Woodwork Joints

Woodwork Joints, by William
Fairham

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Title: Woodwork Joints How they are Set Out, How Made and Where
Used.
Author: William Fairham
Release Date: May 19, 2007 [EBook #21531]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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WOODWORK JOINTS ***

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Transcriber's Notes:
The Table of Contents has been changed to match the actual chapter

headings. A few hyphenations have been changed to make them
consistent. Minor typographic errors have been corrected.

WOODWORK JOINTS
(THE WOODWORKER SERIES)

REVISED EDITION

WOODWORK JOINTS
HOW THEY ARE SET OUT, HOW MADE AND WHERE USED;
WITH FOUR HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS AND INDEX
REVISED EDITION
LONDON EVANS BROTHERS, LIMITED MONTAGUE HOUSE,
RUSSELL SQUARE, W.C.1

THE WOODWORKER SERIES
WOODWORK JOINTS. CABINET CONSTRUCTION. STAINING
AND POLISHING. WOODWORK TOOLS. PRACTICAL
UPHOLSTERY. WOOD TURNING. WOODCARVING. TIMBERS
FOR WOODWORK. FURNITURE REPAIRING AND
RE-UPHOLSTERY. HOUSEHOLD REPAIRS AND
RENOVATIONS. CARPENTRY FOR BEGINNERS. KITCHEN
FURNITURE DESIGNS. BUREAU AND BOOKCASE DESIGNS.
LIGHT CARPENTRY DESIGNS. DOORMAKING.
EVANS BROTHERS, LIMITED, MONTAGUE HOUSE, RUSSELL
SQUARE, LONDON, W.C.1.

EDITORIAL FOREWORD
To be successful in woodwork construction the possession of two
secrets is essential--to know the right joint to use, and to know how to
make that joint in the right way. The woodwork structure or the piece
of cabinet-work that endures is the one on which skilful hands have
combined to carry out what the constructive mind planned. And it is
just here that the present Volume will help, not alone the beginner who
wishes preliminary instruction, but also the expert who desires
guidance over ground hitherto unexplored by him.
In the preparation of this new edition the Publishers have secured the
services of Mr. William Fairham, by whom the chapters have been
carefully revised and re-illustrated. Although intended for the practical
man, and not professing to be a graded course of "educational
woodwork," the Volume is one which Handicraft Instructors will find
of the greatest value in conducting woodwork classes. No book hitherto
published contains such a variety of illustrations of joints, almost all of
which will form suitable exercises of practical educational importance
in a woodworking course.
J. C. S. B.

[Illustration: Old Oak Chests, showing the Method of Structure which
forms the origin of most of our English Furniture. (From The
Woodworker, January, 1927.)]

CONTENTS
PAGE
THE GLUED JOINT 1
THE HALVED JOINT 13

THE BRIDLE JOINT 35
THE TONGUED AND GROOVED JOINT 48
THE MORTISE AND TENON JOINT 64
THE DOWELLING JOINT 93
THE SCARF JOINT 103
THE HINGED JOINT 109
SHUTTING JOINTS 127
THE DOVETAIL JOINT 132
DOVETAIL GROOVING 160
THE MITRED JOINT 163
JOINTS FOR CURVED WORK 172
MISCELLANEOUS JOINTS 176
PUZZLE JOINTS 189
INDEX 209

[Illustration: Staircase of the Second Half of Seventeenth Century.
(From The Woodworker, September, 1929.)]

THE GLUED JOINT
The glued joint in its various forms is in use in every country in the
world, and is frequently met with in mummy cases and other examples
of ancient woodwork. Alternative names under which it is known are

the butt joint, the rubbed joint, the slipped joint, whilst in certain
localities it is known as the slaped (pronounced slayped) joint.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Simplest Form of Glued or Rubbed Joint.]
The glued joint is made by planing two pieces of timber so that when
placed together they are in contact with each other at every point; they
are then usually united with glue. Fig. 1 shows a sketch of a butt joint
in its simplest form. In Fig. 2 is indicated the method of holding the
joint whilst being glued; the upright portion is held rigid in the bench
vice, thus leaving the left hand to hold the piece which is to be jointed,
whilst the right hand operates the glue brush. The pieces of wood
which form a butt joint may be glued together with or without the aid
of cramps or artificial pressure. If the joint is to be made without
cramping, the two surfaces of the timber are warmed so as not to chill
the glue. The surfaces are then glued and put together and rubbed
backwards and forwards so as to get rid of the superfluous glue. They
are then put aside to dry.
GLUEING.--The better the glue penetrates into the pores of the wood,
the stronger the joint will be; for this reason timber of the loose-fibred
variety, such as pine, etc., will hold up at the joint better than