick.Spread theadhesive evenly onthe board edges, thenfit theboards together q u i c k l yt o p r e v e nt th e b i s c u i t fsr o m s w e l l i npgr e m a t u r eHl yo. l dt h e b o a r d s together withbarclamps asin edgegluing.

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BUTTIOINTS

WITHPLATE JOINTS A CARCASE ASSEMBLING

theslotsat thecorners 1 Cutting youwill here, J. Withthesetupshown beableto cutalltheslotsforonecarcase t o v i ntgh ep a n e l sS. e t c o r n ew r i t h o um outside-face down oneof thesidepanels upon andlaythetoppieceoutside-face letters to identitopof it, usingreference thetoppancorners. Offset fy thecarcase thenclampthe el bythestockthickness, p i e c eisn p l a c eP . l a c ea s u p p o rbt o a r d asthestockin front the samethickness thenmarkthe slotlocaof thepanels, Setting theplate tionson thetoppanel. j o i n eor nt h es u p p o rbt o a r da, l i g nt h e g u i d e l i noen t h ef a c e p l a twei t ha s l o t locatiom n a r ko n t h e s t o c k G . r i pt h e j o i n ew r i t hb o t hh a n d a s n dc u tt h es l o t (above). Repeat theprocess at theother theplatejoiner marks andthen,turning o ne n d a , l i g nt h eg u i d e l i ni net h ec e n t e r witha slotmark of thetool'sbaseplate (right). Pushthetooldownto cut the g r o o v ei n s t h es i d ep a n e lr;e p e atth e forthe clamping andcuttingprocedure othercarcase corners.

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BUTTIOINTS

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uidepanel

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Keferenceletter

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r) Cutting slotsfora shelf L MarV, slotlocation linesat bothendsof theshelf.Mark youwishto where linesacross theinside faceof bothsidepanels position panel, thensettheshelfatoponeside aligning theshelf, line.Clamp theworkpieces in place. itsedgewiththereference tool'sbaseplateagainst Cuttheslotsinthepanel byholdingthe

guideline theshelfandaligningthe in thecenter of theplate withthe location marksontheshelf(above, left).Usetheguidelinesonthetool'sfaceplate to alignandcuttheslotsin theshelf (above, righ).Reposition theshelfontheothersidepaneland procedure. repeat the

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upthecarcase Q Gluing r-,f Oncealltheslotshavebeencut,set theoanels andshelfontheworksurface outside-face down.Applyglueandinsert b i s c u i tisn t ot h e i rs l o t sa n da l o n gt h e i r edges asforgluingup boards 33). @age Assemble thecarcase, f ittingthetopand bottom oanels andtheshelfontooneside andthenadding theotherside(seephoto, page20). Installtwobarclampsacross thetopandbottom, usingwoodpadsto protect thestock.Close theshelfjoints withbarclamps at thefrontandbackof placing a %-inchlhick wood thecarcase, pad maintain shimunder each to clamping pressure at themiddleof theshelf.Tighten t h es h i mc l a m p as l i t t l ea t a t i m eu n t i l therearenogapsbetween the contacti n gs u r f a c easn da s m a l b l e a do f g l u e squeezes outof the joints(left).

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POCKE,T HOLES Pockctltolcsart'ctttrrrrronls, trsadwitlr - . c r c r r , - s .tlrbt rt o c h i n gt t t t b l e t o p t o t l t c s t r p p o r l i r trgo i l s .I ) r i l l et l o t o r t n r t g l e , tlrey s111t,, tlrcprLtblurrLt.l-lnt,ittg to screu/ straiglrttlrrLttrgh 3- or 4-irrch-widestock; tltcy olsocorrccolthe.firsturcrs. Otreo.ltltc rrtttttl,pockat lrclc ligstrt,silsble , thc t t t o t l c ls l t o w tnr t r i g l t tc l o r t t ptsl t ay , o r k picccitt positiort rtnd.f'cotttres o ltttsltirtg t l r a t k c c p st l t e t l r i l l l t i t a t t l t c c o r r e c t nrtglc.TlrccottrLtintttiort ltit sltowrrborcs n clcurortcc lutlc.fitrthc screy,sltortkarrd c o t r r t t c r s i r t tkhsc l r o l c . l ' otrh c h e n d i r r t t r r co p c r o t i o t tA . s t o pc o l l o ra t t o c h e d t o t l t cI t i t r c g t r l o t ct sh c d r i l l i t r gd c p t h .

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t I I I I I REINFORCING A BUTTJ()INTWITHP()CKET HOLES

t t t

J o i n i n rga i l st o a t a b l e t o p B o r et h e p o c k eht o l e st h r o u g thh e r a r l s . L qn p a n e l e r ^ t rdi rr i l lw i t ha c o m m e r c i a l l r g l r k et h e o n es h o w na b o v eo, r a d r i l l p r e s sa r d a s h o p - m a d1et g( p a g e3 7 ) . spart. S p a c et h e h o l e sa b o r t4 i n c h e a L fy o ua " eu s i n ga d r r l lw i t ha s p e c i aclo m b i n a t i o nb i t ,t h e h o l e sc a n b e b o r e di n a sirgleoperation. Othenryise, borethe holes i n t w os t e p sw i t ht w od r f f e r e nbtr a d - p o i n t b i t s :S t a r tw i t ho n es l r g h t llya r g etrh a nt h e d i a m e t eor f I h e s c r e wh e a d s s. o t h e y can be recessed asshown,andthenbore r h eo l h e ra l i t l l e' a r p etrh a nt h e s c r e w shanks to allowfor somemovement. Once ^l dr

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topfacedownon a worksurfaceand mark l l n e so n i t s u n d e r s i dt o e h e l py o u p o s i . l i g na r a i lw i t ho n eo f t i o nt h e r a l l s A t h el i n e sa n dd r i v e t h es c r e wtso a t t a c ht h e b o a r dt o t h e t o p ( r i g h t ) .R e p e a tf o r t h e o t h er a i l s .

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BUTTIOINTS

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A POCKET HOI.E JIG To boreoocketholeson thedrill press,usea pocketholejig (right), plywood from3/a-inch shop-made of solidstock. andtwosmallpieces Referto the illustration forsuggesteddimensions. Screwthetwosidesof the cradle to forman L. Thencut a together fromeachsupport 90'anglewedge bracket sothatthe widesideof the willsit at anangleof 15"from cradle to thevertical. Screwthe brackets the jig base,andattachthecradle ontopof the brackets. Tousethejig,seattheworkpiece i n t h ec r a d l ew i t ht h es i d et o b e drilledfacingoutanditstopedgesitBorethe tingin theV of thecradle. holesin twosteoswithtwodifferentbitsasyouwouldwithanelectric drill(page36). ln thiscase,a Forstner bit areshown. bitanda brad-ooint TheForstner bit cutsa flai-bottomed holeidealforrecessing screwheads. F i r s ti,n s t a l l t h be r a d - p o ibnitt s n ds e tt h ej i g o n i n t h ed r i l lp r e s a W t h et o o l ' st a b l e . i t ht h em a c h i n e the off. lowerthe bit andposition j i g t o a l i g nt h eb i t w i t ht h ec e n t e r of thebottomedgeof theworkpiece

9upport bracket | 1/2"x 3" x 41/2".

(below,lefil. Clampthe jig to the thebrad-point with tableandreplace the Forstner bit. firmlyin the Holding theworkpiece j i g ,f e e dt h e b i t s l o w l tyo b o r et h e

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holesjustdeepenough to recess the screwheads(below,right).To reinstall complete thepocketholes, thebrad-point bitandborethrough theworkpiece.

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SPLINEIOINTS

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t Splines arethin stripsof woodcommonlyusedto alignandreinforcebux joints,liketheedge,case,andpaneljointsshownaboye(clockwisefrom top left). Madefrom plywoodor solidwoodno morethan1/:thethickness of thestoclgsplinesextendintogrooves cut in bothmatingsurfaces. Solidwoodsplinesshouldbecut with thegrain runningacross theirwidth, ratherthanlengthwise, toprovidemaximumstrength.Thewidth of the grooves shouldequalthethickness of thesplines; theirdepthshouldbe slightlymorethanone-halfthewidth of thesplinesto allowfor excess glue.

REINFORCING A BUTT WITHA SPLINE JOINT

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grooves Cutting andinserting splines Markthethickness of thesolineon the leading endof oneboard.Installa dado headof theappropriate widthonthetable sawandsetthedepthof cut.Alignthe m a r k so n t h ew o r k o i e cwei t ht h ed a d o head,thenbuttthefenceagainst theface of thestock.Tosecure theworkpiece duri n gt h ec u t ,c l a m pa s h i mt o t h et a b l e andscrewa featherboard on top.The shimwillallowthefeatherboard to suoportthe middleof theworkpiece. Turn onthesawandfeedthe boardintothe dadohead,keeping theworkpiece firmly against thefence(right).lf youareworkingwithnarrow stock,usea pushstick to complete thepass.Repeat thecuton thematingboard, thenspread someglue inthegrooves, insert thespline, andclamp theboards as in panel(page25) or edge buttgluing(page26). (Caution: Blade guardremoved for clarity.)

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KEYIOINTS BUTTERFLY Alsoknown as a doubledovetail,the butterfly keyjoint servesto strengthenpanel joints. If it is cut from a contrastinghardwood, the key adds a decoratiueelement. Thereare severalmethodsfor making the joint, but here,the keysarefashionedon a table sqw and the recesses for the keys areplowed with a router.

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A BUTTERFLY KEYJOINT MAKING

t I keyjoint Making a butterfly shape on Tomakeseveral keys, outline thedouble-wing your grain runs stock, making sure the along the theendof Adjust key rather than across its width. the length of the bladeangleonthetablesawto 10",alignoneof thekey m a r k so n t h e b o a r dw i t ht h e b l a d ea n db u t tt h ef e n c e witha featheragainst thestock,Support theworkpiece each sideof the setatopa shim.Makea ripcuton board it overandsaw twicemoreto workpiece, thenturntheboard pattern. Feedthestockwitha push cutoutthebutterfly (/eft). keysfromtheboardontheband stick Cutindivioual and saw.Routtherecesses forthekeysusinga template outlineone straight bit.Tomakethetemplate, a top-piloted andcut outthepattern of thekeyson a pieceof plywood reference linesfor witha saber saw.Thenmarkintersecting Clamp thelocation of thekeyonthepanelandtemplate. thereference lines thetemplate atopthestock,aligning (abovd,androuttherecess to a depthequalto thethickwitha chisnessof thekey.Square thecorners of therecess adhesive intherecess andinsert el.Toglueinthekey,spread thepanel, usingclamps at thekey.Laya woodpadacross itsendsto holdthekeyin placewhilethegluedries.

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MITERIOINTS joints,theyarestronger. iters are among thecommonest of Still,anyend-grainmiter joints.Buildersusethem mustbe reinforcedwith glueblods, whentrimming around splines, dowels, windowsanddoors;cabior biscuits. netmakers miter Insertingsplinesis the usually : , methodmostcommonly carcase comersandprcture framesbecause themiter usedto providereinforceconcealsend grain. Alment(page48).Consistthoughframesandboxes ing of nothingmorethan stripsof hardwoodor plyusuallydemand90ocorners,a miterjoint maybe wood,splinesare glued intogrooves anyangle.All areequally thatarecutin A miter boxis invaluablefor makingaccurateanglecuts. simpleto make,solongas bothhalves of ajoint.The the rulesof miteringare Thecommercial modelshownabovecomeswith itsown resultis a strong,durable followed:Eachintersectsmu,a solid metalbase,and legsthat canbefasteneddown bond-even though its ingendmustbecutexactto a work surfacefor addedstability. intention may be more lv at one-halfthe total decorative thanfunctional, forminga90oangleare likethefeathered splinedemonstrated on page49. angleofthecomer.Thus,thetwopieces Theanglesof a miterjoint canmakeit difficultto align cutat45oeach;thoseforminga 45oanglearecutat22L/zo. joints: Therearetwo tfpesof miter facemitersandedge duringassembly; usespecialclampsandjigslike thoseillus(page miters.Facemiters 45)arecut across thefacesof the tratedonpages 50and55to maketheglue-upprocess easier. pieces, andareoftenusedto connectstilesandrailsin frame- And,properlymade, thereinforcements themselves canassure and-panel construction orjoin themembers of apictureframe. properalignment. Edgemiters(page51)canbemadealongtheedges oftheworkWhetherreinforced or not,thesuccess of everymiterjoint pieces or across theendgrain-alsoknownasendmitersor depends on accurate cutting.Thetablesawmiterjig on page bevelmiters.Because edgemitersconceal thematingsurfaces, 46is designed to easethattask.Butwhetheryouareusinga theyareusedextensively in plywoodcarcase construction. tablesaw,radialarmsaw,or abaclsawwitha miterbox,careMiter jointsarenot onlypreferredfor their cleanlines. ful measurement andpropersetupwill producestrong,attracBecause they offer more gluing areathan ordinarybutt tivejointsthatwill lastfor years.

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Makingan octagonal carcaselilethetablesupportshownat lefi calkfor a seria of identicalbevelcuts.For theeightpieces tofit properly,eachedgemustbecut at an angleof 221/2" so that the total of all theanglesaddsup to 360".

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COMMON MITE,RIOINTS

I I I End miter (eee page 51) Face mit'er (aeepage 45)

Ed6e miter (eeepaqe 51) Mitered doweljoint Dowelainaerted ae in butt doweljoint (paqe 28)

Eeveled plate joint (aee page 54)

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Mitered plate joint, (aee paqe 54)

Miter-and-apline (oee paqe 4B)

% Copedjoint (aee paqe 47)

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Feat'her-apline (eee paqe 49)

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JIGSAND ACCESSORIES

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| i l | l r l{bi l l r | J (fP tlP.J/ For clampinqcarcaeee,eepeciallythoee with beveledcorners; includeabracketa of vanoualengthato keepcornerggquare

This commercial miter box. which comeswith its own handsaw,can be adjustedto make a cut at any anglebetween0" and 90".For maximum convenience,thejig isfastenedto a plywood base, which is then clamped to the work surface.

Corner clamp Clampemiter joinLe up to 3 tncheawtdea0 thaL adjointnq pieceaare kep| at riqht anqlea to each other; four clampeare required to qlue up frame in one operation

Piature frame alamp Four-cornerclamp uoedto aoaemble picture framea and other rectanqular work;2- to 4B-tnch clampin4capacity

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Miter box Uaedw'rtha backaawto cut mitera and bevele. Modelahownfeaturea alota for atrai4ht cute, 45" miter cuta, and 45" bevelcute; clampe at each end hold workpiecein place

N Webalamp AIao knownae eLrap clamp:used to apply equalpreaoure around the ctrcumferenceof a pteceae whenclamptnga carcaaeaaaembledwith aeveralbeveledpiecee(paqe40), Typicallyfeaturea a f-inch-wide,l5-foot-lonq nylonatrap with a raLchettnqbuckle,four corner bracketa,and a wrench

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MAKING MITERJOINTS

The radial arm saw cuts miter joints cluicklyand accurately.The arm that supportsthe motor and bladeswivelsto either sidefor face miter cuts. The motor can also be tilted for bevelcuts. Swivelingthe arm and tilting the motor producesa compoundcut.

A MITER BOX frontandbackpieces sothatthe piecesof Cutthree15-inch-long depthof the boxwill be% inchless plywood hardwood or 3/a-inch for the thanthewidthof yourbacksaw blade baseandthefrontandbackoieces. fromits teethto the bottomof the Makethe basewideenough for the s p i n eC . u tt h ef r o n tp i e c e1 i n c h stockyouwill be sawing. Ripthe widerthanthebackoieceto forma

f) esistthetemptationto cul.miters r\ freehand; theslightest errorwill resultin gapsthat arJesthetically and structurally unsound.If you aremaking a standard45ocut, usea combinationsquareto setup your tablesaw or radialarm saw;or usea miter box with a backsawFor a miter or bevel cut at anyotherangle,adjustyour saw usinga slidingbevelanda protractor. Maketestcutson a scrapboard,then checkyour results.Throughuse,the slots in a wooden miter box can becomeout-of-square or too wide, resultingin a poorlyfittingjoint; you canachievea goodfit by sawingone halfof a joint faceup andthe mating piecefacedown.

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lip at the bottomof the box.Screw thefrontandbackoieces to thebase sothatthetopedgesof the boxare level.Usea combination souare to markcuttinglinesfortheslotson the box'stop edges.Layouta 90' angleslot3 inchesfromoneend, anda 45' angleslot3 inches from theotherend.Outline a second 45o slotin theopposite direction between thefirsttwoslots.Makethecutswith a backsaw, usingblocks clamped to e i t h esr i d eo f t h ec u t t i n gl i n e st o guidetheblade. To usethebox,secure the lip in a vise,thensettheworkpiece onthe aligning base, thecuttinglinewith theappropriate slot;clampthe boardto thebackpiece.Startthe you cut bypullingthebladetoward push a fewtimes,thenfinishwith andpullstrokes(/eft).

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FACEMITERS A FACE MITERJ()INT MAKING

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Facemiter joints are a popular choicefor pictureframes;they hide end grain end direct the eye toward the centerof theframe.

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themiter 1 Cutting I Tousethecommercial miterbox shown, secure thelegsto a worksurface.Swivel thesawassembly until thepointer indicates themiterangle youneed; check theangle. Raise the sawassembly ontheguidepostsand s l i pt h ew o r k p i e cuen d etrh eb l a d e a n do n t h e b a s eo f t h e m i t e rb o x . A l i g nt h ec u t t i n g l i n ew i t ht h eb l a d e andbuttthe boardagainst thefence, thenlower thebladeontotheworkpiece, Holding thestockf irmly, make thecutasyouwouldwitha shop-made miterbox(above).

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r) Clamping thejoint L Apply adhesive onthecontacting surfaces of thejoint.lf youareusing corner clamps forglueup,youwillneedan individual clampforeachcorner boards in theclamps andtighten thetwoscrews of theframe.Fitadjoining alternately untilthejointsareIighI(above).

