Woodworking: Making wood projects without using nails, screws, or glue.

Step 2 Four Simple Woodworking Joints

Here (Pic 9) are the 4 main joints that you can use to make everything from shelves to rocking chairs.

A-Wedged Mortise and Tenon Joints
Pic 9-A A tenon is usually a round or square piece of wood that goes partially or all the way through a hole cut into another piece of wood. Here you see a square tenon.

Pic 9-B-Sliding Dovetail
The sliding dovetail is useful for braces on doors or for attaching chair legs to chair feet and chair legs to chair or stool seats.

Pic 9-C-Dado Groove
Groove joints are often used to catch the ends of shelf boards to make them stronger. They can also be used to hold chair seats on legs and to hold splines between boards. They are used anywhere you want to keep a board from twisting or to make a stronger joint that will hold more weight.

Pic 9-D-Dowel Joint
Dowels of various sizes can be used to connect boards side to side to create counter tops, wider shelves, and chair or stool seats. They can also be used at the end of a board to attach it to an upright for shelves.


See the next few steps to see how to make them and examples of how they are used.