Practical
Joinery
A reference for woodworking joints, tools, timbers, and the work they are made to do.
For teachers: the School reference.
Joints
How pieces of wood meet: dovetail, mortise and tenon, mitre, and the rest.
Butt joint · Mitre joint · Dovetail joint · Mortise and tenon joint · Housing joint · Lap joint · Rebate joint · Dowel joint · Tongue and groove joint · Halving joint · Scarf joint · Notched joint · Bridle joint · Edge joint · Biscuit joint · Finger joint · Cogged joint · Knuckle joint · Housed dovetail · Handrail bolt joint · Hammer-headed key · Dovetail key · Tenon and fox wedge · Domino joint · Coopered joint · Birdsmouth joint · Halved and mitred jointTools
Hand tools, machines, and accessories used in joinery. What each is, and what it is for.
Planes · Saws · Chisels & boring tools · Marking & measuring · Striking & holding · Bench & sharpening · Machines & power tools · Jigs & fixturesTimbers
How woods behave in joinery: movement, grain, and which timber suits which joint.
Temperate hardwoods · Softwoods · Imported & tropical hardwoods · Sheet materials · How wood behavesTechniques
The operations of the shop: marking out, cutting, fitting, gluing, and sharpening.
Planing · Finishing · Framing · Fitting · Boring · Setting out · Sawing · Gluing up · Moulding · Sharpening · Mortising · Chiselling · Wedging · Scribing · Grooving · Dovetailing · Tenoning · Geometry · Wood bending · Rebating · Mitring · Veneering · Hinging · HandrailingApplications
Where joints are used: doors, windows, stairs, carcase, and frame.
Furniture & cabinets · Doors & windows · Stairs & handrails · Interior joinery · Structural carpentryProblems
What fails in a joint, and how to read the failure.
Splitting · Warping · Racking · Wood movement · Knots · Wet rot · Bruising · Shakes · Proud joint · Tear-out · Dry rot · Foxiness · Gaps in joints · Woodworm · Case hardening · Glue failureStart with the work
Follow a route through the workshop
These routes connect the parts of the reference that belong together.
Drawers and cabinets
From the piece to its joints, tools, and working sequence.
Doors and frames
A route through the parts around an opening.
Stairs and handrails
The vocabulary of a connected run of work.
Timber framing
A route from the structure to its joints and layout.
Bench work
Start with holding, marking, cutting, and fitting.
Movement and fit
Trace the material questions before the fault appears.