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MITER IOINTS

t I A MITER JIGFOR THETABTE SAW Making mitercutson long,wide,or %"x31/z"x20'1" heavy workpieces canbetricky.The Clearplaettc shop-built miterjig at rightmakes the 4uard Referto the illustration taskeasier. for suggested dimensions. Keinforctnqblock % "x 1 ' 1 x" 6 % " Cuttwo25-inch-long hardwood runners thesamewidthasthesaw's mitergaugeslots.Boreclearance holesforscrews intotheundersides of fromeachend therunners, 3 inches andevery 6 inches in between. Place therunners in theslots,thenslide themoutto overhang the backend With of thetablebyabout8 inches. the bladelowered belowthetable, Kerf position thejig basesquarely onthe Dackauppoft piece runners, itsedgeflushwiththeirover%"x3k"x13" hanging ends;thenscrewtherunners to thebase, countersinking thescrews. Slidetherunners andthebaseoffthe pieceand frontendof thetableanddrivein the thejig,centered between therunners. a cutthrough thesupport remaining screws. Attachtheback Then,withtherunners in themiter three-quarters of thewayacross the piecealongtherearedgeof gauge support slots,raisethebladeandmake base. Turnoffthesawandlowerthe blade.Next,placethemiterarmsat 90oto eachotherin themiddleof the jig,centered onthekerf.Screwthe piecein armsandthefrontsupport place.Attachthereinforcing blocks to pieces thesupport andfasten a clear plastic guardtotheblocks blade with hanger bolts,washers, andwingnuts. Tousethejig,fit therunners into jig themitergauge slots.Slidethe toward thebackof thetableuntilthe bladeentersthe kerf.Butttheworkpieceagainst theleftarmof thejig, alignthecuttinglinewiththe saw blade, andclampa stopblockto the armat theendof theboard. Cutthe miter,holding theworkpiece f irmly against thearmandstopblock(left). Makethe matingcut thesameway usingtherightarmof thejig. Frnnt

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coPEDIOINTS

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Copedjoints are often usedto connecttwo piecesof contouredmolding at inside corners.They are superior to standard mitersfor concealing slight inaccuraciesin thefit of thepieces.Coping is a two-stepoperation. First, a standard 45" bevelcut is made at the end of onepiece.This revealsa contour line, which can then befollowed with a copingsaw.

CUTTING A COPED JOINT Coping contoured molding Cuttheendof a pieceof molding at a 45" angle to reveal thecontour lineon theface.Tomakethecopedcut,clamp themolding face-up on a worksurface, protecting theworkpiece witha wood pad.Install a narrow bladeona coping saw,making surethattheteetharefacingthehandle sothatthesawcutson thepullstroke. Cutalongthecontour l i n ec a r eufl l yw i t ht h es a wb l a d eh e l d perfectly upright(left).Fora tightf it, undercut thejointslightly, sothatonly thefrontof theboardcontacts theface prece. ofthemating lf theblade bindsin thekerf,makeoccasional release cuts intothewaste to letsmallpieces fall away.Position thecopedendagainst the faceof thematingpieceto testthef it. Smooth outanyslightirregularities with a roundfileorfinesandpaper wrapped around a dowel.

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MITER-AND.SPLINEIOINTS Themiter-and-spline is basicallya facemiter with a splineglued into groovescut in the mitered ends.For maximum strength, the spline should be cut so that its grain runs acrossits

width, ratherthan lengthwise, or bemadefrom plywood.

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t I I ROUTING A MITER.AND.SPTINE 'OINT

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thegrooves Cutting Makethe45" mitercutsin eachworkpiecef irst.Installa three-wing slotting cutterin yourrouterandmountthetool in a table.Position thefencein linewith the bit pilot,thenplacetheworkpiece f lat on thetableandcenterthe bit on theedgeof thestock.Feedtheworkpiece holdintothecutterwitha mitergauge, ingthe edgeof the boardflushagainst thegaugeandonemitered endflatagainst the fence(right).(Youcanalsoroutthe jointsbyusing grooves for miter-and-spline a straightbit andfeeding the stockon end intothe bit.)Onceall thegrooves havebeenmade,cut a splinefor each joint;makeit twiceaswideasthedepthof thegroove, less%zinchforclearance. Glue upthejointasyouwoulda standard miter (page45),spreading gluein thegrooves.

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FEATHER-SPLINE IOINTS

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joint serves Thesplinein a feather-spline moreoJ a decorative rolethana structuralone.In contrast to themiter-and-spline, thegroovefor thefeather splineis cut afterthecornerisgluedup.

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MAKING A FEATHER-SPLINE J()INT thejig 1 Making I Youcancutthesrooves fora featherj o i n to nt t r ei a U t e spline s a wu s i n g the jig shown fence-straddling at left.The jig feedsthecorner of a mitered frame across thetableandsquarely intothe blade. Cutthebodyandbracefrom3/qinchplywood andthearmsfroml-by-2 stock.Makethebody,spacer, andbrace a b o u1t 6 i n c h elso n ga n dt h ea r m s1 2 inches long;thebodyshould beabout5 inches wide.(Thethickness of thespacerandthewidthof thebrace depend on thedimensions of yoursaw'sripfence.) Attachthespacer to the bodyandthe brace to thespacer sothejig slidesfreely a l o n gt h ef e n c ew i t h o uwt o b b l i n T go . prepare thearms,cut45" mitersat both endsandscrew themto thebodysothat theyareperpendicular to eachother; check thatthejointbetween themformsa 90" angle. Tocomplete thejig,screw a shim tothebodyandfastena toggleclampto theshim(left),ffakecertainthereare noscrews closeto the bottomof thejig where thebladecouldstrikeone.

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MITER IOINTS

r) Cutting thegrooves L t o u s et h ej i g ,p l a c ei t a s t r i dteh e fenceandposition thetwosothecutwill bemadein themiddleof theworkpiece. Slidethejig along thefenceto cutgrooves through themitered endsof thearms.Turn o f ft h es a wa n dp u l lt h ej i g b a c kt o t h e frontof thetable.Seattheframein the jig soa corner is butiedagainst thecenter o f t h eV f o r m e b d yt h ea r m sa n dc l a m p in olace.Feedthestock theworkoiece holding intotheblade(right), thejig with b o t hh a n d sC. u t r i a n g u l sapr l i n etso f i t in thegrooves. Spread a littlegluein the grooves andinsert thesplines. Oncethe gluehascured,cutandsandtheprojectionsflushwiththeframe.

MITER BTOCKS CTAMPING Youcanglueup mitered withcorners outspecial clamps,instead using handscrews andthesoecial blocks shownat right.Youwill needone clamoandtwoblocksfor eachcorner.Usestockthesamethickness asyourworkpiece fortheblocks; on oneedge, cutthe45'angleandthe V-shaped notch(rnsef). Tousetheblocks, applyglueto the contacting surfaces andpressthem together. At eachcorner, usestring to tie theblocks snugly to theedges of theframe,securing thelooseend in thenotch.Setthejawsof thehandscrewagainst the 45'angleedges of theblocks andtighten theclamp (right)unliltherearenogapsbetween themitered endsanda thin beadof gluesqueezes outofthejoint.Tokeep theframesquare, tighten thehandscrews a littleat a time,checking the corner witha combination souare.

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EDGEMITERIOINTS

cutsin Edgemiterjointsfeaturematchingbevel thematingpieces, eitheracrosstheworkpiece end (beIow) or alongthe edge(far right). The corners edgemiter is a popularjoint for carcase it conceals endgrain.Both examples because shownarereinforcedwith splines.

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MITER CUTTING ANEDGE JOINT Making thebevelcut Tocuta standard edgemiterjointonthe tablesaw,setthebladeangleat 45" and position theripfenceforthewidthof cut, thatthe bladeteetharepointensuring ingawayfromthefence.Raise thesplif terto keeothekerfooenwhilethecut is b e i n gm a d ew, h i c hw i l lp r e v e nbti n d i n g andkickback. Feedtheworkoiece into theblade, usinga pushstickto keepthe boardflat onthesawIable(left).(Caution: guardremoved forclari$.)Tocutthe Blade bevelacross theendof a board, movethe fenceasideandfeedtheworkpiece into withthemitergauge. Onceallthe theblade the bevelcutshavebeenmade,reinforce jointswithsplines(page52),glueblocks (page53),or biscuits(page54).

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MITER TOINTS

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REINF()RCING EDGE MITERS WITHSPTINES

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Cutting thegrooves on a tablesaw I n s t a lal d a d ob l a d e a, d j u s t i n g it to cuta groove t h e s a m ew i d t ha st h e t h i c k n e sosf y o u rs p l i n e s oftent/qinch,Setthe bladeangleat 45'and make t h e c u t t i n gd e p t hs l i g h t l ym o r et h a no n e - h a lt fh e w i d t h o f t h e s p l i n e s - o tf e n 3 / qi n c h .A l i g nt h e m i t e r e de d g eo f t h e w o r k p i e cw e i t ht h e d a d oh e a d s o t h e g r o o v ew r l l b e c l o s e rt o t h e i n s i d ec o r n e r o f t h e j o i n tt o e n s u r et h a tt h e c u t w i l l n o t p e n e t r a t et h e t o p f a c eo f t h e b o a r d B . u t tt h e r i p f e n c e a g a i n stth e w o r k p i e c eW. r t ht h e s a wu n p l u g g e d , rotatethe dadoheadby handto makecertainthat i t c l e a r st h e f e n c e .l f n o t ,a t t a c ha n a u x i l i a rwy o o d f e n c e r, e p o s i t i ot nh e r i p f e n c ea c c o r d i n g layn, d makea reliefcut.Cutthegroove asyouwoulda bevel, usinga pushstickto applypressure on the table (above). To cut a grooveacrossbeveledend grain, s e t u p t h e d a d oh e a da n df e n c ea s y o uw o u l df o r a c u t a l o n gt h e e d g e T . h e nf e e dt h e w o r k p i e c e w r t ht h e m i t e rg a u g e( r i g h t ) .k e e p i n gt h e b o a r d f l u s ha g a i n stth e g a u g ea n dt h e f e n c e .F a s h i o n s p l i n e sa n dg l u eu p t h e l o i n ta s y o uw o u l da m i t e r joinl (page46t. and-spline

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MITER IOINTS

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grooves Routing for a splineYoucanalsocut thegrooves reinforced edgemiterusinga routerfitted the edgeguide.Secure witha commercial in a vise,beveled surfaces matingpieces surethattheirendsand facing out,making a straight bitasthick edges areflush.Install andsetthecuttingdepthat asyoursplines thesplinewidth. morethanone-half slightly Attachan edgeguideon the routerand edges alignthebit overoneof the beveled will becloser to the inside sothegroove cornerof thejoint.Thenbutttheguide edgeand fenceagainst theotherbeveled by riding f ix it in place.Routthegroove the baseplateflatontheedgeto becut the theguidefenceagainst whilepressing piece. Turntherouter around and mating repeatthe cut in the olherpiece(right).

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BLOCKS EDGE MITERS WITHGLUE REINFORCING glueblocks Making andattaching U s e1 - b y - 1s t o c ka s l o n ga st h e joint.Before assembling thecarcase, aligning screwa blockto onepiece, theedgeof theblockwiththeinside glueonthe edgeof the bevel.Spread press the boards beveled surfaces, thenattachtheblockto the together, withthe otherpiece(/eff).Repeat remaining corners of thecarcase, using to holdthe barclampsif necessary assembly square.

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MITEREDPLMEIOINTS

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Platejoinery is a simpleway to fastenboardsor panelstogether, whetherthejoiningsurfaces are miteredor beveled. Onceglueis added,thebiscuitsswell,creating joint. a strong,durable

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JOINING BEVELED CORNERS WITHBISCUITS

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t I I I I I uptheplatejoiner 1 Setting panels I Placetwoadjacent on a worksurface, inside-face up,andmarkslotlocations on bothpieces; alsoaddreference letters foreaseof assembly. Startabout2 inchesin fromthe edges, spacing thelinesat 4- to 8-inchintervals. Repeat the procedure at theotherthreecorners of thecarcase. Adjustthe platejoiner's fenceto theproper angle, following themanufac-

turer's directions. Forthemodel shown, thepanelisclamped to theworksurface withonebeveled endprojecting offthe edge.Restthetool'sfaceplate against theend,loosen the fencelocking leverandswivel thefencedownward against the faceof thepanel. Lockit in place whilethefaceplate isflush against the bevel(above)

54

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MITER TOINTS

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r) Cutting theslots I V,ontngthe toolfirmlyagainst the stock,aligntheguideline onthefaceplatewitha slotlocation mark.Switch onthetoolandplunge thecutterinto (left).RepeaIthe procethe workpiece dureto cuttheremaining slots.

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upthecarcase Q Gluing r-,f Oncealltheslotshavebeencut,setthepanels onthework beveled edges fromslipping outof alignment astheadhesive glueintotheslotsandalong is drying, surface inside-face up.Squeeze secure thecarcase withwebclamps. Thetypeshown theedges of thepanels, inserting pressure biscuits asyougo.Assemble hereusescornerbrackets to distribute evenlyalong quickly thecarcase, working to prevent thebiscuits fromswelling thelength of eachjoint.Wrapstraps around theunitandtighten youhavehadtimeto complete before theglueup.Tokeepthe themwiththebuckles before locking themin place(above).

55

-*"-""-'Fntt-

;.,:.tj: :;:.:i!,' i :..:l

o

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IAB RABBETGROO\TE, ATDDADOIONTS

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thesecond group hethreedozenjointsfeatured Rabbetjoints, in this chapterare usedin described, aremostfrequently used to join carcase anddrawercorners, applications asvariedasbuilding and lessoftenfor edgejoining. cabinetcarcases andpiecingtogethSomevariants,like the stopped er framesanddoors.Thisis a verrabbet(page75)andthemitered satilefamilyofjoins,withtheadded rabbet(page76), areintendedto virtueof beingstrongandsimple. In addition,almostall of these conceal theendgrainofthepieces. jointscanbemadein several however, ways, Remember, thatanycornerjoinerythatmatesendgrain usingeitherhandor powertools. requiresreinforcement in theform Forexample, adadocanbecutwith of dowels,screws, or glueblocks. arouter,atablesawor aradialarm A thirdgroup,tongue-and-groove saw;it canbe startedwith a hand joints,aremostoftenusedfor edgesawand finishedwith a chisel. joinery.Theymaybe glued, However,thetypicalwoodworker to-edge butsometimes areassembled dryso will probablyproducebetter-fitting jointsin les timeusingpowertools. areoftenfued to carcase sides thatthewood canmoveashumidiShelves tvalters themoisturecontent. Perhaps thesimplestof alljoints with dadojoints. Here,a routerplowsa through ' in Dadojoints,illustrated atleftand arelapjoints,thefirst covered dado.An edgepide helpskeepthecutparallel Asthenamesuggests, to theendof thepanel. ontheoppositepage, aresimpleand thischapter. useful;they are the method of a lapjoint is formedby layingone thetwoattherequiredangle. choicefor installingshelves or assembling drawers. A self-lockboardoveranotherandfastening Thesimplelap is weakandunattractive, but thejoint canbe ingjoint canbemadeby addinga dovetail. groov€, A catalog oflap,rabbetr anddadojointsbeginson renderedstrongandelegantby first cuttinga dadoin oneor lieflushwith eachother.Thelap page58;a sectionon techniques for makingthembeginson bottrboardssothattheirfaces provides goodlong-grainsurface with themethodsshown,or alterthem contactfor gluing,andaddi- page64.Experiment is seldomrequiredunlessthejoint will to suityour ownskillsandthe toolsyou own.Theresults tionalreinforcement stress. shouldbeusefulandenlightening. besubjected to tensional

Thedadojoint is a popularchoice for assembling drawers.Thedado-and-rabbet workswellfor joining the backto thesides,while thedrawerfront demandsa strongerjoint suchasa doubledado.

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h. lap,rabbet,tongue-and-groove, I anddadoiointsillustrated on the following pagesappearquite different, but all arelinkedby a commonfeature: Eachowesits strengthto a channelof somesort in one piecethat accepts a matingpiece.Somejoints,likethedovetailedhalf-lap (page69),areessentially variationson a theme,introducinga decorativeeffector a slightmodification that addsan extrameasureof strength. Otherssolvea particularproblem;for instance,the glazingbar half-Iap(page Z0)connectsthe muntinsof a window sashor a glazeddoor. Most of thetechniques shownon the followingpagescanbi appliedto make otherjoints shownin the chapterwhen a similartypeof cut isneeded. Forexample,the handsawand chiseltechnique shownon page68 canbe usedto make a dado,endrabbet,or lap cut;a baclaaw andedgeguideclampedonto theworkpiececantakethe placeof a miter box.

tAPJ(IINTS

T half-lap joint ldentical to croee half-lap ioint (paqe 66), exceptone or 6oth pieceainteraect betweenende, rather than at enda

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()FA C()RNER ANATOMY HALF-LAP J()INT (Seepage64)

Full lap joint Dado in onepieceio deepenou1hto houae full thickneaaof matin4 board;dado is cut ae in croea half-lap (paqe66)

I Mitered half4ap joint I Similarto cornerhaff-lap (paqe64); cheekof one t pieceand ahoulderof matinq board are t mitered at 45" I I I I I I I t I I I I

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LAP.RABBET.GROOVE.AND DADO TOINTS

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Crose half-lapjoint (eeepaqe66) Half-blind half-lapjoint (.eeepaqe67)

Edge half-lapjoint ldent.tcal to otandard croaa half-lap @aqe66), except joint ia cuL in edqee of workptecesrather t han in facee

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Angled halfIapjoint ( e e ep a q e6 B )

Glazing bar half-lapjoint (eeepaqe7a) ,';::;:,

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Dovetailed half-lapjoint ( ao,

nano

6\Q\

Keyeddovetail half-lapjoint 9tmtlarto T half-lap, avront

fha

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of lap and ahouldera of maLtn7 dado are beveled Lo tncrease LenetonaleLren7th of jotnL

RABBETIOINTS

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TONGUE-AND-GROOVE IOTNTS J()INING S()LIDWOOD EDGING T()PLYWO()D

()FA T()NGUE-AND-GR()()VE ANATOMY J()INT (Seepage77)

I I I I I I I OIuejoint (oeepaqe79)

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Blind tongueand-groove Tonqueand qroovebo'h otop ahorLof one or both ende;qroove ia cuL likeblind dado (pageb1)

Plywood hasonemajordrawb a c kf o rc a b i n e t m a k i T nh ge : m u l t i - p lcyo m p o s i t i o fnt h e panels isclearly visible ontheir edgea s n de n d sT. h e r ea r e several waysto conceal the plies.Pressure-senunsightly sitivewoodgraintapeor selfa d h e s i veed g eb a n d i ncga n b ea p p l i e dT.h ei l l u s t r a t i o n aboveshowsa number of more involved edgetreatments for plywood; eachisa variation on joint thetongue-and-groove in whicha stripof woodbandi n go r m o l d i nigs b o n d etdo theedges of thepanel.

