window joinery in Jarrow (16)

In general, the mortise and tenon joint is one of the strongest woodworking joints you can use. A tenon is a tongue or peg at the end of a piece of wood, and this fits into a mortise, which is a slot in another piece of wood. The pieces interlock to form a strong right angle joint, which is usually secured with glue.

There are other types of joints that may provide more strength when applied in specific ways, such as a dovetail joint, bridal joint or box joint. Wood joiners can assess your requirements and figure out which joint will provide the most strength in a given situation.

Woodwork is a broad term that covers all the crafts and techniques involved in fashioning items from wood. This includes joinery, as well as carpentry, cabinet making and wood carving.

Joinery specifically relates to the joining of wooden pieces to create objects and structures, which range from staircases to set pieces for theatres. Joiners are the tradespeople who typically fit your doors, window frames, wooden flooring and kitchen cabinets, for example.

Giving an exact number for how many wood joints exist is difficult because joinery is a constantly evolving craft, with innovations being made constantly. In practical terms, joiners rely on about 13 joints to complete most jobs, though there are over 20 primary joints. Here are some examples:

1. Butt joint

2. Mitre joint

3. Half lap joint

4. Cross lap joint

5. Dovetail joint

6. Box joint

7. Mortise and tenon Joint

8. Bridle joint

9. Dado joint

10. Rabbet joint

11. Tongue and groove joint

12. Sliding dovetail joint

13. Dowel joint

14. Biscuit joint

15. Pocket-hole joint

When you factor in the variations and subtypes of each primary joint, in addition to specialised joints, there are easily over 100 types. Wood joiners rely on their vast knowledge of joints to select the best one for each job.

It’s possible for wood joinery to be stronger than screws in certain situations, such as when joining two pieces of wood with a good amount of surface area for the wood glue. It all depends on the application, the type of wood and the type of joint.

To achieve the best results, it’s usually a good idea to combine joinery and screws if the design permits. For example, a mortise and tenon joint reinforced with a screw can provide a huge amount of strength when building heavy furniture.

What is the simplest and weakest type of wood joint?

One of the simplest and weakest types of wood joint is the butt joint, which wood joiners typically reserve for projects where strength isn’t the main concern. For example, temporary structures or non-structural pieces like decorative trims can contain butt joints without issue.

Other simple wood joints that are relatively weak include lap joints, mitre joints and rabbet joints, all of which might be used when speed and simplicity are important. Wood joiners understand the limitations of the various joints and know when to use more complex, interlocking joints.