Thread: Mitre join questions

A table is needed for mitre lock joins. These are tricky to get set up properly; I use a jig which makes it easier.

Dowelling isn't that hard to do to be honest, there are any number of jigs rangeing from cheap chinese no-names upwards that will all do the job.

You could think about pocket hole joinery such as the Kreg system. Easy as pie and bloody quick (no glue to dry) but expensive per joint.

You can biscuit join with only a router; either use a 4mm straight bit to dig out a series of grooves to accept the biccy, or you can buy purpose made thin rebate cutters with a guide bearing to make it easier.

For my money I would use hidden spline joints. Just make some splines from masonite and cut grooves along the joint faces. Your router will do this easily, especially if you make a temporary new baseplate from 3mm MDF and screw on a 45 degree fence.

Also consider mitre keys.

What you would do is glue up the carcase, then cut the slots, glue in little bits of flat timber, cut off the excess and sand flat.

A nice effect can be created by using a dovetail router bit and contrasting timber.

cheers
Arron

I'm with Arron on this one. A good quality end grain glue will hold your mitres no problem. The mitre keys help strengthen the joint even further.
Provided your panels are not too large, an easy way to set up for glueing is to lay the panels out on a flat surface with long edge of mitres butted and facing up. Use masking tape strips across joints like an external hinge. Once each joint has been taped, turn the two joined pieces over so the mitre now presents as an open vee, with the joined pieces flat on the bench. Do a dry run bending the pieces up to close the mitres. If happy with the result, lay them out flat again, glue the joints and refold, taping off the final joint to complete the job. Clean up excess glue from internal corners and square the diagonals. Mitre keys can be cut in when the joints are set.

Another option is a Mitre Lock cutter (Link to the Axminster site) for the router. It greatly increases the gluing surface and does not need additional tongues added to strengthen it.

Another advantage is you can make the joint as long as you need instead of 2 x 200mm sections.

Wow, what a great forum, all of your replies will be so handy.
I'm still not sure which technique I will use, but for the next few weeks I will be making quite a lot of new small furniture so I might try a couple of different techniques and I will post any pictures I can of the joining techniques I use for the other newbies like me.
Thank you all very much,

Your router will do this easily, especially if you make a temporary new baseplate from 3mm MDF and screw on a 45 degree fence.[/QUOTE]
How do I go about making a baseplate with 45 degree fence? I had a quick google but didn't return with many results, probably due to my lack of woodworking vocabulary.
Thanks for any help