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6 eveledto ng ue-a nd -gro ove Identtcalto etandardtonque-andqroove(paqe77),except, aurfacea abovetonqueand qroove are beveledto concealjoinL

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DADOIOINTS 5topped dadojoint )imilar to blinddado (pa7e B1),except dado ebopa ahort of one end while mating piecehae matchinqnotch

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Elind dado joint (eeepaqeB1)

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t Tongue-and-dadojoint Featureaa ton7ue (paqe 7B\ houaedin a throuah Dado-and-rabbet joint Containsa dado (paqeBO) cut to houaethe ton4ue of a rabbet(paqe73)

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LAR RABBET, GROOVE, AND DADO IOINTS

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5liding dovetail joint (eeegaqeBb)

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Loak miter joint Also knownaa mitered lock rabbet joint. Type ahownmade up of dado (paqeBO) and miter cut; variation can be cut with apecially deai4nedehaper cutter or router bit

dado joint (eeepaqeO4)

9lidin6 half-dovetail joint Featurea a throuqh dado (paqe BO) with a half-dovetail cut alon6 one eide(paqeB3); matinq piecehao matching ha lf-d oveta iI cut a lon4 one aide

5topped aliding half-dovetail joint )imilar to alidinqdovetail(paqe BZ), except qroove atopa ahort of one ed7eand dovetail ie cut alonq only one eide of alide and groove

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CORNERHALF-LAP IOINTS

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MAKING A CORNER HALF.LAP JOINT

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theshoulders 1 Cutting I Makea half-lap onthetablesawbycuttingtheshoulders first,andthenthecheeks. Markthedepthandwidthof the half-lap ontheedgeof theworkpiece, thenrnstall a crosscut thestockthickbladeandsetthecuttingheightto one-half ness. Clampa stopblockto theripfence;position theblock sothatthestockwillclearit before reaching theblade.Align thewidthmarkwiththebladeandoosition thefenceforthe widthof cut.Thenbutttheendof theworkpiece against it in position onthemitergauge, thestopblockandholding feedit intothebladehbovd.

Thesimplecornerhalf-lapjoint is frequentlyusedto makeframes. Addingdowelsor screwsto thejoint providesan extrame*sureof strength.

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r) Cutting thecheeks jig tenoning L lnslalla commercial themanufacturer's on thetablefollowing instructions; themodelshownslidesin forbuilding themiterslot.(lnstructions a jig areon page93.) shop-made tenoning theworkpiece to thejig,usinga Clamp woodpadto protect thestock.Raisethe then bladeto thewidthof the half-lap, shiftthejig laterally to lineupthedepth markwiththeblade.Pushthejigforward to makethecut (right).

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LAP,RABBET, GROOVE,AND DADO IOINTS

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CORNER HAIF-IAP JOINT JIG lf youhaveto makecorner half-laps in several boards of thesamesize, it is worthtakingthetimeto build thejig at right.Cutthetwobase pieces andthestopblockfromplywoodthatisthesamethickness as yourstock.Thebasepieces should bewideenough to accommodate the edgeguidesandsupport therouter baseplateasyoucut the half-laps. Usesolidwoodstriosfor thefour

9tde4urde

End quide

pdoo or ridoc

To assemble the jig, markthe shoulder of thehaltlapononeworkpieceandsettheboardface-up ona worksurface. Buttthebaseoieces the edgesof the boardso against markis nearthe thattheshoulder Installa middleof thebasepieces. straight bit in therouterandalign thecutterwiththeshoulder mark. Position oneendguideacross the basepieces andagainst thetool's baseplate.Without moving theworkpiece,repeatthe procedure to posiguide.Nowalignthe tiontheopposite bit withthe edgesof theworkpiece andattachthesideguides, leaving the routerbase a slightgapbetween plateandeachguide.(Thefirsthalflapyoumakewiththejig willrout grooves reference in thebasepieces.) Slipthestopblockundertheend guide,buttit against theendof the workpiece, andscrewit in place. Countersink alI fasteners. T o u s et h ej i g ,c l a m pi t t o t h e worksurface andslidetheworkoiece between the basepiecesuntil it buttsagainst the stopblock.Protectingthestockwitha woodpad, in place. Adjust clamptheworkpiece therouter's cuttingdepthto one-half

9top block

Then,withthe thestockthickness. cuttheoutside edges of thehalf-lap, positioned router inside theguides, keeping thebaseplateflushagainst gripthetoolfirmly,turnit onandlowa guideat alltimes.Thenroutoutthe Guide remaining waste,feeding thetool erthe bit intotheworkpiece. against thedirection of bit rotation. therouterin a clockwise direction to

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HALF-LAPIOINTS CROSS

Formedby cuttingdadoesin two boards of equalthickness, thecrosshalf-lapis an excellentmethodofjoiningtheinterjoint sectingpiecesoffaceframes.This requiresno reinforcement.

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ROUTING A CROSS HALF-LAP JOINT jig Using a router anda shop-made B u i l da j i g l i k et h eo n es h o w on n p a g e 65,buteliminate thestopblock; thiswill a l l o wy o ut o a l i g na n ys e c t i o n ofthe w o r k p i e cwei t ht h em i d d l e o f t h ej i g . Makea testcut in a scraoboardto rout grooves reference in thebasepieces. will makeit easyto lineupthe These cuts.Markshoulder linesforthehalflapsontheworkpieces, theninstall a straight bit in therouter andsetthecuttingdepthfor halfthethickness of the stock.Position thestockin thejig,aligningtheshoulder markswiththe referencegrooves in thebasepieces. Clamp thejigto theworksurface, theninstall a second clampto secure theworkpiece (right)asyou in place. Routthehalf-lap joint. wouldto makea corner half-lap

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HALF-BLINDHALF-LAPIOINTS A variation of the T halfJap, the halfblind halfJapjoint conceals theend grain of onemember.Thesocket for the halfJapcanbecut with a roLtter, as shownbelow,or by handusinga chisel.

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MAKING A HALF.BTIND HAIF.LAP J(|INT

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thehalf-lap 1 Gutting I Makethisjointbycutting thehalf-lap onthetablesawfirst,andthenrouting outthesocket. Marktheshoulder of thehalf-lap onthe leading edgeof onepiece. Installa dadoheadandsetthecuttingheightto one-half thestockthickness. Butt theshoulder markagainst theoutside bladeof thedadohead,thenposition therip passes, fenceflushagainst theworkpiece. Cutawaythewastein successive workingfromtheendof theboard to theshoulder mark.Makethefinalpasswiththe (Caution: guardremoved boardflushagainst thefence(above). Blade forclarity.)

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r") Cutting thejointsocket plywood Z A templateis usedto rout outthesocket. Outline thehalf-lao cut in Step1 onthetemplate, thencutout the patternwith a bandsaw,saber sawor copingsaw.Fasten a fenceto the cut-outedgeof thetemplate with countersunk screws. Secure thetemplate andtheworkpiece in a vise,aligning the cut-out withtheoutlineonthestock. Install a top-piloted straight bit in your routerandmakethecutting depthequal plusthe to one-half thestockthickness thickness of thetemplate. Routtheoutlineof thesocket bykeeping thebitpilot against thetemplate, thenremove the remaining wastebymoving therouterin a clockwise direction, against thedirectionof bitrotation. Usea chisel to souare thecorners.

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ANGLEDHALF-LAPIOINTS Woodworkers usethe angledhalf-Iap-or obliquelapjoint-to join boardsthqt cross at anglesotherthan 90", suchasdiagonaltable Iegstretchers.

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ANANGLED CUTTING HALF.LAP JOINT

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kerfsin thehalf-lap outline 1 Cutting I Marktheshoulders of the half-lap on thefaceof the workpiece, angling thelinesto suitthejobat hand.Thecuts canbemadewitha radialarmsaw,tablesaw,router, or,as shownhere,a handsaw andmiterbox.Settheworkpiece in themiterboxwiththeedgeagainst thefenceandalignone shoulder markwiththeblade.Lockthebladeat thisangle andadjustthedepthto one-half thestockthickness. Hold the boardin position asyousawintoit. Repeat to cut the othershoulder line.Thensawa number of kerfsbetween the twocuts(above).

t r') Chiseling outthewaste L Clamp theworkpiece face-up onthebench,protecting pads. thestockwithwood Holding a woodchiselbevel-up horizontally, strikethehandle witha mallet to splitoffthe wastebetween theshoulder cutshbove).Afterthe bulkof parethe bottomof thehalfthe wastehasbeenremoved, laountilit is smooth andeven.

68

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DOVETAILEDHALF-LAPJOINTS

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Combiningthestrengthof thedovetail joint with thesimplicityof thehalf-Iap, half-lapisafavoritejoinery thedovetailed methodfor framesand tablestretchers. tension. Thejoint stronglyresists

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HAIF.IAPJ(lINT A DOVETAITED MAKING

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thedovetailed Cutting half-lap andthesocket I n o n ew o r k p i e cceu, ta c o r n ehr a l f - l a p (page64).Then,outlinethedovetail on andcut it outon thecheek of thehalf-lap the bandsaw(lefil;usean angleof 1:8 withhardwood, or a 1:6 if youareworking Usethedovetailed anglefor softwood. in themating thesocket half-lap to outline of the makesuretheshoulder workoiece: theedgeof the half-lap is buttedagainst Make boardasyoumarkthe lines(above). usinga routerwitha template thesocket (page67),a tablesaw,a radialarmsaw, andmiterbox(page68), or a handsaw thestockthickness. cuttingto one-half

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GLAZINGBARHALF-LAPIOINTS

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t I I I For nnny of us,theglazirtg,or sash,bar hnlf-lapjohtt is asfantiliar as the view frortr the kitclrcn window. Featuringa miteredhalfJap utt irtto a ntoldedwood strip, thejoint has traditionnlly beenusedto createo grid to hold the glasspanesof a cabinetdoor or wirrdow. Thepanes sit in robbetsrouted along the edgesof the barsand are held in placewith thin stripsof nnlding.

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MAKING A GTAZING BARHALF.LAP J()INT M o l d i ntgh eg l a z i n g bar 1 I Thisjointis madein threestages: First, r r o f i l ei s c u t i n t ot h e g l a z i n g t h e p r o p ep bar,as shownat right;next,rabbets arecut intothe opposite sideof the barto holdthe glassand moldingstrips(sfep2); finally, ( s t e p s3 t h e m i t e r e dh a l f - l a pi s p r o d u c e d For install to 5). the first stage, a piloted round-ove b ri t i n a r o u t e rm , o u n t h et o o l i n a t a b l e ,a n da l i g nt h e f e n c ew i t ht h e l - r i t ' sn i l o t h e a r i n pT h e s t o c ks h o ul d b e w i d ee n o u g hs o t h a t m a k i n ga p a s so n e a c hs i d eo f t h e b a rw i l l l e a v ea r / r i n c h w i d el r p b e t w e e tnh e c u t s .S u p p o rtth e w o r k p i e cdeu r i n gt h e o p e r a t i own i t ht h r e e featherboards: Clamponeto thetableoppos i t et h e b i t a n dt w ot o t h e f e n c eo n e i t h e r s i d eo f t h e c u t t e r (. l n t h e i l l u s t r a t i otnh,e f e a t h e r b o a rodn t h e o u t f e e ds i d eo f t h e fencehasbeenremoved for clarity.)Feed t h e b a r i n t ot h e b i t u n t i ly o u rf i n g e r s a p p r o a cthh e b i t ,t h e nu s et h e n e x tp i e c e asa pushstickor moveto the othersideof t h e t a b l ea n d p u l lt h e w o r k p i e cpea s t h e c t r t i e rR c n e atth e r ^ r rnt n t h e O t h eS r i d eO f the bar (right).Preparean extrabarto help

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c . p fr r n i h p n r r i i n s t o n ?

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LAP,RABBET,GROOVE,AND DADO JOINTS

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r) Cutting rabbets fortheglasspanes widerthan L lnstalla dadoheadonyourtablesawslightly aftertherabbets remaining rabbets. Thetongue thedesired a wooden measure at leastVqinch.lnstall arecutshould fenceandmarkthe rabbetdepthon it-the comauxiliary strip.Position andthemolding oftheglass bined thickness thatthe fenceoverthedadohead,ensuring theauxiliary Turnonthesawandslowly metalfenceisclearof thecutters, c r a n ku p t h ed a d oh e a du n t i li t f o r m sa r e l i ecf u tt o t h e marked line.Turnoffthesawandmarkthewidthof therabbar.Buttoneof the endof the glazing betson the leading thenpositheouterbladeof thedadohead, marks against thebar.Usethreefeatherboards tionthefenceflushagainst a support t o s u p p o tr ht ew o r k p i e caes i n s t e p1 , a d d i n g clamped forthefeatherboard extrapressure board to provide oneof thefeatherto thetable.(Againin thisillustration, Feedthebarsbyhand forclarity.) hasbeenremoved boards (right)untilyourfingers thenuse approach thefeatherboards, the t h en e x w t o r k p i e ct oe p u s ht h eb a rt h r o u g hF. i n i s h by pullingit fromtheoutfeed cutsonthefinalworkpiece sideof thetable.

Making themitercuts R e m o v teh e d a d oh e a da n d i n s t a lal

to blade. Adjust thebladeangle crosscut extension. 45",thenattacha mitergauge T os e tt h eb l a d eh e i g h th, o l dt h ee x t r a glazing baronthesawtablesothetongue youcutin step2 isflushagainst theextenbelevel should sion.Thetopof theblade withthelower sideof thelip.Makea test h e i g hut n t i tl h e c u ta n da d j u st th eb l a d e the lip (inset). cuttingedgejustscores Thenmarkoutthemitercutsonbothsides of the bars;at theirwidestpointtheVs shouldbethesamewidthasthestock. of the Tomakethecut,holdthetongue gauge extension flat the miter bar against withtheblade. andalignoneof themarks against the endof the Butta stopblock i t t h e e x t e n s i ot on s t o c ka n dc l a m p t o theworkcuts.Clamp lineupsubsequent glazing piece feed the and to theextension h o l d i n i g t firmly while b a ri n t ot h eb l a d e place. piece repeat to Rotate the and in V . R e p e a t the c u t t h eo t h e sr i d eo f t h e process side to cuttheV ontheopposite of thebar(left).

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t LAR RABBET,GROOVE,AND DADO IOINTS

Cleaning uptheV-cuts Onceallthemitercutshavebeen made,usea narrow chiselto pareaway thewaste. Thewidthof thechannel at thebottom of theV shouldeoualthe widthof thelip.Holding thechisel bevel sideup,pareawaythewaste(/eft) untilthebottom of theV is smooth and f lat.Workcarefullv to avoidtearout.

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t Cutting thehalf-laps Adiust thetablesawdadoheadto thewidthof thebar'slipandsetthe cuttingheightto one-half thestock thickness. Youwillbecutting a haltlap in thebottom of oneglazing bar,then making anidentical cutin thetopof piece. themating Setupthecutby aligning themiddle of theV-cutwith thedadohead, whileholding thebar f lushagainst the mitergaugeextension.Keep theworkoiece flatonthesaw tableandflushagainst theextension (below). asyoucutthehalf-laps

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RABBETJOINTS

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Widely usedin carcaseand drawercona struction,the rabbetjoint is essentially modifiedbutt joint in which the end or edgeof one bonrdfits in a rabbetctrt it'r the ntatingpiece.The rabbet'swidth shouldequalthe thicknessof the stock; its depthshouldbe half that amotmt.

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A RABBET JOINT MAKING

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Usinga router Y o uc a n u s ee i t h e ra p i l o t e db i t o r a n o n - p i l c t ebdi t w i t ha n e d g eg u i d e .I n e i t h e rc a s e c, l a m pt h e s t o c k t o a w o r ks u r f a c eF. o ra n o n - p i l o t ebdt t , m a r kt h e r a b b ew t i d t ho n t h e t o p f a c eo f t h e s t o c k .A l i g nt h e c u t t i n ge d g eo f t h e b i t w i t h t h e m a r k ,t h e nc l a m p a n e d g eg u i d et o t h e w o r k p i e cfel u s ha g a i n stth e l t h e w o r k p i e ceed g e . r o u t ebr a s ep l a t ea n d p a r a l l et o t i t h t h e p l a t eb u t t e da g a i n stth e C u tt h e r a b b e w guide(above).lf you areworkingwith a pilotedbit, width a c u t t e rt h a tw i l l p r o d u c teh e d e s i r e d choose o f r a b b e tT. h e n ,g r i p p i n tgh e r o u t e fr i r m l yw i t h b o t hh a n d s g, u i d et h e b i t i n t ot h e w o r k p i e caet o n ee n d .R i d et h e p i l o tb e a r i n ag l o n gt h e e d g e (right)as you makethe cut.

