Wood Joint Explorer

Types of Wood Joints

A wood joint is the geometry two pieces of wood share where they meet. Three things decide what it does: how much long-grain surface the two pieces present to glue, whether the shape mechanically locks against a direction of pull, and which way the grain runs through the parts that have to hold. Every joint on this page is a different answer to those three, and the 3D viewer on each page shows the answer being cut.

How joints are classified

The diagram below is the whole taxonomy this site uses. One axis is where the pieces meet: at a corner, in a T, along an edge, or end to end. The other is what holds them: shaped wood that interlocks, or a separate fastener. A joint's family decides which section it sits in below; its holding method decides what the viewer has to show.

How wood joints are classifiedA four-by-two matrix. The rows are where the two pieces meet: at a corner, in a T, along an edge, or end to end. The columns are what holds them: shaped wood that interlocks, drawn as a tab between the pieces, or a separate fastener, drawn as two pins across the joint line.InterlockedFastenedCornerT-intersectionEdgeEnd-to-end
Rows: where the pieces meet. Columns: what holds them.

Filter the joint catalog

Corner

Two pieces meeting at the outside angle of a box or a frame.

  • Dovetail joint

    Wedge-shaped tails drop between pins so the corner locks mechanically along one axis, not by glue alone.

    Corner

  • Box joint

    Square fingers alternate across the corner, every one cut to the same width.

    Corner

  • Half-lap joint

    Each piece gives up half its thickness so the two halves stack back into one thickness.

    Corner

  • Rabbet joint

    Along one edge runs a square step; the mating board sits into it and the corner registers.

    Corner

  • Miter joint

    Two ends cut at half the corner angle meet with no end grain showing outside.

    Corner

  • Splined miter joint

    Slotting a finished miter and setting a thin spline across the line adds long-grain gluing surface.

    Corner

  • Bridle joint

    An open mortise takes a full-width tenon, so the joint is cut entirely from the outside.

    Corner

T-intersection

The end of one piece landing on the face or edge of another.

  • Mortise and tenon joint

    The tenon enters a cut pocket; its shoulders land on the face and fix the angle.

    T-intersection

  • Sliding dovetail joint

    Tapered tail, matching housing: a shelf goes in from one end and slides home along it.

    T-intersection

  • Dado joint

    A flat-bottomed trench across the grain houses the end of a shelf on three sides.

    T-intersection

  • Pocket-hole joint

    Screws leave a bored pocket at a shallow angle and bite into the stile through the rail end.

    T-intersection

Edge

Two boards joined along their long edges to make a wider panel.

  • Dowel joint

    Round pins in matched bored holes register two boards and carry the glue line between them.

    Edge

  • Biscuit joint

    Compressed oval biscuits sit in crescent slots, swelling with glue to align two edges.

    Edge

End-to-end

Two pieces continuing in the same line, end grain to end grain.

  • Butt joint

    Two square-cut ends meet with nothing but glue or a fastener holding the line together.

    End-to-end

Compare the joints that are live

JointGeometryVisibilityHolds againstDifficultyHand/PowerTypical use
Biscuit jointSocketHiddenShear1/5Poweredge-jointed panels and table tops
Box jointEnd interlockVisibleShear, racking3/5Hand or powerdrawer boxes and small casework
Bridle jointSocketVisibleRacking, shear3/5Hand or powerframe corners in workshop furniture
Butt jointFastenedVisibleShear1/5Hand or powercarcase framing and rough carpentry
Dado jointSocketEitherShear, racking2/5Hand or powerfixed shelves in bookcases and cabinets
Dovetail jointEnd interlockVisiblePull apart, racking4/5Hand or powerdrawer fronts and sides
Dowel jointSocketHiddenShear2/5Hand or poweredge-jointed panels and table tops
Half-lap jointFace cutVisibleRacking, shear2/5Hand or powershop jigs and workbench stretchers
Miter jointFace cutHiddenShear2/5Hand or powerpicture and mirror frames
Mortise and tenon jointSocketHiddenRacking, shear3/5Hand or powerdoor stiles and rails
Pocket-hole jointFastenedHiddenShear1/5Powerface frames for cabinets
Rabbet jointFace cutVisibleShear, racking2/5Hand or powercabinet backs let into a carcase
Sliding dovetail jointSocketHiddenPull apart, racking4/5Hand or powerfixed shelves in a carcase
Splined miter jointSocketVisibleShear, pull apart3/5Hand or powerboxes and small casework with mitred corners
Tongue and groove jointEdgeVisibleShear2/5Hand or powerpanelling and boarded doors

Scroll the table sideways

Choosing a joint for a project

Start with the direction the load will come from, not with the joint. If the two pieces will be pulled apart along one axis (a drawer front against its sides), a joint whose shape traps that direction does work that glue alone cannot. If the load is a rack, a frame trying to fold into a parallelogram, then what matters is the shoulder that fixes the angle and the long-grain surface behind it.

Then ask what the joint has to look like. Some joints are meant to be read from the outside; others exist to disappear. That decision removes about half the list before any tool question arrives.

Tooling comes third, and it is the one you can change. Most of the joints here can be cut by hand or by machine; the choice usually shows in how consistent the spacing is, not in whether the joint works.

Last, be honest about the stock. Thin material, wide panels that will move across the grain, and end grain that has to take a fastener all rule out particular joints for reasons that have nothing to do with skill. The "Avoid when" line on each joint page lists those before the steps.

Glossary

Face side
The reference face every measurement is taken from, marked before layout begins.
Gauge line
A line scribed with a marking gauge, set once and used from the face side of both pieces.
Shoulder
The face of a cut squared across the piece; it lands on the mating part and fixes the angle.
Cheek
The face of a cut that runs with the length of the piece.
Kerf
The slot a saw removes. The waste side of the line is the side to cut.
Waste
The material the layout says leaves the board.
Long grain
The surface running with the fibres. This is the surface glue actually holds.
End grain
The cut ends of the fibres. It glues poorly and takes fasteners badly.
Housing
A trench cut into a face to receive the end or edge of another piece.
Insertion axis
The single direction the moving piece travels to seat.
Interference
Two parts wanting the same space. The viewer draws it as a box.
Racking
A frame trying to fold sideways into a parallelogram.

Frequently asked questions

Which wood joint should I learn first?

The half-lap. It is one gauge setting and two saw cuts per piece, the fit is easy to read against a straightedge, and the two mistakes it teaches, a shoulder off square and a floor left high, come back in every harder joint.

How many wood joints are there?

There is no fixed number, because most named joints are variations on a smaller set of ideas. This site draws fifteen, chosen so that every family and every holding method has at least one worked example.

Is a hand-cut joint different from a machine-cut one?

The geometry is the same; the tolerances and the spacing are not. A jig gives identical, evenly spaced parts, and hand work lets you vary the spacing and cut narrower pins or wider shoulders. Both are drawn from the same parameters here.

Why are there no strength numbers on this site?

Published figures come from specific species, moisture contents, glues and test rigs, and they do not transfer to the piece on your bench. The site describes the directions a joint resists and leaves the arithmetic out. The reasoning is on the methodology page.

Do I need the 3D viewer to use these pages?

No. Every page renders its poster still, its prose and its facts with JavaScript switched off, and the print sheet is the same content on paper.

Sources