Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [joinery]

61 questions
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When repairing a split table top, should I use dowels, biscuits, or something else?

We bought a 5' diameter table many years ago from a Macy's warehouse sale. It's a 1" thick wood table top screwed to a cast iron leg/ base. When we bought it, it had a slight warp about 2/3s from one edge that went all the way through. The wood was…
DA01
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Can mortise and tenon joints be strong without glue?

I'm designing a loft bed (here's a rough picture without the cross supports and other details). Right now, most joints will be mortise and tenon. I'd like to be able to take the loft down to parts, and the simplest thing to do would be to…
LoftyGoals
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Are plywood dovetails a good solution to building something that needs to be dismantled?

Are hand cut, plywood dove tails feasible? Assuming you can get "good" plywood, i.e. not the brittle splinter-fest I've seen around, is dovetailing feasible? I'd like to avoid using glue for the corner joins as I'd like to be able to dismantle it to…
BanksySan
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Can anyone tell me what kind of hinge this is?

I saw it on a folding table I'm planning on copying.. It looks pretty thick- see the couple pictures below; Cheers guys and gals!
Shawson
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How can I join two mitred handrails?

I have an old staircase with winders, so if I want 32 inches between handrail and nose of stairs, I'm going to have to cut some angles. If the overall run of the handrails is going to be about 180 inches, and I'm cutting a 17 degree miter about 40…
Rob Latham
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What kind of joint is the best for joining wooden countertops?

I am installing a wall-to-wall desk in my office, which wraps around on one side. One side is 10'-9", and the other is 3'-8". The material is two lengths of oak butcher-block: 8'-2" x 25" x 1-1/8" 6'-2" x 25" x 1-1/8" I see the need for two…
Johnathan Elmore
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Biscuit, dowel or simple braces for making unit top with inset lid and slim sides?

I've had 5 pieces of iroko machined for creating a top to my DIY TV lift, complete with a lid for the TV to pop up through: The dimensions are based on the pre-existing cabinet, and the lid size needed for the TV to rise up. I was originally taking…
indextwo
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How can I join two pieces of wood at 90 degrees?

I'm trying to make myself a wooden CNC machine. I haven't started on the woodworking yet, as I'm still planning on the easiest way I can construct the machine (newbie here). I'm planning to use 1' x 4' wood as the frame for the X-axis, since that's…
Sodrohu
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When to use a spline vrs a biscuit joiner?

I know how to do either, but want to know if one is better than the other for particular joints (if so, what cases). Or is it just a trade off between time / labor (spline) and ease / cost (biscuit joiner)? In my current case I'm attaching a 3/4…
Tim Lytle
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Suggestion on deck frame joinery

I am planning to build a deck to my backyard, and I'm using a soft wood - I guess it's spruce not sure / not a very high quality wood. I am having hard time to decide on choosing the construction method and hoping I can get a suggestion here. In…
Tolga Evcimen
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Can I reinforce a beam by cutting the rotten part away and adding an extra piece instead?

So here is the thing... I had this beam under a metallic veneer and water crept in and rot it. What I found by removing the metallic veneer, was this: In the middle of this rotten area, parts of the wood are really eaten out and I can stick my…
CuriousPaul
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What wood joint can I use to connect railing members over a post?

For the fence we'll be using 2"x4" pressure-treated wood that will be attached to 4"x4" PT posts with wood screws. What wood joint should I use so that I don't need to buy any more hardware to make it sturdy? This is what I originally thought of…
rbhat
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Any tricks to extend laminate floor without having to re-lay the whole floor?

Problem: I had some old french doors removed and some new upvc bifold doors fitted. The french doors had a brick stub wall either side of the doors. My laminate floor was fitted up to the brick walls. With the walls now gone I have an 8 inch gap…
AndyM
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Is gluing table top planks better than using pocket hole screws?

I am learning furniture building. I started by building tables using pocket hole screws to attach the planks together and also to attach the table top to the apron/base. I am now converting to using fasteners, such as table buttons, z clips, etc.,…
ScottK
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Guidance needed for cutting rabbet

As in this question about making box shelves, I am looking at making some shelves and need some help. I've found this site describing how to make the shelves but need some pointers on what tools I need to be able to make the rabbet along the 2.5…
Martyn
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