Woodworking joints

Joinery often refers to the part of woodworking that involves the joining together of parts of wood.

Traditional wood joinery techniques use
the distinctive material properties of wood, often without mechanical fasteners. There are different types of joinery for different structures, for example the joinery used
to build a house is different from that used to make puzzle toys,
although elements overlap.

Wood is strong when stressed along the grain (longitudinally), but weak across it (radially and tangentially). It expands and contracts in response to humidity.
This change is very small longitudinally.  It is considerable, but unequal,
in the radial and tangential directions.

Images of different types of joints

Styles of joinery
Two of the most common traditions of joinery are Japanese and European. The Japanese in particular developed hundreds of types of joints and their furniture was often held together without glue or nails.

Related pages
Woodworking

References
 Bernard Jones (Ed.) (1980). The Complete Woodworker.   
 Peter Korn (1993). Working with Wood.   
 Sam Allen (1990). Wood Joiner's Handbook. Sterling Publishing. 
 Wolfram Graubner (1992). Encyclopedia of Wood Joints. Taunton Press. 

Category:Woodworking