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LAP,RABBET,GROOVE,AND DADO IOINTS

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

t Cutting a rabbet onthetablesaw Install a dadoheadslightly widerthan t h e r a b b eyt o uw i s ht o m a k et,h e n install an auxiliary fenceandmakea reliefcut in it asyouwouldwhencut(page71). tinga glazing barhalf-lap Marka cuttinglinefortheinside edge of therabbet ontheworkpiece. Butt themarkagainst theouterbladeof t h ed a d oh e a dt,h e np o s i t i ot n h er i p f e n c ef l u s ha g a i n st h t ew o r k p i e c e . C l a m pt w of e a t h e r b o a rt do sh o l d the workpiece securely against the fenceandsawtable;a support board provides extrastability. Feedtheworkpiecewith bothhands(above) unlil therabbetis completed. Usea push stickto finishthepassonnarrow stock.

fillillllltlfiltlltlllrffiIItilllfilllllltllllll]lllilllfilll]ltilll 1HO?Tt? Minimizing tea?oul

KourerbiLecan -=&*i Learwoodfibere ,#";ao theyexita work- W

pieceatLhe endof a croeeqrainrabbeLor dado cut. To Vrevenf, eplinterinq, clampa woodblockLhesame Ihickneeeao yourworkpiece alonqthe edqetrom whichthe biI willexit.Tthe?resoure of the blockaqainotthe otock willcompreoe Nhetibersand reducelheoroblem ofNearout.

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STOPPED RABBETIOINTS

joint issimilarto thestandard Thestopped rabbet rabbet,with an importantdifference: Therabbetcut is stopped shortof thefront edgeof thejoint-usually by ttonlorethanI inch-and a ntatching notchis cut in joint. thenntingpiece,resulting in on invisible

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TW()WAYS T()ROUT A STOPPED RABBET

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Routing a stopped rabbet Make thecutona router tableorwiththerouter hand-held. ln either case, marka cuttinglineonthefaceof theworkpiece for theendof therabbet.Fortherouter-table method, installa straight bit,setthedepthof cut,andadjustthefenceforthe desired widthof cut.Drawa reference lineonthefenceto mark theposition ofthecutterwhereit exitsthefence.Withthestock clear ofthebit,turnontherouter andpress theworkpiece flush against thefence whilefeeding it forward. When thecutting line o nt h eb o a r d l i n e su pw i t ht h er e f e r e n cl i en e ,p i v otth es t o c k

offthefence(above, left).Iomakethecutwitha hand-held router, install a piloted rabbeting bitandclampthestockto a w o r ks u r f a c e A.l i g nt h eb i tw i t ht h ec u t t i n gl i n eo nt h ew o r k p i e c ea n dc l a m pa s t o pb l o c ka g a i n st h t er o u t ebr a s ep l a t e . Feedthe bit intothestockat thestarting endof therabbet, butting thebit'spilotbearing against theedge.Continue the cut alongtheedge(above, right)untilthe baseplatetouches thestopblock,Forbothmethods, square theendof therabbet w i t ha c h i s e l .

MITEREDRABBETIOINTS

I I I I I I I

A combinationof rabbetand miterjoinery,the miteredrabbetioint is a variationof thestandard rabbetthat coicealstheendgrain'ofthemating pieces.Thejoint is createdby cuttingrabbetsin theendsof bothpieces,thenmiteringtheprotrudprecision,but the ing tongues. Thisjoint demands resultis a strongand attractiveconnection.

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MAKING A MITERED RABBET JOINT

t Miter aauae exteniion"

Cutting therabbets andmiters Cutrabbets in bothDieces. Makethecutsto thesamedeothabouttwo-thirds thethickness of thestock.Thewidthof onerabbetshould equalthestock's thickness, thewidthof theother should equalthethickness of thetongueleftbythefirstrabbet cut.Mark45' anglelinesacross bothtongues forthemitercuts, starting eachmarkat theoutside corner of thetongue(inset). Adjust thebladeangle onyourtablesawto 45",andsetthecut-

76

KeTerence

tingheight sothebladewillcutthrough thetongue. Next,screw an extension boardto themitergaugeandmakea reference cut intheboard. Holding theworkpiece flushagainst theextension, alignthecuttinglinewiththereference cut,thencutthemiter (above). Whenmitering theworkpiece withtheshorter tongue, adjustthecuttingheightto justsever thewaste; otherwise, the bladewill biteintotherabbet shoulder andweaken the ioint.

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TONGUE-AND-GROOVEIOTNTS

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The tongue-ard-groove ioirtt has ntany uses joiningboardsedgethe woodworket-fronr for When to-edgeto fixing shelvingto carcases. panels,thejoint can be rtsedto fonrt carcase assembled without glue to nllowfor wood movenrcntcausedLtyJhtctutttionsin humidity.

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Cutting the groove I M a r kt h eo u t l i n eo f t h eg r o o voen t h e e n do f t h ew o r k p i e c e l t.s h o u l db e % t h e s t o c kt h i c k n e s st;h e d e p t hi s o f l e nr / z i n c h .I n s t a lal d a d oh e a da n da d j u s it t t o t h e d e s i r e dw i d t ha n d h e i g h t .I n s t a l l a n a u x i l i a rwy o o df e n c ea n dm a k ea r e l i e f c u t i n i t ( p a g e7 1 ) . ( A l t h o u g h the auxiliaryfenceis onlynecessary for cuttingthe t o n s r r ei n s t e n2 . i t i s b e t t e rt o m o u n t i t n o w . )A l i g nt h e c u t t i n gm a r k sw i t ht h e d a d oh e a d ,b u t t t h e r i p f e n c ea g a i n s t the stock,andclampa featherboard to the t a b l ef o r s u p p o r tR . est hefeatherboard o n a w o o ds h i m t o k e e pt h e w o r k p i e c e f r o mt i p p i n ga n dc l a m pa s u p p o rbt o a r d for extrapressure. against the featherboard P r e s st h e w o r k p i e caeg a i n stth e f e n c ea s y o u f e e dt h e s t o c ki n t ot h e d a d oh e a d (/eft).Complete the passwith a pushstick.

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77

LAP,RABBET,GROOVE,AND DADO IOINTS

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t r) Gutting thetongue I ltlart,the tongueon the leadingend of the workpiece, usingthe groovefrom step1 as a guide.Adjustthe dadohead for a slightlywidercut andlowerthe cutt i n gh e i g hat l i t t l es ot h et o n g u ew i l l n o t r e a c ht h e b o t t o mo f t h e g r o o v eA. l i g n t h e d a d oh e a dw i t h o n eo f t h e c u t t i n g m a r k sa n d m o v et h e f e n c ea g a i n stth e s t o c k ;a l s op o s i t i o nt h e f e a t h e r b o a r d a n ds u p p o rb t o a r d .F e e dt h e b o a r da s youdid cuttingthe groove, usinga push p a s sT . u r nt h e s t i c kt o c o m p l e t et h e w o r k p i e c e n d - f o r - e nadn d r e p e a to n t h e o t h e rs i d e o f t h e t o n g u e( a b o v e ) . T e s t - f i t h e t o n g u ei n t h e g r o o v ea n d a d j u s t h e r i p f e n c e ,i f n e c e s s a r y .

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lXll|i Jl lll lliiJj lllll]iil$ill lll1l$il ]jlillli'* 'lllillJ 5HO7Tt? Rabbetingon the jointer lf yourjoinberhaea rabbeLingledge,iNcan cuL rabbetealonqeiLherNhe faceor ed1eof a board.ln facl, manywoodworkere considerlhe join|erNhe besLLoolfor rabbetinq with lhe qrainof a workAdjue| Lhecutt inq Viece. deVLhto no morelhan 1/a i n c h , L h eanl i q ny o u rc u L ' Ltnqmarkfor the rabbet, wilh lhe endof NhejoinLer knivesand buNN Lhefence t he et ock.KeeV againet, the workpiece flaLon lhe Lableand buLted aqainoLlhe f e n c ea s y o u m a k e L h e p a e e . F oar r a b b e a l l o n qa b o a r d face,usea Vuohblock.Makeao many?a6eeea6 necesoary,increaoing the cutLinqdeVth1/oinchat,a trime.

78

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GLUEIOINTS

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",0,. -. "' Thegluejoint is a variation of the standard tongue-and-grooveand is easily !::- : . n. producedwith the routeror the shaper.

MAKING A GLUE JOINTONTHEROUTER TABLE Making thecuts I n s t a l l ga l u el o i n tb i t i n a r o u t ear n d mount thetoolin a table. Adjust thecutt i n gd e p t hs ot h a tt h et h i c k n e sosf t h e wasteremoved bytheupperpartof the cufter willeoualthethickness of thestock left belowthebottompartof thecutter Posrtion thefencesothatthe bit r'insef). m a k eas f u l lc u ti n t h eb o a r dr,e m o v i n g the entireedge.Secure theworkpiece with twofeatherboards clamped to thefence onbothsides of thebit;in theillustratron, thefeatherboard ontheoutfeed sidehas beenremoved forclarity. Tomakea pass, feedthestockintothebit withyourright h a n dw h i l ep r e s s i ni tgf i r m l ya g a r n tsht e f e n c ew i t hy o u rl e f th a n dT. o k e e pt h e entire edgeflushagainst thefencethroughpart outtheoperation, adjusttheoutfeed of thefencewhenthe boardreaches it. Stopthecutandturnoffthemachine, but do notremove theworkpiece. Holding the workpiece in place, advance theoutfeed fenceuntilit buttsagainst thecutedge. Thencomplete the pass(/eff).

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THROUGHDADO IOINTS ()NTHERADIAL A THROUGH DADO ARMSAW

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Thethroughdadoisa popularchoice to carcase sidesorjoining forJixingshelves drawerbacksto thesides.

rll,lltlllllltljlliil[lllJllti,lilllllllllill]illlllttllllljlltilll 1HO?Tt? A jigfor equally opaceddadoee Youcan cut Vrec,ioelyeVaced ..... aadoeson your table sawquickly and accuralely '/"" by uoinga miter qauqeexLension and a woodenkey. AfLeryour dado head i o i n s L a l l e da n d a d l u o t e d Lo Lhe ?ro?er widLh,cuLlwo

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apVropriately opaceddadoesin a miler qauqeexlensionboard. to the qauqe,carefully 7crewLheexlension aliqninq onedadowilh Lhedado headand offoetLinqlhe secondcul lo lhe riqhtr;inserL a woodenkeyinto lhis dado.Cul trhefirsl dado ir yourworkViece. Toachieve?ro?eroVacingfor Nhesecondcut, slideyourworkViece to lhe ri7hLand placeLhefirst dado overtrhekey,Vtakelhe second dadocut,and reVeat, the Vroceoeunlil the job io compleled.

Cutting repeatdadoes I n s t a lal d a d oh e a da n da d j u s lt t t o t h e d e s i r ew d i d t ho f t h e d a d o .S e tt h e s a w in the90" crosscrrttio no gsition and a d l u s t h e c u t t i n gd e p t ht o c u t a d a d o h a l f w a tyh r o u g ht h e w o r k p i e c eC.u ta k e r ft h r o u g ht h e f e n c e t, h e nm a r kc u t t i n g l i n e sf o r t h e w i d t ho f t h e d a d o e s o n t h e w o r k p i e c eP. u s ht h e s a wy o k e a n dd a d oh e a db e h i n dt h e f e n c ea n d a l i g no n es e to f c u t t i n gm a r k so n t h e w o r k p i e cw e i t h t h e k e r fi n t h e f e n c e . T h e n ,h o l d i n gt h e w o r k p i e csen u g l y a g a i n stth e f e n c e m , a k et h e c u t . S l i d e the workpiece to the nextsetof cutting l i n e sa n dc u t t h e n e x td a d ot h e s a m e w a y .T o h e l pl i n eu p r e p e act u t s ,c l a m p a stopblockto the fence(above).

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BLINDDADOIOINTS

Theblind dadojoint, in which thedadostopsshortofboth edges of the board,isjust asstrong asthe throughdado,but invisibleonceit is assembled. The joint is commonlyusedfor attachingshelvingto cabinets.

ROUTII{G A BLII{DDADO router Usinga plunge Setthestockon a worksurfaceandmark outthedado;it shouldbeaswideasthe thickness of the matingboard.Installa straightbit thesamewidthasthe dado. Alignthebit overthewidthmarksforthe cut andclampanedgeguideto theworkpieceflushagainst therouterbaseplate. Thenlineuothebitwitheachof thedado endmarksandclampstopblocksto the workpiece. Gripping therouterfirmlywith bothhands,buttits baseplateagainst the edgeguideandonestopblockandplunge thebit intothestock.Cutalongtheguide (left)untilthebaseplatetouchesthe other stopblock.Youwill needto square theendsof thedadowitha chiseland cut notchesat bothedgesof the mating boardto fit it intothedado.

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81

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LAP,RABBET,GROOVE,AND DADO IOINTS

I I I ADJUSTABLE DADO JIG T h ej i g a t r i g h tw i l le n a b l yeo ut o quickly routdadoes andaccurately. Withitsadjustable fence,it canalso helpsolvethe problem of making dadoes thatarewiderthanthediameterof yourlargest straightbit.Cut the partsof thejig fromeitherplywoodor solidwood; thedimensions shownin theillustration willsuit mostrouters. Attachthe basepiecesto the cleats sotheirouteredges areflush. Fasten thefixedfencein olaceflush withtheoutside edgeof thenarrower basepiece, countersinking allthe screws. To attachthe adjustable fence,boreholesthrough thecleats at eachendof thewiderbaseoiece fora hanger bolt.Screwthe boltsto thejig,leaving about1 inchof each oneprotruding abovethebasepiece. Toprepare theadjustable fence,cut a 1-inch-long slotat eachend.Make widerthanthebolts, theslotsslightly ensuring thattheywilllineupwith theboltswhenthefenceis installed. (Youcanmaketheslotsbyboringa rowof connected holesonthedrill pressandcleaning upthecutswith a chisel.) Usewashers andwingnuts to attachtheadjustable fenceto the widerbasepiece. To usethejig, setyourstockon a worksurface andoutlinethedado on it. Aligntheedgeof thenarrower basepiecewithoneedgeof theoutl i n ea n dc l a m pt h ej i g t o t h ew o r k surface. Placetherouter onthebase pieces, buttingits baseplateagainst thefixedfence.Loosen thewingnuts andslidetheadjustable fenceagainst p l a t e . T i g h t e tnh e n u t s , t h eb a s e c h e c kt h a tt h ef e n c e as r eo a r a l l e l .

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Adjuotablefence 1/2"x31/+"x20"

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Daee pieceo (2) 1/2"x43/+"x20" 1,/2"x53/+"x20"

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androutthedado,ridingthe base platealongthefencesthroughout Fora dadothat is thecut (below). widerthanyourbit'sdiameter, slide theadjustable fenceawayfromthe baseplatebytheappropriate amount,

measuring to makesurethedistance fencesis uniform between along their length. Ridethe baseplateagainst thefencesto routthe edgesof the dado,thenremove thewastebetween thecuts.

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82

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I I T I I I I

SLIDINGDOVETAILIOINTS

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Theslidingdovetailis commonly

' lS_]*\X usedto assembledrawers,attach crown t molding to cabinets,and install shelvesin *_If \ carcasesBecauseglue is not required to lock the mating piecestogether,thejoint is a good choicefor furniture that must be disassembled.

A SLIDING DOVETAIT TABLE IOINT()NTHEROUTER

groove thedovetail 1 Routing I Cutthegroove in twopasses, firstwitha straightbit to remove mostof thewaste, andthenwitha dovetail bitto completethegroove. Forthefirstpass,installa r/q-inch straight bit in therouter andmountthetoolin a table.Setthecutting depth,thencenteranedgeof theworkpiece overthebit and itsface.To keeptheworkpiece buttthefenceagainst flush against thefence,clampa featherboard to thetable.Complete thepasswitha pushstick.Install a dovetail bit in therouter passthesamewavGbove). andmakethesecond

Making thedovetail slide Withthedovetail bitstillin therouter, reduce thecutting Thiswillmaketheslideshorter depthslightly. thanthedepth improving of thegroove, thefit of thejoint.Movethefence toward thebit untilabouthalfthediameter of thecutterorojectsbeyond thefence;reposition thefeatherboard accordingly.Cuttheslidein twopasses: Makethefirstpassthesame pressing wayyourouted thegroove, thefaceof thestockflush against thefence.Tocomplete theslide,turntheworkpiece passwiththeopposite end-for-end andmakethesecond faceof thestockrunning alongthefence(above). Test-fit theslidein thegroove, thenmovethefenceawayfromthe bit for subseouent cuts.untiltheslidefits.

83

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DOUBLEDADO IOINTS

The doubledadojoint ffiatestwo through dadoes-one on a faceand the other,with one tongueshortened,on en end. Thejoint is stronger than an ordinary throughdado because it provides ntoregluing surface.It workswell whenpiecesof difmust bejoined together,making it ferent thicknesses idealfor joining a drawerfront to the sides.

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Making thecuts 1 I I n s t aal l d a d oh e a do ny o u rs a wa, d j u s t i ni tgsw i d t ht o jig;the one-third thestockthickness. Alsoinstall a tenoning commercial model shown slidesin themiterslot.Clamp the workpiece to thejig,protecting thestockwitha woodpad. A d j u stth ej i g t o c e n t etrh ee d g eo f t h ew o r k p i e coen t h e b l a d essot h a tt h ed a d ow i l lb ec u t i n t h em i d d l e t h i r do f theboard. Slidethejigforward to feedthestock, thenturn theworkpiece end-for-end andrepeat to cutthedadoin the otherend(/eff). Next,install anauxiliary fenceandnotchit (page 71).Marka cuttinglineononeof thetongues onthe inside faceof theboard to divideit in half.Holdingthe workpiece f lushagainst themitergauge, inside-face down,align t h e m a r kw i t ht h ed a d oh e a d B . u t tt h ef e n c ea g a i n st h te stockandadjust thecutting height to cutthetongue in half. Feed theworkpiece withthemitergauge to makethecut; repeaton theotherend(above). Complete thejointbycutt i n gm a t c h i ndga d o eisn t h ef a c eo f t h em a t i n g p i e c etso a c c e ptth eh a l f - t o n g u e s

84

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LAP,RABBET,GROOVE,AND DADO IOINTS

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TABLE.SAW END-DADOING JIG Easyto assemble, thefence-straddlingjig shownat leftworkswellfor in theendsof boards. cuttingdadoes (Thejig canalsobeusedto cut halflapjointsor two-shouldered open joints.)Refer mortise-and-tenon to the suggested in the illusdimensions tration,makingsurethethickness of thesoacer andwidthof the brace along allowthejig to slidesmoothly yourripfencewithoutwobbling. Cutthe bodyandbracefrom3/qi n c hp l y w o oadn dt h eg u i d ea n d spacer fromsolidwood.Sawanoval holefora handlein onecorner of thejig body.Attach theguideto the bodydirectlyin frontof the handle hole,making surethat it is perfectly vertical.(Thescrewsshouldbe in the top halfof the guide,because the bladewill cut intoit for some cuts.)Screwa smallwoodblockto thebodybelowtheholeandattacha toggle clampto theblock.Finally, fastenthespacer andbracein place. jig, place it astride Tousethe the fence.Butttheworkpiece against thejigguideandclampit in place. Position thefenceto alignthecutting markson the boardwiththe b l a d ea n ds l i d et h ej i g a l o n gt h e fenceto makethe cut (\eft,bottom).

