This document discusses different types of wood joints used in woodworking. It describes 14 common joints: butt joint, mitered butt joint, half-lap joint, cross-lap joint, tongue and groove joint, dado joints, biscuit joint, mortise and tenon joint, rabbet joint, dovetail joint, half-blind dovetail, sliding dovetail joint, box joint, bridle joint, and finger joints. Each type of joint is designed to connect two pieces of wood in a strong way without using glue or other adhesives. Common uses for the different joints include furniture, cabinets, framing, and other woodworking projects.

1. Types of
Wood Joints

2. What is a wood joint ?
• A joint is a natural
connection where the ends
of two wooden workpieces
meet. It's designed to hold
the wooden workpieces
together, thus eliminating
the need for glue or
adhesives.

3. Common Types of Wood
Joints.

4. Butt Joint
The end of a timber board is called
the “butt.” Woodworkers forming
this joint are placing two ends
together at a right angle to create
a corner. Mechanical fasteners
such as nails or screws are
necessary to preserve this joinery.
You see this technique used most
often when building wall or attic
framing. Some picture frames,
decking, and sandboxes also use
it.

5. Mitered Butt Joint (Miter
Joint)
This joinery option connects two butts
that get cut at an angle. The
advantage of using this approach
involves the strength of the corner.
You receive a seamless look that does
not show any end grain. Uses: Since
the miter joint has minimal strength, it
is typically used for trim and molding
purposes. Depending on the purpose,
you may need to strengthen the miter
joint by adding nails. A classic example
of mitered butt joinery is the wooden
picture frames.

6. Half-Lap Joint
Woodworkers use this joint to join
two boards together to create a
flush surface. It happens most
often when a connection is
needed in the middle of the
timber, although corner
connections are also possible.

7. Cross-Lap Joinery
If the wood joint forms in the
middle of both boards, it is called
a cross lap joint instead. You see
this woodworking joint used for
framing and cabinetry quite often.
A bird's mouth joint is a common
variation used when the
connection must be at an angle.

8. Tongue and Groove Joint
Carpenters join two flat boards
together to create a larger
wooden panel using this option.
One has a long edge carved at the
edge, while the other has a groove
cut in to receive the board
extension. It can stay secure glue
or fasteners for flooring, furniture,
and similar applications.

9. Dado Joints
The dado joinery method is similar to a
tongue and groove joint. The only
difference is that the dado is cut
across the woodgrain whereas a
groove is cut in the grain direction
which is usually along the length of the
board. Moreover, there is no tongue
carved on the edges, instead, the
groove is cut wider to accept the
thickness of the mating piece.
Furniture makers and woodworkers
typically use it for plywood,
fiberboard, or other pressed products.
Builder’s grade cabinets often use this
technique to create a resilient product.

10. Biscuit Joint
Woodworkers use this technique
to create a more robust version of
the butt joint using tongue and
groove principles. Both ends of
the timber get a slot cut into them
to hold a small wafer that acts as a
connection. When the glue gets
added to the insert, it starts
swelling until the entire carved-
out area gets filled. Most
tabletops and wooden counters
use the biscuit joinery method to
create a more reliable joint
suitable for daily use.

11. Mortise and Tenon Joint
This woodworking joint was one of the
first methods invented for construction.
Mortise and Tenon joinery continues to
be one of the strongest wood joints to
use for framing and building. It requires
precise measuring and craftsmanship to
complete. The joint typically requires a
90-degree connection to be useful.
Uses: This type of wood joint is often
used in furniture making and crafts. Your
table legs are most probably joined by a
stopped mortise and tenon joint and the
chair legs are often attached with the
help of angle mortise.

12. Rabbet Joint
Woodworkers form this joint by
forming a recess into the edge of
the timber. It looks like the
protruding edge from a tongue
and groove joint, except it only has
one side cut from it instead of
two. While the rabbet joinery is a
simple wood joint, it is much
stronger than the butt joint. This
technique allows a flat piece, such
as the back of a cabinet, to sit
flush with both sides for a
seamless finish. You also see this
joint used in doors

13. Dovetail Joint
Woodworkers use this option to
add strength to a corner. It uses
interlock joinery of a series of pins
and tails to create a resilient edge
that can be used for furniture,
cabinetry, and framing.

14. Half-Blind Dovetail
Most drawers use this joint design
because it features a trapezoid
design for the pins that fit
together at the end of the timber.
Woodworkers use it to avoid
having the connection visible from
the front of the piece without
compromising their work’s
strength.

15. Sliding Dovetail Joint
Yet another variation of dovetail
joinery is the sliding dovetail joint,
which works like a tongue and
groove while using the dovetail
technique. As you can see in the
image, here the dovetail slot is
machined in the face of the board
while the pin profile is cut at the
end of the matching piece.

16. Box Joint
This joint works at the end of two timber
pieces to build a seamless right angle.
You carve out a series of symmetrical
slots to form rectangular projections
called fingers. Once you glue the
connection, the fingers get inserted to
create a permanent bond that results in
a solid corner. Box joinery is an effective
alternative to dovetail joints. The dovetail
joinery works best on hardwood and it
requires a complex machining process.
On the other hand, box joinery is easy to
create and works on most types of wood
including plywood. You can easily cut the
fingers of the box joint on a table saw
with a set of dado blades.

17. Bridle Joint
This approach uses a modified version
of the mortise and tenon joint. Instead
of cutting a square piece to form a
corner, woodworkers create a lengthy
edge that fits into a grooved receptacle.
It creates a right angle through this
connection with three adequate
surfaces that hold adhesive for added
strength. When you add rails to the
modern bed frame with a headboard
and footboard, the most common
connection is a bridle joint. You can find
several variations of this technique
including t-bridle, mitered bridle, and
double bridle joints which is commonly
used in canvas stretcher bars.

18. Finger Joints
This type of wood joinery technique
is mainly used to join two pieces of
wood to make a longer board. A
lengthening joint usually has a larger
gluing surface between the joined
pieces. First, you have to cut fingers
similar to a box joint, but deeper. In
the case of a box joint, you join two
pieces of wood at 90 degrees to
achieve a solid corner. Here you lay
the mating wood pieces flat and
assemble them with a thin layer of
wood glue between the fingers.