Dovetail Keying
: THE DOVETAIL JOINTis a method used to prevent wide boards such as signboards, wide and shaped pediments, etc., from casting or warping. It is called dovetail keying. Beyond calling attention to the fact that the angles at the edges of the keys, where they are bevelled, should be at or about 75 degrees, nothing further need be said, as the drawing is self-explanatory. Angle dovetail keying is shown at .
 Fig. 290.—Dovetail Key. |  Fig. 291.—Dovetail Keying on the Angle. |
Fig. 292.—Bow-fronted Door Dovetailed Edgeways. 
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Angles
A most important point in the construction of a dovetail is to avoid having the angles of the pins and tails too acute. An inclination of one in eight is considered correct; no hard and fast rule need be obeyed, but the variation should on no account... Applications Of The Joint
is a sketch of a portion of a sideboard top, showing the plough groove ready worked out to receive the tongue; the other half of the top is treated in a similar manner. It will be noticed that the groove is not worked through the full length of the... Barefaced Tenons
illustrates the joint in its simplest form and shows a tenon having only one shoulder. This is called a barefaced tenon, and it will be noticed that the portion which carries the mortise is thicker than the rail on which the tenon is cut. The joint ... Birdsmouth Joints
is a "birdsmouth joint," a simple joint which can be readily made by the handsaw, used when a spar fits on the wall plate. A nail is shown securing it in position.</p> <p> shows the birdsmouth joint where the spar runs over the <em>outside</em> of ... Blind Lap-dovetailing
At is shown a type of blind lap-dovetailing. This makes a good, sound joint, but it has the disadvantage of showing a small portion of the timber of the front rail end-way of the grain. Joints of this kind are used for cornices, boxes, etc., and al... Boring Away Waste
Examine ; the shaded portion in the centre has to be cut away, and it will greatly facilitate the removal of this waste piece by boring a hole with a twist bit at the position shown. The twist bit should be about 1⁄8 in. less in diameter than ... Buttoning
The tops of tables, sideboards, etc., should not be fixed with screws in the ordinary way. At the front, screws can be driven upwards through the top rail, but at the sides and back, buttons should be employed, as in , so that the top is free to shr... Cabinet-work Joints
With regard to tongued and grooved joints which apply more particularly to the jointing of cabinet work, is produced by planes which are specially made for the purpose. One plane makes the tongue and another the groove. The handiest sizes to buy a... Centre Or Pivot Hinges
is a centre or pivot hinge, used on the top and bottom of wardrobe doors, more particularly the interior door of a three-winged wardrobe where the method of fixing is confined to the cornice and plinth. The flange carrying the pins or pivot is let ... Chinese Cross
shows a variation of the Chinese cross, which is perhaps the most fascinating of all woodwork puzzles. Take six pieces of hardwood and accurately plane and saw them so that each piece will measure 4 ins. by 1 in. by 1 in. Bearing in mind that all t... Chinese Puzzle
The ingenious puzzle of the Chinese type shown in is probably older than many of us could guess, but as it is one that can be made by any woodworker we give full directions as to how it may be constructed. The complete article may be called, in for... Chisel Work
After marking out, as shown at , place the wood on the bench and proceed to chop away the centre portion in the following manner. Hold the chisel on the bevel and cut out a small piece to form a channel at the gauge line. Now hold the chisel in a ver... Chiselling Away Waste
Fix your wood firmly in any suitable manner, vice or otherwise, and, holding your chisel tilted as at , pare away the blacked portion 1; then pare away the blacked portion 2; after which hold the chisel flat and by gradual operations pare away the do... Clamping
shows the method of tenoning drawing boards, desk tops and secretaire falls. This is commonly called clamping. The method is used to prevent wide surfaces from winding. A variation of the joint is shown at the left-hand side, the corners in this exa... Close Joint Hanging
The method known as "close joint hanging" ensures the joint at the hanging stile being in close proximity to the hanging rail; this is shown at . The first member of the architrave moulding is generally a bead of the same diameter as the k... Corner Joints
shows both a single loose tongue and a double solid tongue. Both are methods used to connect circular cornered work, such as a counter end, to the front framing.</p> <p> indicates a tongued and grooved joint suitable for edge or end jointing, such ... Corrugated Steel Fasteners
It is now many years ago since the steel saw-edge fastener first appeared on the market, but probably 80 per cent. of amateur woodworkers have never yet sampled its advantages.</p> <p>In appearance it resembles a miniature corrugated galvanised shee... Cot Joint
At is shown an interesting joint used largely in the making of Indian cots. The illustrations indicate how the cross bar and end bar are mortised into the leg. A turned hardwood peg fits into a suitably provided hole and locks the tenons, which are ... Cross Puzzle
illustrates a six-piece puzzle joint, similar in some respects to , but very much simpler. Both a back and front view of the piece D is shown for clearness of illustration. The method of assembling the pieces is as follows: Hold piece B upright, an... Curved Mitres
We now come to what are probably the most difficult of all mitres, viz., curved mitres, and the writer well remembers in his apprenticeship days his first experience of attempting to fit the mouldings around the door shown at by using straight mitr... Cutting The Shoulders
