Wood Joinery Exercise

Wood Joinery Exercise

 

Miter Joint –

 

Sketches:

 

 

Construction:

 

 

To start off this project we first had to measure the width of the base of the piece of wood and trace it on both pieces of the poplar.

 

 

We then had to cut a 45° angle from the corner of the wood, and cut it with the bandsaw. When using the bandsaw I tilted the platform to a 45° angle and lined it up to the traced lines I drew on the piece of wood.

 

 

 

 

We then marked and drilled holes into the miter joint, as a base for the nails we were going to put in. After putting nails into the joint, we used a nail setter to hide the nails deeper inside the pieces of wood.

 

 

To both learn about and secure the joint even more, we used the nail gun on the joint, which was so much faster and easier than I expected. And when using the nail gun it already sets itself inside the wood! Because joints that have screws or nails showing are considered “ugly”.

 

Concluding product:

 

 

 

Although my cuts and joinery weren’t perfect, creating the Miter joint taught me a lot about how difficult straight lines on the wood are and nailing on slanted wood is, when you’re doing it by hand. It also taught me why humans created machines to do this work precisely because it looks very clean when done correctly.

 

Real-life examples:

 

 

 

Miter joints are used to build boxes, furniture, frames and etc! They give a seamless aesthetic and look really nice when the cuts are perfect and the joinery is invisible!

 

 

Dowelled Butt Joint –

 

Sketches:

 

 

Construction:

 

 

 

To start the dowelled butt joint, we first measured the middle of the shorter side of the wood and drew dots on it to mark where we were going to drill. Before drilling, we used an awl to mark where the drill bit tip would go into. Because it was my first time using the drill press, the marks I made were off-centered and I didn’t end up lining the drill bit up with the awl points correctly. Although, this was okay because we used dowel centers to mark the holes exactly where the points were made on the other piece of wood, so they would line up perfectly.

 

 

 

Also, since my points weren’t lined up exactly, I drew X’s on the sides that it would connect to.

 

 

After, I sanded and cut some dowels to fit into the holes I created in the piece of wood.

 

Concluding Product:

 

 

Overall, even with the mistakes, learning how to make my own dowel butt joints was very useful in that it taught me how a lot of different types of furniture are held together and connected.

 

Real-life examples:

 

 

 

Dowel butt joints are used in many different fast furniture places, like Ikea and are easy to assemble at home. These joints are often used for cabinets, drawers and probably about 80% of the furniture at Ikea!

 

 

Rabbet Joint – 

 

Sketches:

 

 

Construction:

 

 

To start off the construction of the rabbet joint, we first traced the width of the side of the piece of wood.

 

 

We then measured and traced half of the side of the wood, and used a handsaw to cut accordingly.

 

 

After cutting the wood, we sanded it with a corse file, so it would fit straight up against the other piece of wood.

 

 

To connect the rabbet joint, we used a cordless drill with a screw drill bit to attach the pieces together. Since we didn’t have an F-clamp or bar clamp, we had a friend hold the pieces in place to drill the previously made marks on the joint. The points were made by measuring the middle of the traced area from the width of the side of the piece of wood.

 

 

 

Before putting the screw in, we used a smaller screw bit and a countersink to prepare the point for putting in a screw. The small screw hole was used to guide the screw and the countersink was used so that if we wanted to hide the screw it would be easier since it wouldn’t stick out of the wood.

 

 

 

I then used the cordless drill to connect the rabbet joint with screws.

 

Concluding product:

 

 

I really enjoyed making this joint, as it seemed really strong, and I could file it by hand easiest, making the joint look smooth.

 

Real-life examples:

 

 

 

Rabbet joints can be used for drawers and boxes!

 

 

Mortise and Tenon – 

 

Sketches:

 

 

Construction:

 

 

To start off the mortise and tenon joint, I measured and traced about 3/4″ from the side to the middle, creating an outline of where I was going to saw the tenon. On the side of the wood, I tried to again measure 3/4″ for the height of the tenon.

 

 

After measuring I used the Olfa blade to cut guiding lines on the outlines I traced.

 

I then used an F or bar clamp to stabilize the piece of wood to the table, also using a piece of scrap wood to prevent indents on my wood piece and to elevate it from the table.

 

 

 

After clamping the piece down, I used a Japanese saw, as they are sharper at the Making Center, and cut away the sections I had previously drawn out on the wood.

 

 

 

When I was finished cutting out the pieces, I used and chisel and file to make the piece straighter and closer to a 90° angle.

 

 

When I started to create the mortise, I traced the outline of the tenon onto the top of the second piece of wood. I also used the Olfa blade to mark out the cuts that needed to be made.

 

 

 

Because I was working at the Making Center really late, I didn’t get the chance to use the drill press to make holes in the mortise. Instead, I used the Ofla blade to cut deeply on the longer sides and chiseled out the mortise. I did make a mistake at first, as since I didn’t use the drill press, a piece of wood was chipped from the side of the mortise piece. Which was really disappointing.

 

 

It took a really long time to get the pieces to fit together nicely and to do so I had to use the chisel and different files to both smooth out and deepen the mortise, and file down the tenon.

 

Concluding product:

 

 

 

 

Overall, I had a difficult time creating this joint, as I really wanted it to fit perfectly into each other. Sometimes I would file too much, or I didn’t chisel enough, and it was really hard to tell which action was needed to take next in order for the pieces to fit together.

 

Real-life examples: 

 

 

 

Mortise and tenon joints can be used for many different things, and are also used for cool aesthetic pieces such as the pictures posted above!

 

 

Finger Joint – 

 

Sketches:

 

 

Construction:

 

 

To start off the finger joint, I first measured five cubes on top of the wood. After tracing the cubes, I marked off and colored in the cubes that were going to be cut out of the top of the wood.

 

 

I then used a Japanese saw to cut the cubes out of the wood.

 

 

 

To cut the middle cube out of the wood, the strategy was to cut it down the sides, in an X, and then down the middle three or four times.

 

 

 

Although even after using the Japanese saw, I still had to use a chisel and file to smooth out the insides of the finger joint so as to fit the pieces together.

 

After a long and tedious time, I got pretty close to fitting the pieces together, without the joint falling apart easily.

 

Concluding product:

 

 

 

The finger joint was extremely hard to accomplish, and even so, it still didn’t turn out perfect.

 

Real-life examples:

 

 

 

 

The finger joint is really interesting, in that it is sturdy when jointed perfectly together, and it also gives off an interesting look.

 

 

Conclusion – 

 

The wood joinery exercise taught me so much about how furniture is made, and what it really takes to make a piece sturdy and look seamless. This project also made me really appreciate all the handy dandy tools we have to make joinery and furniture making more efficient!