Carpentry Reviewer:

The Different Types of Wood Joints (Named & Explained)

1 – Butt Joint

A butt joint is when you connected two squared-off pieces of wood, whether that be face to
face, edge to edge, or at a corner. We’ve kicked this list off with the butt joint as it is arguably
the simplest joint to make, requiring little in the way of shaping beyond the initial shaping cuts.
The important thing with a joint like this is to ensure that they fit together tightly. In this case,
a block plane can be used to smooth the end of the grain. Additionally, you can use either glue,
nails, screws, or dowels to secure your butt joint.

2 – Rabbet Joint

Next up is the rabbet joint (or rebate, as it is often referred to). This is a type of joint that
comes in the form of a lip or channel cut from the edge of your workpiece. A standard rabbet
joint is made when a second piece is joined to your primary piece, set against the rabbet. A
rabbet joint is most commonly used when recessing cabinet backs into the sides, or when
wanting to reduce the amount of ‘end grain’ that is visible on a corner. The rabbet joint is
significantly stronger than an average butt joint and can easily be made using two radial-arm
saw cuts (one into the face, and the other into the end grain or edge). You can also use a plow
plane or a router to cut a rabbet joint. And of course, you can use glues, nails, or screws to
fasten the rabbet joint properly.

3 – Miter Joint
As you may recognise from your mitre box or mitre gauge found on a table saw, mitre cuts are
quite simply an angle cut. Another way of looking at it is that a mitre joint is a type of butt joint
that connects the angled ends of two pieces. A classic example of this would be a picture
frame, each with four butt joints in the corners which are cut to a 45° angle. There are two
distinct advantages to using a mitre joint as opposed to a butt-corner joint:

No end grain shows (for aesthetic benefits)

Bigger surface area for glueing (for additional stability)

With regards to fastening a mitre joint, you can use glue as mentioned above, nails, screws,
dowels, and many other mechanical fasteners.

4 – Lap Joint

A lap joint is formed by joining two pieces that have had recesses cut into them:

One recess in the top of the surface of the first piece

The other recess in the lower surface of the second piece

When removing the waste material from the recess, it is most typically half the thickness of the
original stock. This means that when the lap joint is connected, the top and bottom of the joint
arc are flush with one another. You can cut lap joints using dado heads on standard circular
sawblades or radial arms, and table saws. Again, these joints can be glued or joined using other
fasteners such as dowels or wooden pins.

5 – Dado Joint

When you cut a channel or groove into a piece away from the edge, it is called a dado. If you
want to make a dado joint, you set a second piece firmly into the groove using nails, glue, or
other fasteners. You may hear some cabinetmakers differentiating between ‘groove’ and ‘dado
joints’, saying that the grooves are cut with the grain, and dados must be cut across them. In
any case, you can make these cuts using a dado head on a radial arm, or a standard table saw.
A great example of a dado joint in action is when setting bookshelves into uprights.

6 – Spline Joint

Now we have the spline joint. A spline is a thin strip of wood (most typically) that fits perfectly
into grooves on surfaces that are to be joined. For example, mitre and other joints may often
incorporate splines in them. When you have cut the surfaces to be joined to fit, you can then
use a table saw for cutting matching kerfs. When using a spline, it can add rigidity to the joint,
whilst also increasing the glueing area. Most splines are thin, so they are more commonly made
out of plywood or hardwood.

7 – Mortise and Tenon Joint

Whilst Mortise and Tenon might sound like a fancy law firm, they are two parts of a joint:

A mortise is a hole or slot into which the—

Tenon: is inserted.

Typically, mortise and tenon are straight in shape, though round tenons and mortises can be
applied as well. Whilst this type of joint is much harder to shape than the other simpler joints,
the result is a great deal more structural rigidity.

8 – Tongue and Groove Joint

Now we have the tongue and groove joint. When you buy off-the-shelf stock such as flooring,
they will be solid with ready-made tongue and groove on opposite edges. These can also be
shaped using a table or radial-arm saw.

9 – Finger joint

The finger joint (aka drawer or box joint) is the most common type of joint found in drawers.
The interlocking rectangular ‘fingers’ are cut into the end grain of drawer ends and sides. Of
course, while precise cutting is essential, a finger joint only requires simple 90° cuts which can
be made either by hand or using a router or table saw / radial arm.

10 – Dovetail Joint

Finally, we have the dovetail joint. Named after its resemblance to avian anatomy, fastening
two pieces of timber together.