With regard to working the piece B, , place the wood against the bench stop or in the vice, and taking up a 3⁄4-in. chisel carefully cut away a small channel, as shown at ; treat the other shoulder lines in a similar manner. If the marking knif... Dovetail Grooving
<p>The dovetail housing joint should first be carefully marked out with a marking knife, so as to cut across the fibres of the wood. For obtaining the bevel on the edge of the wood a joiner's bevel may be used, and the angle should not be too acute. ... Dovetail Keying
is a method used to prevent wide boards such as signboards, wide and shaped pediments, etc., from casting or warping. It is called dovetail keying. Beyond calling attention to the fact that the angles at the edges of the keys, where they are bevelle... Dovetailed And Wedged Tenon
When two pieces such as the cross rail and leg of a carpenter's bench are required to be held together by a mortise and tenon, and to be readily taken apart, the tenon is dovetailed on one side and the mortise is made of sufficient width to permit th... Dovetailing Template
Many workers who are constantly engaged upon dovetail joints make a small wooden template, as shown at . This template is generally of hardwood, such as beech or walnut. The method of obtaining the correct angles of such a template has already been ... Draught Screens
illustrates the end elevation and plan of a draught screen which is constructed of a light framework and covered with baize or American cloth. The reversible double-folding hinge would answer admirably for such a screen. Cases occur, however, where... Drawbore Pinning
At is seen the method of securing a tenon by drawbore pinning, employed when it is not convenient to obtain the necessary pressure by using a cramp. The joint is made in the usual manner, and a 3⁄8-in. twist bit is used to bore a hole through... Drawers
When dovetailing drawers or boxes it is necessary to square up the ends of all the stock and gauge them, as shown at . This illustration shows how to gauge the lines on a drawer side; the dovetailed joint in this case, however, does not run through ... Dreadnought File
At is a sketch of a portion of a dreadnought file. This has superseded the old-fashioned home-made float used to clean out the sides of a mortise.</p> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="95%"> <tbody> <tr> ... Fall Fronts
is a sectional view of a fall front writing bureau fitted with centre or pivot hinges and arranged so that the edges form a stop when the desk front is turned to a horizontal position. The position for the fitting of the brass plates carrying the pi... Finding The Angle
For straight mitres, the mitre joint line is found by bisecting the angle, as shown in the various examples, and the following instructions are given to enable the reader to follow the diagram . Take a pair of compasses, or dividers, and with any con... Finger Joint Hinge
is a finger joint—a movable interlocking joint used to support the leaf of a Pembroke table. The small portion is screwed to the table rail and the shaped bracket swings out to support the drop leaf. The shaded portion of the bracket shows th... First Stage
First take the bars X and Y and arrange them as shown in . It is most important that the projections <em>a</em> of X face upwards, and that the projections <em>a</em> of Y face towards the centre. Then take the bar Z and bring it flat into the slot ... Fitting The Puzzle
The three central bars must first be joined, as those form the skeleton framework of the structure. shows them in position, but as it is a puzzle in itself as to how they can be got thus some explanation is necessary.</p> <table summary="" border="... Fly Rail
is a sketch of a small table with the top removed. A revolving fly rail is shown pivoted upon a piece of 1⁄4-in. wire. The object of this fly rail is to form a support to the small hinged drop-leaf of the table. This method is suitable for sma... Fox Wedged Tenon
This is the method of securing a stub tenon by small wedges. The mortise is slightly dovetailed and two saw cuts are made in the tenon about 3⁄16 in. from each side. Into each saw kerf a wedge is inserted and the joint glued up. The cramping o... Frame Dovetails
is a sketch of a constructional frame such as is used for building up a cornice or plinth. At the joint marked A an edge barefaced dovetail is shown. From the separated sketches of the joint (B) it will be seen that the dovetail can be put together ... Frame Dowelling
shows one corner of a frame with long and short shoulders, such as occurs when the upright is rebated through its entire length. The holes in both pieces are bored for the dowels before they are rebated. This avoids any difficulty in endeavouring t... Frames For Oil Paintings
The method of making joints for frames on which the canvas is stretched for oil paintings is shown at . They are generally mitred at the corners and fitted with loose wedges. The four parts of the frame can be held temporarily by a piece of thin boa... Gauging
After squaring all the shoulder lines round the timber with the knife and try square, the mortise gauge should be set so as to strike the two gauge lines marked G, , at one operation. If the worker does not possess a mortise gauge the lines may be m... Gauging
is a sketch of a brass butt hinge, open. illustrates a similar hinge closed, and shows the gauge set so that the point of the marker is exactly to the centre of the pivot-pin. This distance we will call C. Now turn to . The distance C has been gau... Gauging
After squaring up the timber accurate gauging of the ends is another important point. The gauge used should be a cutting gauge, so that the line is incised about 1⁄32 in. in depth, thus effectually cutting the cross fibres of the timber.</p> <... General Rule
In practically all cases where a single tenon is used the thickness of the tenon should be one-third the thickness of the timber. This leaves the timber at each side of the mortise the same strength as the tenon.</p> <p>Mortise and tenon joints for ... 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 hardwoods like teak and rosewood. The glue used f...