Thread: Jointing??

Very open ended question there, Noob

Discussing this type of question is what makes this forum go round.

You'll be asking what is the best method of sharpening next

"Best" will vary relative to the following factors (among many others) - function of the project, type of material you are joining (solid timber/mdf/chipboard/etc), what tools you have, your capabilities, function of the joint, strength required, blah blah

Basic joints to start with for making a cabinet would be butt joints, rebated butt joints, & housing joints I'd reckon.

Biscuits are good for aligning a joint if you have access to a bikkie joiner.

Screws & glue are fine for a lot of work.

Welcome aboard!


Cheers..............Sean

biscuits are good for making sure the edges/ends line up when you glue and screw the bits together
just take a bit of care to make sure the biscuits line up - dry fit first
doesn't strengthen the joint (well - a teeny bit) just gives clean lines to the finish.
biscuits are good when you are joining boards together to make eg a table top or coffee table top or wide shelves - gets them aligned (somewhat)
Give it a go - practice on some scrap bits first
Don't forget the biscuits need a lathering of glue to make them swell.
Cheers
Jedo

ok thanks for some hints
i'll try out those methods i see how it goes

Originally Posted by WoodNoob

Hi just asking what jointing process is the best way in jointing a cabinet together
i was thinking of a biscuit butt joint??

WoodNoob... 'jointing" usually means fixing two or more boards edge to edge to make a wider board... In this case you need to get the face edges straight and glue the boards up with sash cramps, with or without biscuits, dowels.

If you are enquiring about the best way to attach the components of a cabinet - the carcase or the face - to each other, that's another matter and the answers above will help (mortise & tenon, biscuits, dowels etc...)

Originally Posted by Jedo_03

biscuits ....doesn't strengthen the joint (well - a teeny bit) just gives clean lines to the finish.

That needs a BIt of a qualification, Jedo!
True, biscuits, splines, whatever, don't strengthen a properly-made sidegrain joint, & may even weaken it slightly. This doesn't matter in something like a table top, as there ought to be heaps of strength for the purpose, and the time saved cleaning up a well-aligned surface is the goal.

But when used for joining two pieces at an angle, such as a door frame, where you're joining endgrain to sidegrain, the biscuits are floating tenons, and are MUCH stronger than a glued butt join.

I'm sure you know this, but just clarifying for Noob.....
Cheers,

Originally Posted by Jedo_03

biscuits are good for making sure the edges/ends line up when you glue and screw the bits together ....


Don't forget the biscuits need a lathering of glue to make them swell.

Cheers
Jedo

Part of the process is that the biscuits swell from the glue - therefore it is important to purchase "quality" biscuits rather than the El-Cheapo type as well as keeping them in an airtight container as they can and will absorb moisture from the air and swell slightly - causing fitting/alignment problems when you use them.

Regards,
Bob

If you are starting out in woodwork, you may not want to purchase expensive equipment because you may lose interest and never use them again or perhaps you can think of better things to spend with your money. (clamps, vice, router, hand planes, chisels, tenon saw etc)

If the project is relatively small, you could make all these joints with basic hand tools which are far cheaper. At the same time you will learn heaps about wood and have the satisfaction of knowing you made the project using your skills.

Doing things on the cheap using shortcut methods does not always lead to a quality job. For example, twenty years I made a back door for our old house. I made it using through mortise and tenon joints. I used exterior glue and that door copped lots of rain but never did it fail. It retained it's shape perfectly until the house was demolished.

At our new house, they used dowells on the exterior doors and probably interior glue. These doors do not cop the weather and although they are only less than 8 years old, all the joints have failed. It is difficult to close these doors without lifting the doors.

I must fix them one of these days but I won't be using wooden nails (dowells), I will make floating tenons and use a suitable glue.

Originally Posted by IanW

That needs a BIt of a qualification, Jedo!
True, biscuits, splines, whatever, don't strengthen a properly-made sidegrain joint, & may even weaken it slightly. This doesn't matter in something like a table top, as there ought to be heaps of strength for the purpose, and the time saved cleaning up a well-aligned surface is the goal.

But when used for joining two pieces at an angle, such as a door frame, where you're joining endgrain to sidegrain, the biscuits are floating tenons, and are MUCH stronger than a glued butt join.

I'm sure you know this, but just clarifying for Noob.....
Cheers,

Yes Ian - especially so when you are joining end grain to side grain as you inevitably would be in making a corner joint - end grain joints will fail with just glue. You are correct - biscuits add considerable strength in this situation - but not in all situations.
Jedo

Originally Posted by WoodNoob

Hi just asking what jointing process is the best way in jointing a cabinet together
i was thinking of a biscuit butt joint??

see this page - simple explanation about different ways of joining wood together. . .
Go for it. . .
http://www.dixieline.com/woodjoint/woodjoints.htm

Jedo

Originally Posted by Bob38S

Part of the process is that the biscuits swell from the glue - therefore it is important to purchase "quality" biscuits rather than the El-Cheapo type as well as keeping them in an airtight container as they can and will absorb moisture from the air and swell slightly - causing fitting/alignment problems when you use them.

Regards,
Bob

Yeah - Bob clarifies about the gluing process... (should have said that the glue swells the biscuit and 'locks' it in. . .
Few seconds in the microwave de-moisterises biscuits
Jedo

Originally Posted by Jedo_03

Yeah - Bob clarifies about the gluing process... (should have said that the glue swells the biscuit and 'locks' it in. . .

Few seconds in the microwave de-moisterises biscuits

Jedo

Thanks for the microwave bit - I forgot to mention that

Regards,
Bob