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9pacer 2" x 12"

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MORTISE,-ATD-TENON IOINTS joint is hemortise-and-tenon one of the oldestmethodsof fasteningwood.It wasreliedupon of by buildersof the sarcophagi ancientEgyptand, centurieslater, the sailingships of Columbus. Today,the joint is usedmost often in furnituremaking-most typically for building framesin frame-andpanelconstructionandjoiningrails to legson desks,tables,and chairs. Thejoint consists of two keyelements:thetenon,a projectionfrom the endof oneboardthat fits into a slot-the mortise-in the mating feapiece.Themortise-and-tenon turesa relativelylargegluing area, involving good contactbetween long-grainsurfaces-thecheeksof thetenonandthe sidesof the mortise.Providedthe tenonfits snugly in the mortise,thejoint offersvirtually unparalleledresistanceto thatwoodjoints mostof thestresses endure.Only the dovetailjoint is

Thehollowchiselmortisercandrill mortises up to 3 inchesdeepquicklyand accurately. toolisfixed with the Thebench-mounted samechiselbitsand mortisingattachment usedby thedrill press.

moredifficultto pull apart. joint,and ofthestandard Therearedozens ofvariations ofjointsonpages 88and89. manyareshownin theinventory thetusktenonis a commonwayof reinforcing Forexample, bothan a trestletable;a variationofthe roundtenonserves

A tenonat theendof a rail fi* snuglyin a mortisecut out of a tableleg.Thisblind mortiseand-tenonjoint is bothsturdyand longJasting.

87

estheticand a structuralrole in Wndsor chairs. Whethera tenon is haunched, wedged,pegged, rounded,or angled, a fewrulesof thumb dictatetheoroportionswhencuttingthisjoint. Thethicknessof a tenonshouldbe one-thirdthethickness of theworkpiece;its width may be from twothirdsof thewidth to the full width of theworkpiece. A tenontslength dependson through whetherit passes completely workpiece or remains the mortise hidden,or blind. The lengthof a blind tenon(page9a)is often%inch or longer,dependingon the use of thematingworkpiece;a through tenon (page97) will be as long as the width or thicknessof the mortiseworkoiece. Thepagesthat follow showseveralhand- and oower-toolmethodsfor cuttingmortise-and-tenon joints.Tenonscanbe cut on the abacksaw tablesaw(page92),with

(page Mortises canbepro95),or onthedrillpress(page110). chiseled out by hand ducedon thetablesawor drill press, (page94),or routed(page themethodthatsuits 97).Choose yourneeds andthetoolsin yourshop.

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MORTISE-AND-TENON IOINTSAND JIGS ACottEcTt0N 0F MORTISE.AND-TEI{ON

ANATOMY OFA MORTISE-AND-TENOI{ JOINT

JOINTS

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Clamped in a benchvise, a commercial mortiseand-tenonjig guidesa router as it cuts a tenon. Thejigtemplate is turned end-for-end to rout the matching mortise.

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Angled haunahed Alao knownaa a elopinqor aecret haunch;identical to the haunchedmortiae-and-tenon, exaept that the haunchio anqled, concealinqit whenthe joint io asaembled

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MORTISE-AND_TENON TOINTS

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Wedgedthrough (eeepaqe97) Barefaced blind A haunched blind morbise-and-Lenon wtth no ahouldere or cheeka; offere leee qlutnq eurface Lhan a blind mor' t;toe-and-tenon, but. easrer Lo cut

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?egged through A Lhrou7h Lenon reinforced by one or more round pe7e paeoinq Lhrouqh mortiee sidee and I;enon cheeke; hole in ltenon ia offaet; eltghLly Lo pull pieceo t oqether when peg is ineerLed

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(eeepaqe 1OB) Loose Featuree morl;see cuL in boLh halveeof the joinL and a epline' Itke1,enon;for maxtmum etrenqLh, Lhe l;enonahould be cut.ao that Lhe qratn rune alon7 tLo length

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MORTISE-AND-TENONIOINTS

t Mofiieinq jig Attachea to router baae plate for routinq morLiaea;Tuidepinaare poeitioned a7ainat oppoeite board fAcea, centerinq mortiae in edqe

ji6, it allowa router to cut mor\iaea and tenons without reaet-

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Multi-joint jig Uoed with router to cut morbise-a nd -tenon jointe. L-ehapedbracket ia faatened to backup board and secured in viae;appropriate template ia attached to bracket. Comeawith guidebuehin4,router aubbaae.and bits

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OPENMORTISE-AND-TENON IOINTS

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AIsoknown as a bridlejoint or slipjoint, the openmortise-and-tenonis commonlyusedin frame construction.Both the openmortiseand two-shouldered tenoncan be cut on a tablesaw or radinl erm saw.

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ANoPEN MORTIsE.AND.TENON tlNTHE TABLE SAw

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thetenon 1t 0utlinins -

I Secure t h e s t o c ke d g e - u pi n a v i s ea n d m a r ka l i n ea c r o s s g a u g es o t h e e d g ef o r t h e t e n o nl e n g t hT. h e na d j u s ta m o r t i s e t h a tt h e g a pb e t w e e n i t s p i n se q u a l st h e t e n o nt h i c k n e s s - t y p i c a l l yo n e - t h i rtdh e t h i c k n e sosf t h e w o r k p i e c e A.d j u s t h e m o r tise gaugesothatthetenonoutlineis centered between opposing f a c e so f t h e w o r k p i e c eH. o l dt h e s t o c kf l u s ha g a i n stth e f a c e o f t h e w o r k p i e caes y o ug u i d et h e g a u g ea l o n gt h e s u r f a c e , s c r i b i n gt h e s i d e so f t h e t e n o no u t l i n ei n t h e w o o d( a b o v e ) .

r) Cutting thetenoncheeks L lttal.,e a tenonwiththetablesawbycutting thecheeks f i r s ta, n dt h e nt h es h o u l d e rI n s .s t aal lt e n o n i nj iggo nt h e table;themodelshown slidesin themiterslot.Protecting thestockwitha woodpad,clamptheworkpiece to thejig andraise thebladeto thetenonlength mark.Position thejig sothatoneof thecuttinglinesforthesidesof thetenonis aligned withtheblade.Feedthejig forward to makethecut (above). Turnoffthesaw,turntheworkpiece in the around j i g ,a n dc u tt h eo t h ecr h e e k .

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MORTISE-AND-TENONIOINTS

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Sawing thetenonshoulders Attachanextension to yourmiter gauge. Holding theedgeof theworkpieceagainst theextension, adjust the bladeto theheightof oneof thecuttinglinesforthetenoncheeks. Align thetenonlength markwiththeblade, butta stopblockagainst thestock,and clampit to theextensi0n; cuta small notchfromonecorner of theblockto prevent sawdust fromaccumulating between it andtheboard. Holding the workpiece flushagainst theextension andthestopblock,usethemitergauge to feedthestockintotheblade. Turn offthesawandremove thewaste, then fliptheworkpiece overandrepeat to cut (left).(Caution: thesecond shoulder Bladeguardremoved for clarity.)

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Cutting themoftise jigonthetable. Reinstallthe tenoning O u t l i nteh em o r t i steh es a m ew a yy o u marked thetenon(step1)andclamp the workpiece to thejig.Raise thebladeto themortise depthmarkandcutthesides ofthemortise, using thesame technique youusedforthetenoncheeks(right). Oncethesideshavebeencut,makeas manypasses asnecessary to remove the wastebetween them.

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MORTISE_AND_TENON IOINTS

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TENONING JIG A TABLE.SAW Youcanusethejig shownat rightto cut bothoartsof anoDenmortise-andsugtenonjoint.Adaptthedimensions gested intheillustration to customize thejig foryoursaw,if necessary. Cutthejigfenceandbackfrom3hinchplywood andsawa 45" bevelat o n ee n do f e a c hb o a r dt ;h ep i e c e s shouldbewiderthantheheightof y o u rs a w ' sr i p f e n c e F . a s t e tnw o preces face-to-face to fashtogether iontheback,thenusecountersunk screws to attachthefenceandback in an L shape; makesurethe together willnotbe in theblade's fasteners pathwhenyouusethejig.Next,cut thebracefromsolidstock,bevelits ends,andattachit along thetopedges a triof thefenceandback,forming angle.Maketheclampbyfacegluplywood ingthreepiecesof 3/q-inch together andcuttingthe assembly Usea hanger intotheshape shown. bolt,washer, andwingnutto attach

Fence 3/.'x 5t/2" x 24"

a theclamptothejig back,leaving gapbetween theedgeof theclamp andthefenceequal to thethickness the of thestockyouwilluse.Offset boltsotheclampcanpivoteccentriholes cally.(Youcandrilladditional youto shift in thejig backto enable

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theclamoto accommodate different Next,cuttherunstockthicknesses.) nerfromsolidwoodandattachit to thejig fencesothatthejig runs s m o o t h layc r o stsh et a b l ew r t h o u t youwill wobbling. Forsomemodels, haveto milla groove downthelength of therunner, asshown, to fit therip fence. Finally, cuta piece of clearplastic asa bladeguardandscrewit to thejig backflushwithitsfrontface. T o r r s et h e i i g s e ti t o n t h es a w tablein frontof thebladewiththe runnerandfencestraddling therip fence.Clamptheworkpiece in the jig andposition theripfenceto align thecuttingmarkon theworkpiece withtheblade. Feedthejig intothe (Your firstuseof thejig cuttingedge. willproduce a kerfin theback.) Flip workpiece and repeat to the around (/eff). (Refer cut theothercheek to page85 forinstructions onmaking and usinganother styleof jig thatcancut joints,) openmortise-and-tenon

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-TENONIOINTS BLIND MORTISE-AND

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Completely hiddenonce assembled, theblind mortiseand-tenonisfrequentlyused

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t I HAND.CUTTING A BLIND M()RTISE.AND.TEN(lN themoftise 1 Chopping I Clamp theworkpiece to a worksurface. Usinga mortise chisel thatisthesame widthasthemortise, makeyourfirstcut about%inchinside themoriise endmark. Holdthechiselvertically, withthebevel facingthewaste, andstrikeit sharply with a wooden malletsoit oenetrates about% inch.Makethesecond cutabout%inch backfromthefirst(inset), thentilt the chiselhandledownandbackto pryout thewaste(right).Continue makingcuts %inchaparI,levering outthewasteafter eachone.One-eighth inchfromtheother endof themortise, turnthechiselaround sotheflatsidefacesthecuttinglineand begina newseries of cutsin theother direction. Continue to passbackandforth, cutting andclearing outwasteuntilyou pareaway reach thedesired depth.Finally, thewaste remaining at eachendof themortise.Usea lockmortise chiselto smooth the bottomof thecavity.

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MORTISE-AND-TENONTOINTS

r) Cutting thetenoncheeks C- Makea four-shouldered tenonbycutting thecheeks first,andthentheshoulders. Mark a shoulder lineallaround theendof theworko i e c ea n do u t l i n teh ec h e e kws i t hf o u rl i n e s thatintersect ontheboardend.Secure the workpiece upright in a viseandcutdownthe cheeklineswitha backsaw untilvoureachthe shoulder line(lefD.

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Sawing thetenonshoulders To remove thewastefromthetenon c h e e k sc ,l a m pt h ew o r k p i e ci nea m i t e r boxwiththeshoulder markaligned with t h e9 0 ' s l o tC . u ta l o n g t h es h o u l d e l i rn e on thefaceof the board(left);Iurnthe w o r k p i e coev e ra n dr e p e atth ec u t o n theotherside.Tocutawaythewasteon theedges of thetenon,secure theworkpiece end-uo in theviseandcutthesides of thetenon, stopping at theshoulder line. Then, withthepieceedge-up in thevise, s a wa l o n g t h es h o u l d el i rn et o t h et e n o n . Finally, turntheboard overin theviseand repeat to sawawaythewasteonthetenon's

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I -TENON IOINTS IVIORTISE-AND

()NTHEDRILLPRESS A M()RTISE CUTTING 'l

upthemortising attachment Setting consists of I A mortisins attachment hola drillbitsurroinded bya four-sided lowchisel thatsquares theholecutbythe bit.Afterinstalling theattachment onyour d r i l lo r e s sc.h e c kw h e t h et hr em o r t i s e ontheworkoiece chiselwillbecentered a scrapboardthesamewidth bysecuring a n dt h i c k n e sasst h ew o r k p i e ct oet h e mortising attachment fence.Borea shallowcutrntotheboard, thenturntheboard andmakea second around end-for-end be cutnextto thefirst.Thecutsshould a l i g n e dl f. n o t ,s h i f t h ef e n c eb yo n e h a l ft h ea m o u nt th a tt h ec u t sa r em i s alignedandrepeatthetest(right).(ln an r mi s t h i si l l u s t r a t i ot hne, h o l d - d o w raised forclarity.)

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()FCUTS SEOUENCE NarrowmorLtae Wtde morttee

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r) Drilling themortise L S"t thedrilling depthto themortise d e p t ha n ds e c u r teh ew o r k p i e ct oe t h e fence, centering themortise outline under Adjustthehold-down thechisel. armand rodssothestockcanslidefreelyalongthe fence,Makea cutat eachendof theoutline,thena series of staggered cuts,following thesequence shown above to comp l e t et h em o r t i s eM. a r ka s i n g l er o wo f c u t si f y o ua r eu s i n ga c h i s eel q u ailn widthto themortise, rows or twoparallel i f t h em o r t i s ies t o ow i d et o b ec u t i n pass. a srngle

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WEDGEDTHROUGHMORTISE-AND-TENON IOINTS

Wedgescan tighten and strengthena through mortiseqnd-tenon. The wedgedmortise-and-tenonjoint is made by cuning slots in the end of the tenon, and drivingwedges into the cuts after the tenon isfixed into the mortise.The wedgespush the tenon more tightly againstthe mortise walls. By using wedgescut from contrastinghardwood, thejoint can lend a decorativetouch to a pieceoffurniture.

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MAKII{G A WEDGED THR(IUGH M(IRTISE.AND.TENON

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outthemortise 1 Routing I Secure theworkoiece between twobenchdogs,usingwoodpadsto protect thestock.Sinceyouwillbe placea cuttinga throughmortise, backupboardunderthe workpiece yourbenchtop. to protect Fita plunge routerwitha straight brtthe same d i a m e t earst h ew i d t ho f t h e m o r tise,thensetthe depthof cut.As thisis typically a deepcut,several passes will be necessary. Attacha wooden extension to thefenceof a commercial edgeguideto increase its bearing surface, thenfastenthe guideto therouterbaseplate.Center thebit overthemortise outlineand adjusttheextension soit restsflush against theworkpiece. Holding the router f irmly,plunge thebit intothe stockat oneendof the mortise outline,thenfeedthebitto theotherend. Whenthemortise is cutto thefull depth,square itscorners witha chisel.

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I _TENONIOINTS MORTISE_AND

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ROUTING DEEP THROUGH MORTISES

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yourrouter's lf the desired depthof a mortise exceeds m a x i m udme p t ho f c u t ,u s ea ne l e c t r idcr i l l t oh e l pc o m pletethecavity.Theillustration aboveshows thethree stepsnecessary to cut a deepthroughmortise. Startby installing a mortising bit in therouter andmaking asmany (A).Then passes asyoucanuntilyoucango nodeeper usethedrillwitha bit thatis larger thanyourrouterbit

t o b o r ea h o l et h r o u gthh er e m a i n i nwga s t e( B ) .I n s t a l l a p i l o t e fdl u s h - t r i m m ibnigt i n t h er o u t ear n dt u r nt h e workpiece over.Inserting the bit through the holemade bythedrill,routoutthewaste(C);throughout thispartof pressed theoperation, keepthepilotbearing against the wallsof themortise to comolete thecut.Usea chiselto souare the mortise corners.

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r) Sawing theslotsin thetenon 1 Cutafour-shouldered tenon(page95), making surethetenonis longenough to passcompletely through thematingpiece. Clamp thestockupright in a viseanduse a backsaw to cuttwokerfsintotheendof thetenon(right),slopping % inchshort of the shoulder: sDace thekerfsin from eachedgeofthetenona distance roughly eoual to thethickness of thetenon.

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Inserting thewedges

l l l i l l i l l l l l i l l l l l l l l l l i l l i l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l r r r r r r rtrh ersSaw rl orttwo rsc ur thardwood ri nrs rt ero2rwedses rmra kr eto rhrfite rminto lllrl : t as {ll ill lll tii lti in ur ru rr ru ul lll IIJ lll Ui ill Ul i$

5HO7Tt? lightening up a loooelenon joinL. Uoea otrip of veneerlo enuguVa loooemorlise-and-Nenon SeforeqluinquVNhejoint, cul the veneerto Lheoamelenqt'h Lhejoinl wilh the veneerwedged and widthas Ihe lenon.Aeeemble in belweenlhe Lenonand Ihe morLiee,or kerl the lenon alonqite lenqlhand inserDa wedqeae deecribedabove.lf a lenon ie eo looeelhat a oin4lewed4eor pieceof veneerwill

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w i d ea st h et e n o nb, u ta f e wi n c h e s longer, andnothickerIhanr/qinchat t h eb r o a ed n d G . l u eu pt h ej o i n tt,h e n theoieces in a visewiththeend secure of thetenonfacingup.Applysomeglue to thewedges andusea malletto drive themintothekerfsasfarastheywillgo; tapthewedges alternately to keepthem e q u a l0. n c et h eg l u eh a sd r i e du, s ea f l u s h - c u t t i sn ag wt o t r i mt h ew e d g e s evenwiththeendof thetenon(above), thensandthesurface smooth.

