The Dovetail Joint
: THE DOVETAIL JOINTNothing definite is known as to the origin of dovetailing, but a quaint and pleasing little story which is well worth repeating runs as follows: A farmer had called in the local "joyner" to do sundry repairs at the homestead. One day, whilst enjoying a humble meal, he sat watching some doves as they hopped about the yard. Struck by the movement of their wedge-shaped tails, it occurred to him to joint his timber by the interlocking method; hence we have dovetails.
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 Fig. 267.—A Single Through Dovetail. |  Fig. 268.—Through Dovetails on Carcase Work (P, Pins; T, Tails). |
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Roof Joints
shows the method of tenoning the principal rafter to the king post, whilst illustrates the tenoning of the struts to the king post, and the king post to the tie beam. Both these examples are used in roof work. (See also .)</p> <div> <img src="/imag... Sash Bars
shows how to tenon a moulded sash bar to the rebated cross rail. In this illustration both shoulders of the moulded bar are shown square, but in the best class work these shoulders may be slightly housed into the cross rail to prevent side play. Th... Saw Work
Take a marking awl, or a knitting needle which has had its end sharpened, and mark the lines of the dovetail in a similar manner to that shown at . Remove the piece A, , and the lower piece shown at will clearly show the marks <em>aa</em> as they a... Sawing
Lay the work on the cutting board as at ; or, if you prefer, put the work in the vice. Carefully saw down the work until you <em>just touch</em> the gauge line. Do not press heavily with the saw; use it lightly; the weight of the back iron which is fi... Sawing
The wood should be put in the vice as . Taking up a saw, with the index finger on the side of the handle, commence sawing, and proceed until you come to the position indicated by the dotted hand and saw A; this will leave a saw kerf or cut running di... Sawing Block
For sawing mouldings, etc., to their approximate shape, a home-made sawing block is generally used, as shown at . Two pieces of wood are glued one on the top of the other, the required angle is transferred thereto, and the saw kerf made. In the sket... Sawing For The Recess
After marking out for the hinge, as shown at , take a fine-toothed saw (a dovetail saw is considered the best) and saw down as shown at , care being taken not to cut beyond the gauge lines. In this sketch three intermediate saw kerfs are shown, but ... Sawing The Dovetails
After marking out the pins on the drawer sides, we proceed with the next operation, that is, sawing the dovetails ready for chopping out the waste material. The drawer side is taken and firmly secured in the bench screw and sawn as at ; it is most i... Second Stage
In the remaining part of the work the chief difficulty is to keep the puzzle from falling to pieces before the key finally locks it. Take the longer cross parts, , and clasp one to each arm. The six need not all be put on meanwhile, but only those w... Setting Out And Marking
It is a safe rule, when setting out a bridle joint, to divide the thickness of the timber into three equal parts. This will leave the timber on each side of the tongue equal to the thickness of the tongue, thus giving uniform strength to the joint. ... Setting Out The Halved Joint
Although at first sight the halved joint may appear to be a very easy item of construction, it requires much care and attention in marking out and sawing. shows the two pieces which form the joint separated, and it will be noticed that each piece o... Setting Out The Joint
The principal use of the mortise and tenon joint is in the construction of various types of framing, such as door and window frames. In one or other of its many and varied forms it may be classed as the most important joint in the general woodworking ... Setting Out The Joint
For constructing a dovetail joint at the corner of a frame, as , it is necessary at the outset to trim up the ends of the timber square and true. This may be accomplished by neatly sawing to the line and paring the end of the wood with a sharp chisel... Shutting Joints
<p>This chapter deals with the joint made by the upright rail of a door frame which carries the lock, or handle, generally called the "slamming stile." Many and varied are the methods used to make a draught and air-tight joint at the meetin... Sideboard Pillars Etc
For economy, sideboard pillars are sometimes built up as indicated, the "shaft," the "base," and the "swell" being made up of three distinct pieces. Turned pins are left on the shaft and the base, and these are secured at the joint by the use of a d... Sprocket Wheel
At are shown the guide bar and chain of a chain-mortising machine, two enlarged links of the chain being indicated at A. The chain is similar in construction to the driving chain of a bicycle, with the exception that it is provided with teeth which... Squaring
Another important point to remember is that the drawer sides must be true and squared to an exact length and planed up to thickness; otherwise the finished drawer will be in winding and out of truth.</p> <p>To true and square the ends of drawer side... Stopped Hinged Joints For Box Work
is a section through a small box similar to a lady's work-box (the back of the box in the illustration is enlarged in thickness to clearly show the position of the hinge). In this case the knuckle of the hinge is let into the woodwork until it is f... Supporting The Joint
The jointed boards should not be reared up against a "bench leg" or wall without having any support in the centre, as dotted line at , because in all probability they will fracture before the glue has time to set; and, when we go to take th... Table Framing
indicates the framing of a rail to a dining-table leg. In cases similar to this the tenons run into the leg and almost touch each other. They are therefore mitred on the end as shown in the inset. Chair frames often call for similar treatment.</p> <... Tenon With Tongued And Grooved Shoulders
