Types of Wood Joints

Wikipedia Wood Joints

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Butt Joint-The butt joint is the most basic and simple joint. It is made with only two pieces of timber that are butted together at the ends. This is the weakest joint that is used in woodworking.
What tools do you need to make it?- A Circular saw (Table or Miter Saw)

Mortise and Tenon Joint-A mortise (or mortice) and tenon joint connects two pieces of wood or of other material. Woodworkers around the world have used it for thousands of years to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at right angles.

In its most basic form, a mortise and tenon joint is both simple and strong. There are many variations of this type of joint, but the basic mortise and tenon comprises two components:

1. the mortise hole, and
2. the tenon tongue.
   
3. What tools do you need to make it?- A mortising machine and a table saw with a tenoning jig, or very sharp chisels
   

Dovetail Joint-According to historians, dovetail joints predate written history and can be found in the tombs of ancient Egyptian mummies and Chinese emperors. 

Dovetail joints are commonly used to build boxes, drawers, and cabinets. The shape of the "tails and pins" in the joint make it nearly impossible to break. Glue is used to strengthen the joint but no screws or fasteners are necessary.

The most popular is the half-blind dovetail joint and the through dovetail joint. The half-blind version of the dovetail will not show the end grain of the joint from front and is used primarily for drawer faces.
What tools do you need to make it?- A router with a dovetail jig and dovetail bit or a dovetail hand saw.

Lap Joint-A lap joint is just two mating notches, one of the simplest joints there is. But if you apply glue and clamp the surfaces together very tightly, it is also very strong.
What tools do you need to make it?- A table saw and miter sled

Miter with Spline Joint-Inserting a strip of wood, plywood, or other material (such as hardboard), into slots cut on the miter’s opposing faces reinforces the joint and helps keep parts aligned during assembly.
What tools do you need to make it?- A table saw or a router

Box Joint-made by cutting a set of complementary, interlocking profiles in two pieces of wood, which are then joined (usually) at right angles, usually glued. The glued box joint has a high glued surface area resulting in a strong bond, on a similar principle to a finger joint. Box joints are used for corners of boxes or box-like constructions, hence the name. The joint does not have the same interlocking properties as a dovetail joint, but is much simpler to make, and can be mass-produced fairly easily.
What tools do you need to make it?- A table saw with a box joint jig or a router table with a box joint jig and a straight cutting bit.

Tongue and Groove Joint-a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to make a single flat surface.Each piece has a slot (the groove) cut all along one edge, and a thin, deep ridge (the tongue) on the opposite edge. The tongue projects a little less than the depth of the groove. Two or more pieces thus fit together closely. The joint is not normally glued, as shrinkage would then pull the tongue off.
What tools do you need to make it?- A table saw or a router and a slot cutting bit or a router table with a fence and a straight cutting bit.

Rabbet Joint-a notch cut with or across the grain on the edge of a board with the two sides 90º to each other.
What tools do you need to make it?- A table saw or a router with a rabbeting bit.

Dado Joint-a square or rectangular slot that runs across the grain. Groove – a square or rectangular slot that that runs with the grain.
What tools do you need to make it?- A table saw or a router with a fence and a straight cutting bit.

Doweled Joint-round wooden pins of small diameter used to strengthen (reinforce) a joint. They can be bought ready made and can be used instead of nails or screws, or instead of mortising, dovetailing, etc. They should be dipped in glue and driven at a tight fit into holes made for their reception.
What tools do you need to make it?- A hand drill and a doweling jig.

Biscuit Joint-(or sometimes plate joiner) is a woodworking tool used to join two pieces of wood together. A biscuit joiner uses a small circular saw blade to cut a crescent-shaped hole (called the mouth) in the opposite edges of two pieces of wood or wood composite panels. An oval-shaped, highly dried and compressed wooden biscuit (beech or particle wood) is covered with glue, or glue is applied in the slot. The biscuit is immediately placed in the slot, and the two boards are clamped together. The wet glue expands the biscuit, further improving the bond. What tools do you need to make it?- A biscuit jointer.

Domino Joint-The Domino jointer is a loose mortise and tenon joining tool manufactured by the German company Festool.
What tools do you need to make it?- Festool is the only brand that makes a domino jointer.

Japanese Wood Joints-Japanese woodworking was developed more than a millennium ago and uses distinctive woodworking joints. It involves building wooden furniture without the use of nails, screws, glue or electric tools.
What tools do you need to make it?- Japanese razor saws and chisels

Pocket Hole Joint- involves drilling a hole at an angle — usually 15 degrees — into one work piece, and then joining it to a second work piece with a self-tapping screw. We use a Kreg Jig in the class to make pocket holes. What tools do you need to make it?- A powerful drill and a pocket hole jig.

Drop Leaf or Rule Joint- The rule joint gets its name from its similarity to the brass joint in folding rules. With a rule joint, the round portion of the joint provides support for the drop leaf and, when the drop leaf is lowered, eliminates the unsightly gap between the drop leaf and the tabletop.What tools do you need to make it?- a router with cove and round over bits.