I MORTISE-AND-TENONIOINTS

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A MORTISING JIGF(lRTHEROUTER Usethejig shownat rightto secure theworkpiece andguideyourrouter you as cuta mortise. Thedimensions suggested in theillustration willsuit mostrouters. Cutthejig baseand plywood. sidesfrom3/a-inch Fasten pieces three together for the base. Attachthe sidesto the basewith 9ide countersunk screws, makingsure 3/+"x6"x16" the piecesareperfectly square to o eachother.Fashion eachstooblock fromsolidwood,routa groove in oneface% inchdeepand3/o inch wide,thencut a 4-inch-long slotto accepta %-inchhanger bolt.Mount the bolts3 inchesfromeachend of oneside,slipthestopblocksin olaceandfix themwithwashers jig, pressthe baseplateagainst andwingnuts. one thejig asyoudrawtherouterthrough To usethejig, settheworkpiece stopblockandplunge the bit into thecut untilit contacts theother on the basewiththe mortise outline thework.Holdtheedgeguideagainst stopblock(below). between the stooblocksandone f lushagainst surface thesidewith theblocks. Placea shimunderthe stockso its too surfaceis butted against theblocks, thenclampthe workpiece to thejig andsecure the jig in a vise.Tosetup therouter for thecut,installa straight bitthesame diameter asthewidthof the mortise,setthedepthof cut andattach a commercial edgeguideto thebase plate,centerthe bit overthe mortiseoutlineandadjusttheguideso it restsflushagainst theopposite side of thejig. Adjusteachstopblock by aligning the bit withthe endof themortise outline, butting theblock against the router's baseplateand tightening thewingnut.Afterconf irmingtheposition of theblocks andedgeguide,griptherouierfirmly,butttheedgeguideagainst the

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-TENONJOINTS HAUNCHEDMORTISE-AND

The haunchedmortise-and-tenon t'eaturesmating notches cut in the tenoncheekand mortise.The resultis a joint that provides to twist than the blind mortise-and-tenon.The ntoreresistance haunchedjoint is often usedin frnme-and-panelconstruction, wherethe haunchfills theend of thegroovethat is cutfor the panel, eliminating the needfor stoppedgrooves. ,id.!t

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thetenoncheeks 1 Cutting I O n a t a b l es a w ,i n s t a lal d a d oh e a ds l i g h t l yw i d e rt h a nt h e l e n g t ho f t h e t e n o n ,t h e na t t a c ha n d n o t c ha n a u x i l i a rfye n c e ( p a g e7 1 ) . S e t t h e w i d t h o f c u t e q u a lt o t h e t e n o nl e n g t h ; a d j u s t h e c u t t i n gh e i g h t o l e a v ea t e n o nt h e s a m et h i c k n e s s

r i t y o uw i l l b e u s i n g . c h i s e ol r r o u t e b a st h e w i d t ho f t h e m o r t i s e , olding t h ew o r k F e e dt h e s t o c kf a c e - d o winn t ot h e d a d oh e a d h p i e c ef i r m l ya g a i n stth e f e n c ea n dt h e m i t e rg a u g eT. u r nt h e overand repeatthe cut on the otherside (above). workoiece

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MORTISE-AND-TENON IOINTS

r) Cutting thehaunch L Setthebladeheieht to cuta shoulder ontheinside eOge of theworkpiece. Once thecut is made, advance theripfenceto cutthehaunch in thetenon. Thehaunch shouldbeapproximately aswideasthe tenonisthick.(lf youaremaking therails a n ds t i l e so f a f r a m e - a n d - p aansesl e m b l y ,i h ew i d t ho f t h eh a u n cshh o u ledq u a l the depthof thegroove forthepanel.) With theworkpiece onedge,usethefenceand themitergauge to guideit overthedado head(right).lf thereis no panelgroove in thematingworkpiece, youmustnext (step3). notchthemortise

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Notching themortise forthehaunch Secure theworkpiece in a viseandchopouta mortise asyou wouldfora blindtenon(page 94).Usethehaunched tenonasa guideto outline thewidthanddepthof thenotchontheworkpiece, thenkerftheedges of theoutline witha backsaw. Usea

chiselto splitoffthewastein 7e-inch layers between thecuts untilyoureach therequired depth.Holding thebladebevel-up andparallel to thesurface, strikethehandle witha malletbbovd. Parethesidesof thenotchwiththechisel, if necessary.

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-TE,NON MORTISE.AND ANGLE,D JOINTS Angled tenonsare often usedin building chairs to get around thejoinery problemcausedby seatsthat are wider at thefront than at the back-a tradition' aI designfeature. To accommodatethe angledside rails, tenonsmust be cut at oppositeendsat opposing angles,while the tenon shouldersmust beparallel to eachother.Although the tenon is tricky to mark out and produce,it fits into a standardmortise.

TENONS ANGTED CUTTING

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theiob 1 Planning full-size ona theproject tenons, sketch I Tomarkoutangled pieceof plywood ln thisexample, theunderside or hardboard. thelegsandrails. including of a chairframehasbeendrawn, onthefrontandbackrails; blindtenons areneeded Standard mormustbecutonthesiderails;andstandard angled tenons outin thelegs.Tosetthebladeangle tisesmustbechopped aligntwo tenoncheeks, theangled onyourtablesawforcutting andadjusta slidingbevel oftheoutline alongonecorner boards (above). Installa dadohead to theangleformedbytheboards

anauxilInstall andnotch to theblades. andtransfer theangle 71)andseta cuttingwidthof % inchanda iaryfence(page height of X inch.Feeda scrappiecethesamesizeasyourstock both face-down intothedadoheadto maketestcutsacross (inset).The thetestpieceonyouroutline ends. Thenposrtion a n dt h ed r a w i nsgh o u l ldi n eu p ; s h o u l d lei n r e so nt h ep i e c e setof cuts, thecuttingwidthandmakeanother if not,increase height thecutting align.Adjust untiltheshoulders continuing onthepiecelineupwiththedrawtng. untilthetenoncheeks

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Cutting thetenoncheeks Oncethecuttingwidthandheight of thedadobladehavebeenproperly set,put thetestpieceasideandmakethecutson yourworkpiece. Usethemitergauge and fenceto guidetheboardforonepass,then turntheboardoverandrepeat thecutat theotherend(above). To lineup thesaw cutsfortheothersideof thecheeks, set theworkpiece onedgeandusethesliding bevelto extend theshoulder lineacross the edgeof the board(insef).Thenmovethe ripfence totheothersideofthedadohead, andreposition andnotch theauxiliary fence accordingly. Aligntheshoulder markwith theoutside bladeof thedadoheadand buttthefenceagainst theendof thestock. Cutthe remaining cheeks(right)thesame wayyouproduced the f irsttwo.(Make t h e s ec u t so n t h e t e s tp i e c ef i r s t ,a n d then adjustthecuttingwidthandheight, if necessary.)

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upthesawforthetenonshoulders Q Setting parallel to themiterslot, a board theangle of thedadoheadto 90".Holding J Adjust gauge in to thesameangleusedto adjusttheblades usetheslidingbevelto setthemiter (aborze). gauge. Theshoulder should onedgeagainst themiter Butttheworkpiece step1 overto itsotheredge.Setthewidth beparallel to theripfence;if not,fliptheworkpiece cutting height. andadjust thedadoheadto thedesired of cutto thewidthofthecheek

I I

Cutting thetenonshoulders Likethetenoncheeks, theshoulders arecut in twosteos.Forthefirstsetof onedgeusing cuts,guidetheworkpiece themitergauge andfence(left),thenturn thecut. theboardend-for-end andrepeat Tomakethesecond setof cuts,usethe asin step3 to angle themiter sliding bevel gauge in theopposite direction. Cutthe ontheotheredsethe lasttwoshoulders samewayyoumadethef irsttwo.

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105

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TUSKTENONIOINTS

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The tusk tenon is contmonly usedto joirt the legsnnd stretcherof a trestle table.The tenon extendsbeyondthe throughntortiseso that a tusk-like wedgecnn be insertedto lock thejoint while enablirtgit to Ite disassentbled. Dependingon the length and width of the tenon, the wedgecqn be inserted througheither its thicknessor itswidth.

I I .{i

I I

MAKING A TUSKTENON JOINT

I I t Mortiae workpiece

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Marking thelocation ofthetenonwedge I Cuta four-shouldered tenon(page 94),butmakeit long enough to extend fromthemortise workpiece byat least 1 rnch. Thiswillprovide sufficient stockto resist being split bythewedge. Cuta through mortise to accommodate the t e n o na n da s s e m btl he el o i n t T . h e n h, o l d i ntgh ep i e c e s together ona worksurface, marka linealong thetopof the (above). cheekwhere thetenonemerges fromthemortise

r) Drillingthe holefor thewedge Z . D i s a s s e m bt hl eej o i n ta n dm a k ea d r i l l i n gm a r k% oi n c h o n t h es h o u l d esri d eo f t h es c r i b e d l i n e t; h i sw i l le n s u r e a . e ta m o r t i s e t i g h tf i t w h e nt h e w e d g ei s d r i v e ni n t op l a c e S g a u g et o o n e - t h i rtdh e t h i c k n e sosf t h e t e n o na n d u s et h e g a u g et o o u t l i n et h e h o l ei n t h e m i d d l et h i r do f t h e t o p c h e e kb , o r d e r i nogn y o u rm a r k .U s i n ga b i t s l i g h t l ys m a l l e r i n d i a m e t etrh a nt h e o u t l i n eb, o r et h e h o l et h r o u g ht h e tenonon the drill press(above).

106

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MORTISE-AND-TENON TOINTS

A n g l i ntgh ew e d g eh o l e Q r . J E n l a r g ae n ds q u a r et h e h o l ey o ud r i l l e dt o accommodate the wedge.Holdrng a mortisechise l a t a 1 0 " a n g l ea w a yf r o mt h et e n o ns h o u l d e r s , c u t a t a p e r e ds l o t ,a s i n d i c a t e db y t h e d o t t e d l i n e si n t h e i l l u s t r a t i o n C.h o po u t t h e w a s t ea s y o uw o u l dc u t a b l i n dm o r t i s e( p a g e9 4 ) .

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

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Inserting thetenonwedge

hardwood wedge Cuta triangular thatistapered to fit theslotyouchopped outin step3; itslength c : n h c r r nt o t w i c pt h e t e n o nw i d t h .T o a s s e m b l e t h e i o i n t s l i d et h e t e n o ni n t ot h e m o r t i s ea n ds t r i k e t h ew e d g ef i r m l yw i t ha m a l l e ut n t i lt h ej o i n ti s t i g h t ( r i p h f )D o n o t r r s ep l r r ea s t h i s i o i n ti s d e s i s n etdo b ed i s a s s e m b l e d ,

-TENONIOINTS TWIN MORTISE-AND

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Cut acrossthe grain into the face of a workpiece,lwin mortises makefor a strongerjoint than a single,wide cavity.

MAKING A TWINMORTISE.AND.TENON J()INT

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t I outthetenons 1 Laying I Beginbycuttinganordinary four-shouldered through tenonasyouwouldfora wedged joinl(page97).fhenusea combination squareto markoutthe twintenons(above). T h en o r m apl r a c t i ci es t o d i v i d e t h et e n o ni n t ot h i r d sm , a k i n g t h e w iodftthh e t e n o n s a n d thegapbetween themthesame.Markthemiddlewasteportion withXsto avoidconfusion.

108

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MORTISE-AND_TENONIOINTS

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12) Cutting outthewaste I Cta^pthetenonworkpiece end-up in a viseandcutalong theedges of the wastesection witha backsaw, stopping at theshoulder. Thenusea coping saw to remove thewaste(above), takingcare to avoidcuttingintotheshoulder. Use a chisel to pareto theline.

t I I I

Laying outthemortises Drawtwolinesrepresenting thewidth of thetwinmortises on thefaceof the mortise workpiece, thensetbothworkpieces on a worksurface withthetenon workpiece ontop.Alignthetenonshoulderwithoneofthemarked linesandoutl i n et h et w om o r t i s euss i n gt h et e n o n cheeks asguides(left),Ihen remove the wasteasyouwouldforanydeepthrough

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mnriisp (neop QRI' ' vt \rede

109

I

-AND-TENONIOINTS ROUNDMORTISE Roundtenonsareoftenproduced on turned workpieces suchaschairlegsand rungs with thehelpof a latheor bandsaw,but they canalsobecut in squarestockwith a drill and tenoncutter.Themortiseis Dress alsoboredon a drill press. \*

t I I I I I I I I I I

MAKING A R()UND MORTISE.AND.TENON

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t workpiece Gutting a round tenonona square Make a round tenonin twosteps, starting onthedrillpress and thenremoving thewasteonthetablesaw.Installa tenoncutter onthedrillpress andtilt thetableto 90".Clamp theworkpiece board to thetable,usingpadsto protect thewood, anda support (above, left).On thenboretheholeto thedepthof theshoulder thecuttingheight to cutawaythewaste thetablesaw,adjust

I I e n c i r c l i ntgh e t e n o na n ds c r e wa b o a r da s a n e x t e n s i otno t h e m i t e r g a u g eA.l i g nt h e s h o u l d el ri n ew i t ht h e b l a d e b, u t t a s t o p b l o c ka g a i n st th e e n do f t h ew o r k p i e caen dc l a m pi t t o t h e e x t e n s i o n .H o l d i n g t h e s t o c kf l u s ha g a i n stth e e x t e n s i oann dt h e s t o p (above,rrght) block,makea cut on eachedgeof the workpiece to severthe waste.Makethe matingmortiseon the drill press.

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MORTISE-AND-TENONIOINTS

llllultllllllfll]lliltllflllllllillll l]ltllllllltllflitiiilltl]llilil 1HO? TI? A round-tenonji6 for the router table jiq ehownhereenablee youLo Theoimpleplywood rout roundNenone in lurned oiecee, MakeNhe jiq hiqherLhanyour roulerNable's L-ehaped fence,wiLha bracetha| holdeNheworkpiece enuqly,lneLalla ef,raiqhi bit in XherouLerand an inserLin lhe Lablelhat eurroundsLhe cutNeras cloeelyae poeoible. Adjuet,Nhe cutler heiqhtf,o lhe lenqthof the Lenon.Then clamp L h ej i q r o t h e cenler of the fence and oetlhemfor a parlialcut, Holdinq lheworkpiece oecurely inlhe jiq \ with onehand,turn on lhe rouler and lowerNhesbockonboNhe biLwhileLurninqit clockwise, a4ainoLbit rotation.Advance Nhefence1/oinchaL a time unlil NheLenonie compleNed.

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Cutting a round tenonin turned stock A bandsawcanbe usedto fashion a r o u n dt e n o ni n a t u r n e dw o r k p i e c e . Clamp themitergauge to thetableso thatthegapbetween itsfaceandthe cuttingedgeof thebladeisthesame asthedesired depthof tenonshoulder. Aligntheshoulder lineontheworkpiece w i t ht h e b l a d ea, n dc l a m pa b o a r d against theendof thestockasa stop block;makesuretheboardis parallel to themitergauge slot.Cutthetenonin twosteps.First,rotatetheworkpiece clockwise onthetableandmitergauge whilecuttinga series of concentric kerfs 7sinchapartfromtheendof thestock t o t h es h o u l d el irn e .T h e nc l e a trh e wastebypushing theworkpiece across thebladewhilerotating iI (abovelCut deepshoulders in twoorthreepasses, moving themitergauge awayfromthe bladebetween eachoass.

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nersof carcases anddrawerstogethFitted with a straightbit, a table-mounted Both dovetailandbox joints can joint. er. Today,the rationalefor using it routercutsthenotches a box A hardbe cut by handor machine.Boxand for is esthetic;the dovetailis visual woodkeygluedintothemitergaugeextensionfingerjointscanbecutequallywell shortlrandfor durability andwoodguaranteesuniform spacingbenveenthecuts. with the router,the table saw(page workingskill. 132),or the radial arm saw(page Thejoint consistsof taperedpins that fit aroundflaredtails 134).Hand-cuttinga dovetailjoint is oftenconsidereda rite of

resembling thetail feathers of a dove,whichgivesthejoint its name.Thejoint provides goodlong-grain gluingsurface, which addsto its strength. Several varieties of thedovetailjoint areshownin thischap(pase118)isthestrongest, ter., Thethrough throushdovetail dovetail(page stronsest, sincethe tailsandpinsarecutthroughthefull thickness of theboards. Thecurvedandoutlinedthroughdovetailjoints,shownon

passage for apprentice woodworkers. It takesmoretime and effortthanmachinecutting,but thetechniqueallowscompletecontroloverthelayoutof thejoint.Dovetails canbeproducedquicklyandaccurately ontherouterusinga commercial jig. manvcases, however. however, thespacing spacine andangle aneleof thepins iis.In many oins andtailscannotbevaried,andsomewoodworkers findthatthe joint lackstheesthetic resulting appealof a handcutjoint.

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A copingsawis usedto cut auraythewastebetvveen the pins of a dovetailjoint. Thenarrowbladeallowsthesaw to curvesharplyfrom thesideof thepins to theshoulder line. Theremainingwastewill beparedau,aywith a chisel.