The object of the tongues and grooves here is to prevent the face of the work casting, or becoming warped, and thus spoiling the appearance of the surface of the work. If framing is to be veneered on the face side this is an exceptionally good metho... The Bridle Joint
<p>A bridle joint is often defined as the reverse of a mortise and tenon, and is chiefly used in the carpentry and joinery trades. The name probably originated from the fact that it bears some resemblance to the manner in which a bit slips into the... The Dovetail Joint
<p>Nothing definite is known as to the origin of dovetailing, but a quaint and pleasing little story which is well worth repeating runs as follows: A farmer had called in the local "joyner" to do sundry repairs at the homestead. One day, whilst enjo... The Dowelling Joint
<p>Dowelling is the term generally given to the method of jointing timber and other materials by wooden or metal pegs, which are called dowels. For cabinet-making and similar work straight-grained beechwood dowels are mostly used; these may be bough... The Glued Joint
<p>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 sli... The Halved Joint
<p>T he halved joint is frequently known as half-lapping, and sometimes as checking and half-checking. In the majority of cases it is made by halving the two pieces, <em>i.e.</em>, by cutting half the depth of the wood away. There are, however, excep... The Hinged Joint
<p>One of the most common forms of hinged joint in use to-day is that formed by using the "butt" hinge, and many troubles experienced by the amateur, such as "hinge-bound," "stop-bound," and "screw-bound" doors... The Key Piece
When the writer fits up the puzzle he finds that three of the arms may straight away be fitted complete with their three cross parts. These are the ones where the longer cross piece <em>lies flush with the back of the central bar</em> . This is eas... The Mitred Joint
<p>Although mitreing is used in everyday woodwork, it comes last in our list of regular joints simply because it has been partly dealt with in almost every previous chapter. For example, we have mitre halving in , a mitre bridle joint in , a tongue... The Mortise And Tenon Joint
<p>A mortise and tenon joint is the method of joining timber by working a solid rectangular projection in the one piece and cutting a corresponding cavity to receive it in the adjoining piece. The projection is called the tenon, and the cavity the ... The Scarf Joint
<p>The method known as "scarfing" is used for the joining of timber in the direction of its length, enabling the workman to produce a joint with a smooth or flush appearance on all its faces. One of the simplest forms of scarfed joint is kn... The Tongued And Grooved Joint
<p>T he tongued and grooved joint is used in one form or another throughout the whole of the woodworking trades, covering, as it does, a great variety of work from the laying of flooring boards to the construction of dressers, bookcases and other ca... Through Dovetailing
One of the simplest forms of the dovetail joint is shown in , where two pieces of timber are joined by the method known as "through" dovetailing. This method is used in everyday practice for joining the corners of frames, bracket trusses, and a hundr... To Set Out A Curved Mitre
Draw a section of the moulding full size, A, as shown at the left hand of the illustration, and project lines round the framing, as shown V, W, X, Y and Z. Where the lines V, W, X, Y and Z intersect at the corner D, it clearly shows that a straight ... Tongueing
The grooves having been completed, the tongues have to be made. shows a sketch of a board and the method of marking out cross tongues (A) and feather tongues (B). The usual procedure for making cross tongues is to plane the end of the board and use... Tongueing Planes
shows the end view of a tongueing plane for working matched joints out of the solid. The method of holding and using the plane is similar to the directions given for using the plough. The part lettered F (in front) represents the fence, which in thi... Top Rails
At is shown the method of joining the top rails to the post of a tool shed or similar outhouse. The two rails, which are at right angles to each other, are half-lapped and mortised; the tenon on the post runs entirely through them.</p> <p><strong>A ... Twin Tenons
The method of tenoning the bearers which carry the drawers, or the midfeather between two drawers, in a dressing table or similar carcase is here shown. On completion, the tenons on the midfeather are wedged diagonally.</p> <table summary="" border=... Types Of Hinges
is an elongated variety of the butt hinge, known in the trade as "strap hinge," "desk hinge," or "bagatelle hinge." As its name indicates, it is used on folding bagatelle tables, small writing desks, and other types of ... Undoing The Puzzle
To take the puzzle to pieces all that is required is to turn the "key" half round and push the other two cross bars on that arm towards the outer point. The cross bars below may then be removed, and the whole structure falls to pieces.</p> <p><stron... Veneer Keying
illustrates the method of strengthening the corners of boxes which are made of 1⁄4-in. or 3⁄8-in. timber, by securing the corners with veneer keys. The box is mitred and glued in the usual manner, and after allowing sufficient time for t... Wall Plugs
At four types of wall plugs are shown: <em>a</em>, the ordinary rectangular tapered wall plug to drive between the joints of the brickwork; <em>b</em>, the circular tapered wall plug as used to plug a wall after a star-shaped brick drill has been us... Wedges
shows the method of cutting wedges which are to be used to wedge the tenons; this avoids waste of material. Some workers cut the wedges from the pieces left out of the haunching of the lock rail, or the bottom rail.</p> <table summary="" border="0" ...