113

A SELECTIONOF DOVETAILANDBOXIOINTS

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Outlined through dovetail (aee paqe 12O)

Eoxjolnt (aee pa6e 134)

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Half-blind dovetail (eee pa4e 15O)

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Fingerjoint (aee pa1e 135)

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Elind dovetall )imilar to the half-blind doveLailjoint, except the enda of the boarda are rabbeted and t,he edqea are mitered before the pina and tails are cut, concealinqthe end 7rain of both pieceo

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Half-blind boxjoint' jimilar to the standard box joint with the ahoulderof one boardand the pina of the mating piece mitered at 45"; \ . ,

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DESIGNINGAND MARKING DOVETAILS

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andangling thepins Spacing T h es p a c eb e t w e et nh ep i n sa n dt a i l so f a d o v e t aai ln dt h e slopeangleof the pinsaffectboththestrength of thejoint a n di t s e s t h e t iacp p e a S l . e v e r ac lo m m osnp a c i nrga t i o s expressed astail-to-pin size-areshownat right.The1-tojoint,butresults 1 ratiocreates thestrongest in the least a t t r a c t i vl a e y o u tT. h eo t h e sr p a c i nrga t i o si l l u s t r a t eadr e moreattractive andvirtually assturdy. The3-to-iratiois a g o o dc h o i c feo ra j o i n t h a tw i l lf e a t u rper o m i n e not lnya piece.Pin-spacing ratiosgreater than3-to-1areweakand should b ea v o i d e d . Thereis lesslatitude in marking theangle ofthepins.Too smallanangle willprevent thepieces fromlocking together, allowing thejointto pullapart;toogreatananglestresses the corners of thetails,causing themto breakoff.Forsoftwoods, for hardwoods, a ratioof 1:6or 80" is required; therationormallyusedis 1:8or83 (inset). Using a dovetail square to mark giveyouthecorrect thepinswillautomatically angle.

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0utlining thepins jointbegins Theconstruction of a dovetail withlaying out,marking andcutting thepins,thenusingthemto outline thetailsonthemating Beginlaying board. out thejointbymarking theoutside faceof theworkpiece w r t ha b i gX , t h e nu s ea c u t t i n g a u g teo s c r i b e the shoulder lineof the joinl(pagell8). Next,usea dovetail square to layoutthepinsontheendsof the board asshownin thesequence at left.(Seepage119 f o r i n s t r u c t i o on ns m a k i n a g d o v e t asi lq u a r ien t h e s h o p .B ) e g i nw i t hh a l f - p i nast e a c he d g e m , aking surethenarrow endsof thepinsareontheoutside face of theboard. Nextoutline thewaste sections adjacent to thehalf-pins. Ona wideworkpiece, suchastheone younextmarkthecenter in theillustration, of theboard end.Outline a pinat thecenter mark,thenoutline the pins,marking remaining allthewaste sections withXs.

I I t I I I I I

Half-oin - r'

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Waste

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115

T

JIGSAND ACCESSORIES

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dovetailjigsareidealfor producing Commercial a seriesof identicaljoints. Thismodelconsists of two templates fastenedto backupboards.Theworkpiece is securedto thejig and a stopblockhelpswith positioningfor repeatcuts.Here,a routerfitted with a dovetailbit movesin and out of the slots of thetail boardtemplate.

I T I I I

Eoxjoint jig Flaaticjiq aLLachedto a rout er Lablefor cuLtrnqftnqer or boxjornto; rtdge in center ofjt7 functtoneae a key Lo na,p

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Dovetail templatee A eet of t wo fixed Lemplatee faetened t;o backup boarda Lo rout throu7h dovet ail jotnLa; one LemplaLe ie for pine and the of,her for Latla. Three models are avatlable for rouLtrtq dtfferenL-etzed ptne: u6e5 topptloLed btl;e

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Inte rch a n g ea bl e-te m pl ate ji g Wtth the uae of tnterchangeable templal,eo, jtg allowe router to cut. dovetail and boxjotnLe wtt.ha otnqle eeLup: comee with quide buohin4 and router btt a

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DOVETAILAND BOXIOINTS

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A # n r u ffiffi Top-prlotedbita

Non-piloted bite

Multi-joint jig Uaedwith routerto cut.dovetail and box iointa. L-ahapedbracket ia faatened to backu'pboard and eecuredin viae;appropdate tem' plate ta attached to bracket. 'Comes with quide buahin4, ,/ router aub-baaeand bita

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Dovetail bite, etraight bits and t'emplate 7uideo A aelectionof etrai4ht and dovetail bita (left) uoed with routera and commercialtem' 'platea to cut dovetail iointa. Non-piloted bita require a tempiate quide (iiqht) affixed to the eub-baoeto keepthe bit a uniformdiatance from the ed7eof the template; top-prloted bita are equippedwith ball-bearin7pilota to 7uidecuta

Dovetail equare Usedto mark the pine of dovetail jointa; availablein ratioa of 1:6 (BO") for aoftwood and 1:B (83") for hardwood

9ub-baee

Adjuatable dovetail jig Adjuatable template uaed to rout half-blindand throu4h dovetailjointa; width of pine and taila ia aet with a eingle adjuatment. lncludeaguide buahin7and router bits

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THROUGHDOVETAILIOINTS

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Combiningmechanicolstrengthwith a distinctiveappearance,the through dovetail joint isfrequently usedin fine furniture to join drawersand carcasecorners.

I I T I I I I I I I

CUTTING A THROUGH DOVETAIL BYHAND

I I I I T I I I I T I I I

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Laying outthepins I Marktheoutside faceof the boardwithan X. Thenseta c u t t i n g a u g teo t h et h i c k n e sosf t h es t o c ka n ds c r i b e a line along theendof theboard to marktheshoulder of thepinsand Iails(above, /eff).Next,secure thestockend-upin a viseand u s ea d o v e t asi lq u a rteo o u t l i n e t h ep i n so n t h ee n do f t h e b o a r dY. o uc a nf o l l o wt h es e q u e n ci lel u s t r a t e od n p a g eI 1 5 ,

butforstockof thewidthshown above-typical fora drawer-a half-pin pinsin between at eachedgeandtwoevenly spaced joinl(above, will makea strongandattractive right).Marklhe waste sections withanX asyougo.Finally, usea combination square to extend allthedovetail marks downbothfacesof the board to theshoulder lines.

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118

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I I I I I T I I I I I

DOVETAIL AND BOX IOINTS

DOVETAIL SSUARE Instead of buyinga dovetail square, youcanmakeyourownbyface-gluingfourpieces of scrapwoodtogethdovetail angle. er at the required

Cutthepieces of thejig about6 or wide. 8 inches longand1%inches adjustthe To prepare thepieces, mitergauge of yourtablesawto the (or80")for angle-l:6 appropriate

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softwood or 1:8 (or83') for hardwood.Thenmakea cut across the c e n t eor f t h e p i e c es, l i c i n gi t i n half. Makethe samecut at both guide.Spread endsof themarking s o m eg l u eo n a l l t h ec o n t a c t i n g facesandassemble thejig, butting t h ec u te n d so f t h em i d d l ep i e c e s a g a i n st h t e m a r k i nggu i d ew, h i l e their withtheother aligning edges of crosspiece above twoboards the andbelow. Trimtheendsof themidpieces flush dle withthecrosspiece. To usethejig, laythe marking guideacross theendof thepinboard whilebuttingtheedgeof thecrosspieceagainst thefaceof theboard.

I

t I I I I I

Cutting thepins L e a v et h e o i n b o a r di n t h e v i s ew i t h

you.Usea dovetail itsoutside facetoward sawto cut alongtheedges of the pins, j u s t a l i g n i ntgh es a wb l a d e t o t h ew a s t e sideof thecuttingline.Cutalltherighthandedgesfirsl (left),thencomplete the left-hand edges. Usesmooth, even strokes, takingcareto keepthebladeperpendicular asyoucuttotheshoulder lines.

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119

I I

DOVETAIL AND BOX IOINTS

I I Chiseling outthewaste Mostof thewastewoodbetween the pinscanbe removed witha copingsaw (page112),anda chiselusedonlyto cleanupthegaps.However, it is notmuch moredifficult to chiseloutallthewaste. Thekeyisto workpatiently, removing thin slivers of woodwitheachcut.Settheoin boardoutside-face up on a worksurface a n dc l a m pa g u i d eb l o c ko nt o ps ot h e edgeisaligned wlththeshoulder line.Use a woodchiselnowiderthanthe narrow sideof thewaste section. Holding the chiselbevel-out against theguideblock andperpendicular to thefaceof theworkpiece, scorea %-inch-deep cut (/eft).Then buttthechiselbladeagainst theendof the boardto shaveoff a 7a-inch layerof wasle(below). Continue removing the wasteuntilyouareabouthalfway through thestock.Onceyouhaveremoved allthe wastefromonesideof theboard, turn it over,reposition theedgeof theguide blockdirectly overtheshoulder lineand remove thewastefromtheotherside.

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DOVETAIL AND BOX IOINTS

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Laying outthetails

lllllllJljl.llllllitlllllllll lllrllllillJl1ll illllll|UlllrilllllllilriJ 1HO?TI? Markingtails on wide boards Tanelsand wideboardemav be N o o c u m b e r 1 o m et o h o l d oteady whileyou are

o u t l i n i nN q h et a i l s o na t a i l b o a r d . T h e

";:i!":ifly\izt: \ eaoy.SeNIhetail board

o u L s i d e - f a c ed o w n o n a

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workeurfaceand clampa quide I blockonNopof ilwiththe edqeof the blockfluehwiLhthe shoulderline. ThenholdNheend of the pin board the quideblockwith i|e ou|againeN sideface awavfrom LheLail board. Faetena handscrew to Ihe Vinboardand ueeanot'herclamp whileyou outlineNhet aile. NoholdiNfirmly in poeiLion

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down Setthe tail boardoutside-face

Holdtheoinboard ontheworksurface. withits insidefacealigned end-down withtheshoulder lineof thetailboard, making theedges of theboards certain thetailswitha pencil aref lush.Outline (above), to extend thenusea try square Mark thelinesontheendof theboard. withXs. all thewastesections

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DOVETAILAND BOX IOINTS

t thetailsand f, Cutting r.,f removing thewaste Usea dovetail sawto cutthetailsthesame wayyoucut the pins(step2). Angling theboard(left),rather thanthesaw,makes foreasier cutting. Secure theboard sothat theright-hand edges of thetailsareveriical.Sawsmoothly andevenly along the edges of thetails,stopping at theshoulder line.Reposition theboard intheviseto cut theleft-hand edges. Onceall the sawcuts havebeenmade,remove thewaste witha chiselasin steo3.

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Dry-fitting thedrawer fi gluinguptheloint,assemble \,f Before it to checkthefit. Stand thepinboard on endona worksurface, thenalignthetail boardwithit. Press thejointtogether by handasfarasit willgo,thenusethemalletto tapthe boards therestof theway (righil.f o avoidmarrrng intoposition the pinsandtails,close thejointevenly along itsentirelength. Thepinsandtailsshould f i t s n u g l yr ,e q u i r i nogn l ya l i g h t a p p i n g . l f t h ej o i n ti s t o ot i g h t ,m a r kt h ep o i n t whereit binds,disassemble theboards, andusea woodchiselto pareawaya little morewoodat the mark.Dry-fit thejoint again andadjustit further, if necessary.

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DOVETAILAND BOXTOINTS

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llltlllillllfillilltllililllilltllllflrlilltllllilllllllllllfillfi[l]ll 5HO?Tt? Cutling aeveraltailboardeal onae lf you are makinqseveralAovelailjointo, you can slreamlinelhe proceeoof cuttinqthe Iails by oawingIhem all al once.MarkLheLailson Ihe '' stackLhe pieceo boarde,trhen together,makinqsuretheir < edqeoand end6are ali7ned. Clampthe stack in a vise, a n q l i n qt h e p i e c e ee o l h e

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updovetails I Gluing / W h e ng l u i n g u p a d o v e t aj iol i n t , c l a m p i npgr e s s u irsea p p l i etdo t h e tail boards. Todistribute clamping pressure properly, makea specially notched clamping blockforeachjoint. Theblocks should beaslongasthe widthof thestockandnotched sothat theyonlytouchthetailsanddo not exertpressure onthepins.Spread glueevenly onallthecontacting surfacesof the boards, thenassemble t h ej o i n t sI.n s t a al l b a rc l a m pa l o n g eachpinboard, thentighten theclamps a littleat alime hbovd.Checkthe carcase for square andadjustthe pressure, clamping if necessary.

DOVETAILAND BOXIOINTS

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()NTHETABLE CUTTING A THROUGH DOVETAIL SAW Cutting thepins Layoutthepins(page118),butmarkonly oneendof theboard. Then,screwanextensionboardto themitergauge thatis high enough to support theworkpiece during thecuts.Settheangleof themitergauge to cuttheright-hand edges of thepins; guide. usea dovetail square asa Tomake thecuts,holdthepinboardwithitsinside faceagainst theextension andthemarked endonthetable,thenraise theblade to the shoulder lineof thepins.Aligntheblade withthewastesideof theright-hand edge pin,thenclampa stopblock of thecenter flushagainst ontheextension therighf handedgeof theboard. Makea cutat the edgeof thepin,thenclearoutabouthalf thewastebycuttinga series of kerfs,slidingthepieceslightly to theleftwitheach pass.Turnthe boardend-for-end, buttit against thestopblockandtheextension andrepeat theprocedure to makea mirror imageof thefirstcut at the olherend(right, fop).(Repeat the process for all otheridenticalworkpieces.) Then,afterturning the boardbackto themarked end,alignthe bladewiththeright-hand edgeof thenext marked half-pin, reposition thestopblock against theedgeof theworkpiece, and repeat thecuttingprocess on bothends of the board. Whentheright-hand edges of alltheoinsarecutandhalfthewaste hasbeencleared away,reverse theangle of the mitergaugeandrepeatthe procedureto cuttheleft-hand edges ofthepins. Thistime,continue cuttingkerfsintothe waste untilit iscleared, sliding theboard to therightwitheachpass(right,bottom). Tocomplete thejoint,tracethe pinson thetail board(page121)andcutthetails by hand(page122)or usinga bandsaw (page125I

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A THROUGH DOVETAIL JOINT ONTHEBAND SAW 'l

Cutting thepins I Markthepinsononeendof theworkpiece(pagell8), thencutthemin two stages, firstangling thetableto theright foroneseries of cuts,andthento theleft forthefinalones.Startbytiltingthetable to matchtheangleof thedovetail square (inseil.Install theripfenceandfastena wooden L-shaped auxiliary fenceto it. Then,settheworkpiece outside-face up onthesawtableandaligntheright-hand edgeof thefirst half-pin withtheblade. Butttheauxiliary fenceagainst the pieceandmakethecut,keeping theboard flushagainst tne fence. Whenthebladereaches theshoulder line,stopthe cutandturnoffthesaw.Withthebladebuttedontheshoulderline,holda stopblockagainst theworkpiece andscrew it to theauxiliary fence. Turnthepieceend-for-end andcut theright-hand edgeof thefirsthalf-pin at theotherendof theboard. Turntheworkpiece again, alignthebladewiththe marked linefortheright-hand edgeofthefirstfullpin,butt theauxiliary fenceagainst theworkpiece andcutto thestop block(right). Continue turningtheworkandshifting therip fenceasnecessary to cuttheright-hand edgeof thepinson bothendsof theboard. Cuttheleft-hand edgeof eachpin following thesameprocedure withthetabletilteddownward to the left.Finishby usinga chiselto remove thewaste between the pins(page120).

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r) Gutting thetails L tlsethecompleted oin boardasa guide to outline thetailsonthetailboard (page121).Tomakethecutsandremove thewaste, return thetableto thehorizontal position. Startbysawing outthewaste at bothedges of thepiecewithtwointersecting cuts.Toclearthewastebetween pivthetails,nibble at it withtheblade, piece otingthe asnecessary to avoidcuttingintothetails(/eff).Test-fit thejoint andmakeanynecessary adjustments w i t ha c h i s e l .

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CURVEDTHROUGHDOVETAILIOINTS

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A decorativeand challenging variation of the through dovetailjoint, the curved through dovetail adds a distinctive touch to any project. The exampleshown hereis a one-sidedcurved through dovetail, in which only the end of the tailboard is curved;the two-sidedversion requirescontourson both the pin and tail boards.

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MAKING A CURVED THROUGH D()VETAIT

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'l Laying outthetails perpendicular I lt takesthreestepsto cuta one-sided curved through dovetail. square to keepthetemplate to theboardedges, pinsin thepinboard(page118);thencutthe markthecurved First,cutstandard shou lderIineonthef aceof theboard(above, pinboardasa guideto outlinethetails line,asshown here; andf inally, saw left).Usethecompleted tailsalong a curved shoulder rabbet intothebottom the marksto thecurved a matching curved of thepins(step3).fo onthetail board(page121),extending prepare Cutthetailsides(page122),thenclamptheboard thetailboard, seta cuttinggauge to thethickness of the shoulder. pinboard linesonbothedges ona worksurface. Alsoclamponthetemplate in line andscribe shoulder ofthetailboard. face-up Makea semicircular template, usingasa guidethecontour of the withtheshoulder to keepthechiselfromstraying beyond the (above, you wasle right). head will use in step 3. With the tail board face-down, Chisel out the waste between the tails as dado (page you curve with the shoulder marks. Using a try would for standard through dovetails 120). alignthetemplate's

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r") Preparing to rabbet thepinboard L lnsLall the dadoheadon yourtable sawandadjustitswidthto slightly more thanthelength of thepins.Alsoinstall an auxiliary fenceandnotchit upto thethicknessof the pin board(pageZl). Next,set thepinboardoutside-face uponthesaw t a b l ea n dc e n t etrh ee n do f t h ep i e c e against theoutside bladeof thedadohead, usingthe mitergaugeto keepthe board p e r p e n d i c ut loatrh eb l a d eA. d j u stth e cuttingheight sothepoints where thedado heademerges fromthetablearealigned withtheedgesof theworkpiece. Thenmark reference linesonthetableinsert, using the boardedgesasa guide(right).Adjus| thefencesothattheactualcuttingwidth equals thelenghofthepins,thenlower the dadoheadbeneath thetable.

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Cutting therabbets Butttheendof thepinboardagainst the fenceandcenterits edgesbetween thereference lineson thetableinsert. Slidethemitergauge upagainst theworkp i e c et h, e nc l a m pt h eg a u g ei n p l a c e . Holding thestockfirmlyin position, turn o n t h es a wa n dr a i s et h ed a d oh e a dt o makea shallow cut in thepins(/eft).Turn thesawoff andtest{itthejoint.Makea slightly deeper cutandtestagain, continuingto cutandtestuntilthejointfits.The process is painstaking, buttheresults can bewellworthyoureffort.

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OUTLINEDTHROUGHDOVETAILJOINTS Thepins and tails of the outlined through dovetail arefranted by thin strips of wood of a contrastingcolor.

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THROUGH DOVETAIL MAKING ANOUTLINED thepinandtailboards 1 Rabbeting dovetail is likethe I Anoutlrned throush joint,except conventional thatspacemust wood-usubecreated forthecontrasting andbelow all pins allya veneer-around isfairly simple. Start andtails.Theprocess in the inside facesof bycuttingrabbets pieces bothmating of thejoint.Seta cutandscribe tinggauge tothestockthickness a s h o u l d el irn ea r o u ntdh ee n d so f t h e boards. Thenrnstall a dadoheadonyour tablesawandadjustitswidthsothatit widerthanthestockthickness. is slightly Alsoinstall andnotchanauxiliary fence (page71),andadjustit sothatthewidth Raise of cutequals thestockthickness. to thethickness of the thecuttingheight veneer. Makea testcutona scrapboard a n da d j u stth ec u t t i n gh e r g hut n t rtl h e in therabbet. Thencut veneer fitsperfectly rabbets at bothendsof yourstock,feeding eachboardwiththe milergauge(right).

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DOVETAIL AND BOX IOINTS

r) Gluing in theveneer L m e j o i n ti s o u t l i n eidn t w os t a g e s . T h ev e n e esrt r i p st h a tf i l l t h er a b b e t s under thepinsandtailsaregluedin before thejointiscutandassembled, asshown at right.Theveneer between thepinsand tailsis inserted afterglue-up, Foreach workpiece, cuttwostripsof veneer slightly longer andwiderthantherabbet cheek, andtwoclamping blocks withedges the samesizeasthecheek. Settheworkpiece i n s i d e - f a cuep o n a w o r ks u r f a c a en d spread a thincoating of glueonthecheek. Thenclamptheveneer in place, using the clamping blockto distribute thepressure evenly(right).Repeatat the otherend o f t h eb o a r dO. n c et h eg l u eo n a l l t h e preces hascured, cutthepinsandtails andglueupthejoints.

lnserting theveneer between thepinsandtails Secure theassembled workpiece in a vise asshown, andusea dovetail sawto cut grooves alongtheseams between thepins andtails(left).Sawsmoothly andevenly, continuin t ogt h es h o u l d el i rn e .N e x t , cuttriangular veneer splines to fit in the grooves. Spread a littlegluein thegrooves a n di n s e rtth es p l i n elso n g - e d g de own (insetO ) . n c et h eg l u eh a ss e t ,c u t a n d s a n dt h es o l i n efsl u s hw i t ht h e b o a r d s .

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HALF-BLINDDOVETAILJOINTS Half-blinddovetailsareoftenusedfor drawerfronts. Virtuallyasstrongasa throughdovetail,thehalf-blind joint featurestaik that arevisiblefrom theside,but hiddenby thedrawerfront.

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HAND-CUTTING A HALF-BtIND D()VETAIL

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thepinboard 1 Marking I Marktheoutside faceof theboard withanX.Thenadjusta cuttinggauge to thethickness of thetail boardandscribe a l i n ea c r o stsh e i n s i d ef a c eo f t h ep i n board to marktheshoulder lineof thepins. Secure thepinboard end-up in a viseand setthecuttinggauge to aboutone-third thethickness of thepinboard andmarka lineacross theend,closer to theoutside thanthe insideface(below). Next,usea dovetail square to markthe pinson the endof the board(right).Forthe narrow pattern boardshown, followthespacing described on page118.Tof inishmarking, usea trysquare anda pencilto extend the lineson theboardenddownthe inside faceto theshoulder line.

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DOVETAILAND BOX IOINTS

r) Cutting thepins L S u r u , " o n ep i n b o a r di n a v i s ew i t ht h e o u t s i d ef a c e of the stocktowardyou,thencut downalongthe edgesof the pinswith a dovetailsaw,workingfromoneedgeof the b o a r dt o t h e o t h e r .H o l dt h e b o a r ds t e a d ya n d a l i g nt h e sawbladejust to the wastesideof the cuttinglines(/eft). the cutsto the shoulUsesmooth,evenstrokes, continuing d e rl i n ea n dt h e l i n eo n t h e b o a r de n d .

Removing thewaste Q r . J L a yt h e p i n b o a r di n s i d e - f a cuep o n a w o r ks u r f a c ea n d c l a m pa g u i d eb l o c ka l o n gt h e w a s t es i d eo f t h e s h o u l d elri n e . U s ea c h i s e tl h a t i s n o w i d e rt h a nt h e n a r r o w e spta r to f t h e wastearea,Startingat oneedgeof the stock,holdthe flat side . t t ht h e c h i s e p l erpeno f t h e c h i s eal g a i n stth e g u i d eb l o c k W mald i c u l atro t h e b o a r df a c e ,s t r i k et h e h a n d l ew i t ha w o o d e n . h e nh o l dt h e l e t ,m a k i n ga % - i n c h - d e ec p u t i n t ot h e w a s t eT chiselbevel-uo andsouareto the boardendaboutX inchbelow . ontinue t h et o p s u r f a c ae n dp e e la w a ya t h i n l a y e or f w a s t eC u n t i ly o ur e a c ht h e s c r i b e dl i n eo n t h e b o a r de n d ,t h e np a r e waste.Repeat the process withthe remainawayanyremaining i n gw a s t es e c t i o n s( b e l o w )F. i n i s ht h e j o i n t b y m a r k i n ga n d cuttingthe tailsas youwouldfor a throughdovetailjoint (page 1 2 1 ) .V ' ' l h em n a r k i n gr ,e m e m b et hr a tt h et a i l so f t h i sj o i n tw i l l theyextend be shallower thanthoseof a throughjoint because o n l yt o t h e b o t t o mo f t h e b l i n dp i n s .

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BOXIOTNTS Originally developedfor mass-produced carcaseslike packing cratesand jewelry boxes,the boxjoint now lendsstrengthand a traditional look to modern furniture.

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CUTTING A BOXJOINT ONTHETABTE SAW thejig 1 Making I Thenotches fora boxjointarecutone afteranother onthetablesawusinga dado headanda simplejig madefromanextensionboardclamped to the mitergauge. Firstadjustthewidthof thedadohead sothatthepinsandnotches ontheedges o f t h e o i e c ew s i l la l l b et h es a m es i z e . Makethecuttingheight equalto thestock thickness, clamotheextension ontothe mitergauge, andfeedit intothedadohead to cuta notch.Slidetheextension along the mitergaugesothegapbetween the notchandthedadoheadis equalto the notchwidth,thenscrewtheextension to thegauge.Feedthe extension intothe blades to cut a second notch(rght).Then, inserta tight-f ittingwooden keyin the firstnotchso it projects at least1 inch fromtheextension.

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DOVETAILAND BOX IOINTS

in thefirstboard thenotches Cutting Butt the edgeof the boardagainstthe keyand holdits faceflat againstthe extensionT . u r no n t h e s a wa n df e e dt h e p i e c e i n t ot h e d a d oh e a d ,h o o k i n ygo u rt h u m b s a r o u n dt h e e x t e n s i otno s t e a d yt h e p i e c e duringthe cut (ilghil.Then lift the workp i e c ec l e a ro f t h e d a d oh e a da n d r e t u r n t h e m i t e rg a u g et o t h e f r o n to f t h e t a b l e . F i t t h e n o t c hy o uj u s tc u t o v e rt h e k e ya n d m a k et h e s e c o n dc u t . C o n t i n u ceu t t i n g n o t c h e si n t h i s m a n n e ur n t i ly o ur e a c ht h e o p p o s i t sei d eo f t h e w o r k P i e c e .

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in the matingboard the notches Q Cutting . J f i t t h e f i n a ln o t c hv o uc u t i n t h e f i r s t pieceoverthe key,ttrennutt oneedgeof t h e m a t i n gb o a r da g a i n stth e f i r s t b o a r d . H o l d i n gb o t hb o a r d sf i r m l ya g a i n stth e f e, e dt h e m a t i n gp i e c ei n t ot h e extension dadohead(/eff).Continuecuttingnotches i n t h e m a t i n gb o a r df o l l o w i n tgh e s a m e Drocedure vou usedon the first board.

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FINGERJOINTS

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An attractiveandsolidvariationof theboxjoint, thefingerjoint derivesitsstrengthfrom the Iargegluingareaprovidedby itsnumerousinterwovenfingersand notches. It is mostoftenused to assemble drawersand smallcarcases.

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A FINGER JOINT ONTHERADIAT ARMSAW

Fence

andsetting upthejig 1 Making jig I The shownabovemakescuttingaccurate f ingerjoints on theradialarmsawan easytask.Cutthetableandfence from%-inchplywood, andthe legsfromsolidwood.Referto theillustration forsuggested dimensions. Cuta 3-inch-by-25inchcornersection fromoneendof thefenceusinga bandor sabersaw;thecutoutwill provide clearance forthe motorand

bladeguardwhenthejig is installed on the radialarmsaw. Fasten the legsto the underside of thetablewithcountersunk screws. Toassemble thejig,slipthefenceintoits slotin the sawtable,thenposition the leftedgeof thejig tableagainst therightedgeof thefence'scutout,andscrewthetwopieces of plywood together.

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DOVETAILAND BOX TOINTS

r) Cutting thefirstnotch L t , l t t h e s a wb l a d et o t h e h o r i z o n t a l position, on edge thenset bothworkpieces . h ed e p t ho f t h ef i n a g a i n st th e j i g f e n c eT g e r sa n d n o t c h ew s i l l b e t h e t h i c k n e sosf the stock;setthe depthof cut by extendi n gt h e b o a r d so v e rt h e e d g eo f t h e b l a d e b y t h e p r o p ear m o u n tT. h e ns l i pa s h i m asthe sawblade that isthe samethickness that restsagainstthe underthe workpiece f e n c e .C l a m pt h e b o a r d st o t h e f e n c e , e o o dp a d sa n d m a k i n g u s i n gp r o t e c t i vw s u r et h e b o a r de n d sa r ea l i g n e dI.n s t a lal h a n d s c r eown t h e s a wa r mt o s t o pb l a d e t r a v e la s s o o na s e a c hc u t i s c o m p l e t e d . F n rt h e f i r s ic r r t a d i r r stth e b l a d et o t h e l s t h e s h i m .T h e n ,w i t ht h e s a m el e v e a b l a d eg u a r dc o v e r i nags m u c ho f t h e b l a d e t h ec u t a s p o s s i b l ep,u l lt h e b l a d et h r o u g h (right).Returnthe bladebehindthe fence a n dt u r no f f t h e s a w .

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Cutting theremaining notches andfingers

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F o re a c ho f t h e r e m a i n i ncgu t s ,r a i s et h e b l a d eb y a n a m o u n te q u a lt o t w i c et h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e s h i m .R e f e tro y o u rs a w ' s m a n u atlo c a l c u l a tteh e n u m b eor f t u r n s n f t h e n e d e s t acl r a n kt h a t w i l l a c c o m n l i s ht hi s I l s ev n r r l e f th a n dt o f e e dt h e y o u rr i g h th a n df r e et o b l a d e ,l e a v i n g a d j u s t h e b l a d eh e i g h tb; e s u r et o s l i d e t h e b l a d eb e h i n dt h e f e n c eb e f o r er a i s i n g t h ec u t t i n gh e i g h tC. o n t i n uien t h i sm a n n e r u n t i la l l t h e n o t c h e sa n d f i n g e r sh a v e beencut (/eff).

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Japanese marking knife

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n t i l t h c g r e ast a i l i n sg h i p se s t a b lishecl traderoutesbetrvcen Europre a n dt h eC ) r i e ni tn t h e 1 5 0 0 st h , ct r r c r arcas werelarselvisolatecl fl'onreachothcr,andtheirlvooclu,urking traclitions developed separatelu ln the\\rest,the evolution of l,oocljoinert,catr betracecl throLrgh thehistor,v of firrniturestvles. joint,tbr examThehalf:blindclovetail ple,u,asbornliul a needto stlengthen a clrlrver rvhilehidinstheconncction. joincrv,on the otherhancl, )apanese

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()FJAPANESE A SELECTI()N W()()DW()RKING T()()LS l a n a r e cleo n' d i f f e '{ r o l I t e r W e s t e r n c o , r n t e r n a irri sh o t hs r h L l a e n do b vo u s w a y sA . J a p a n e sm e o r t i s eg a u g ew o r k s m u c h k e t s W e s t e renq u i v a l e net x, c e p t t h a t t i s f t t e dw t h s m a l b l a d e si n s t e a d o f p i n s .A n d ,t h ew r d t ho f a m o r t r s ress e t b y a d l u s tn g t h e g a p b e t w e etnh e t w o b e a n s .r a L l - et hr a r b y n o v r n gt r e s t o c k i n r e i a t i otno t h e b l a d e s . L i k eW e s t e r n - s t yc lhei s e l st ,h e . J a p a r e :vee r s , o nasr ed e : i g r e df o r s p e c f i c p u r p o s e sT:h e p u s hc h r s ehl a sa t r i a n g u l abri a d ef o r c e a n i n gu p d o v e t a t l l o i n tp i n sa n dt a i l s t; h e m o r ts e c h i s e f e a t u r eas t h i c k ,s q u a r eb l a d ew t h s r g h t l y c o n c a vsei d e st o r e d u c e f r r c to n ;a n d t h e c o r n e cr h s e l i s u s e dt o s q u a r el a r g e m o r t i s e sB. u t a J a p a n e scehi s e m a d e w r t ha s t e e l - h o o p ehda n dl e s s t r o n g e n o u g ht o w i t h s t a n b d e i n gs t r u c kb y a s t e eh l ammer. Jaoanese a w sa rd o a r e sd e p a . t ' . o n W e s t e r dn e s i g na l t o g e t h ebre c a u steh e y c u t o n t h ep u l ls t r o k er ,a t h etrh a nt h ep u s h s t r o k eT. h er y o b ai s a c o m b i n a t i osna w , w i t h r p t e e t ho n o n ee d g ea n dc r o s s c L r t t e e t ho n t h e o t h e r T . h ed o z u k iw . ith

s r g h t l sy e tt e e t h i. s u s e dr r j o i l e r yd 1 d ' r r e b e n c hw o r k .I n e ' l L , s h - c u t i iknugg i h i k ri s u s e df o rd e l i c a tcel e a n u w p o r k .1 t h a sa f l e x i b l b e l a d ef o rt r i m m i n tge n o n s o r d o w e lw s i t h o um t a r k i ntgh es u r r o u n d

i T ps r r r ' a , ^hep c a r . q res i e e t l 'h a v en o s e t ,T h ec h a m f e p r l a n ei n t h e p h o t of e a t u r e ss c r e wa d j u s t e fde n c e st;h e t o o l i s d e s i g n etdo s h a p et h e b e v e l em d olding c o m m o n luys e di n J a p a n e sdeo o r s .

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JAPANESE IOINERY

evolved notfromfurnituremakingbut fromthedesign andconstruction of religiousshrines In addition, andtemples. woodworker a |apanese traditionally in additionto worethehatof architect In fact.the thatofartisanandcaroenter. closest Englishequivalent of daiku,the "carwordoftentranslated as Japanese "master penter," is builder." In japan,carpentry withdeveloped in a familyguildsystemcharacterized by fiercecompetition andsecrecy. In

jointsthatfrrlfilled rialsasto thephilosophybehind additionto designing thecraft. the basicrequirements of structural In |apan,thestoneandclaynecessary for strengthand estheticharmonywith brickmaking arescarce, andtherefore the philosophical Eastern concepts, rival mason's art did not developto thelevel guildssoughtto develop increasingly it didin EuropeandChina.Ontheothjointswhoseinterlocking complex com- erhand,fapan's richvolcanic soilgrows ponents wereinvisible whenassembled. a widevarietyof trees.Theabundance Of the400jointsstill in usein Japan of species, aswellastheirwoods'structoday,manyaredescended fromthese turalresistance fostered to earthquakes, joints. secret theancienttraditionof buildingfrom joinery wood-everythingfrom slidingrice Thecomplexity of Japanese owesasmuchto nativebuildingmate- paperdoorsto Shintotemples.

A GAIIERYOFJAPAI{ESE IOINTS Divided mortiseand-tenon joint Uaed in larqe frameand-panelpieceo; tendna cui into the raila meshto4ether in a throuqh mortise in the atile Mitered-shoulder tenon joint )imilar to the divided mortise-andtenon joint, except the aurfaceoborderinq the morLioe and tenonaon one eide are beveled

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1liding dovetail joint Commonlyueedto attach le7e to raile in chair conatruction; featurea a atabiIizinqtenon

Mitered corner joint, Typicallyuaed on larqe framea: the concealed dovetail tenon and matchinqmortiae lock the ioint

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JAPANESE IOINERY

Unlike inorganicbuilding materials like brick and stone,wood retainsa warmththat servesasa reminderthat it wasoncea living thing.In lapan,craftsmenhold theviewthatwoodhasa soul, inspiringa senseofreverence that still surroundstraditionalmethodsof joineryin |apan. Forfapanese woodworkers, theirart beginswith respectfor thetools.Despite advances in technologythat havegiven themodernwoodworkerportablepow-

er toolsandstationary machines, many woodworkers rely still mainly fapanese on handtoolsthat haveremainedvirtually unchangedfor centuries(page 136).Forexample, a traditionalfapanese plane,or kanna,is a simpleaffair,having a hardwoodbody,a thick blade,and planescut on the a capiron. fapanese pull stroke,and their bladesarelaminatedwith a thin layerof high-carbon steelformingthecuttingedge,backedby a thick stripof soft,low-carbon steelto

absorbshockwhen planing knotty grain,ThebladesofJapanese chisels, or nlmi, arelaminatedlike planeblades, with a hard,hollow-groundbacksupportedby a thick,shock-absorbing top of soft steel.A fapanesesaw,or nokogiri, alsocutson the pull stroke,so its bladecan be much thinner than the WesterncounterDart and its teethcan be finelyset. Only care,diligentmaintenance, and respectfor thesetools can produce

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