There are many kinds of splices and joints used in the different branches of woodwork, a few of which are here given.

The common square butt-joint (Fig. 554) is the simplest way to join two pieces at right angles, as in making a box or frame, and is used for all common work. Glue is of but little use with this joint. Rely wholly on nails or screws.

To make a better joint, cut a rabbet at the end of one piece and you have a joint (Fig. 555) which shows less end wood, and can be helped a good deal by gluing, on account of the shoulder.

Another way is shown in Fig. 556. Some strength and stiffness is gained by the tongue and groove, but a groove near the end introduces an element of weakness.

A much stronger way and a tighter joint (Fig. 557) is often used for cisterns, water-tanks, and horse troughs, but the projecting ends are objectionable for most purposes. See Halving, Mitring, Dovetailing, and also Box-making, page 219.

In nailing any such joints as those just shown, remember to always bore holes for the nails wherever there is danger of splitting. See Awl, Bits, Boring, Nailing.

There are many ways, besides those just mentioned, for joining sticks and timbers at right angles, which is something you will often have to do, whether for a kite or some small framework or for the timbers of a building.

Fig. 554-

Fig. 555.

Fig. 556.

Fig. 557.

To join two or more boards or planks to make a wider surface, several methods can be used. Cleating, though strong and suitable for all such work as drawing-boards, rough doors, and the like, is often undesirable, both on account of the looks and because the cleats may be in the way (see Cleating). The simplest way, without cleats, is to glue the jointed edges (see Jointing and Gluing). Dowels can be used with this joint (see Dowelling), or grooves can be cut and a strip or spline or tongue inserted (Fig. 558). This last way can be done at the mill quicker and better than by hand. The edges can also be halved, or a rabbet cut in each edge from opposite sides. The boards can also be " matched " (see page 46), in which case it is not usual to glue them. All of these joints can best be made by machine.

Fig. 558.

Fig. 559.

To avoid the warping and change of shape to which wide pieces are subject, particularly when they are not middle boards (see Chapter III (Wood).), they are often built up of selected narrower pieces (Fig. 559). This is done for many things, - the frames of machines, the tops of sewing-tables, drawing-boards, chopping-blocks, etc. Masts, bows, fishing-rods, and the like are sometimes built up of selected pieces, the idea being that a better result can be obtained by combining selected smaller pieces, that flaws and defects (which are apt to occur in larger pieces) can be avoided, and that sometimes the grain can be arranged to better advantage. This is doubtless true, but there is always the objection that glued joints may give way. If you can get a piece which is practically perfect, it is probably in most cases better than a glued-up combination, for it is not easy to improve on Nature when you can get her best specimens ; but unless you can get first-class stock of the dimensions required, it is better to " build up " with smaller pieces of selected stock.

Where the ends of two pieces come together and you wish to make a close joint, you will, of course, saw the pieces off as squarely as possible, using the square or perhaps the mitre-box. If you mark and saw them with exactness, and if everything about their arrangement is straight and square and true, the ends will come together exactly and make a close joint, but as a practical matter this frequently will not happen, however careful you may be. For nice work, the workmanlike way in such cases is to plane or pare the ends until they fit, but for rougher work the expedient of sawing the ends to fit can be resorted to. To do this, put the ends together as they are to go (Fig. 560), keep them from moving, and saw straight down through the joint. As the saw will leave a kerf of uniform thickness, the pieces can now be pushed together and the ends will fit, unless the joint was very much open, in which case you have only to saw again, and if necessary repeat the operation until the ends fit. This is a very useful expedient in case of need, but should not be relied on as a regular way to make joints, lest it engender a careless and inaccurate method of work. This applies also to joints which meet at any angle.

Fig. 560.

Fig. 561.

In some cases, where only one side of each piece shows, as in laying floor-boards, it is usual to undercut the ends slightly - that is, to make the joint a little open at the bottom, which gives a tight and neat joint on the side which shows (Fig. 561, which is exaggerated).

Another way to make an end joint is by bevelled scarfing or splaying (Fig. 562)., You will see the ends of the clapboards on old houses joined in this way, and it doubtless makes a better joint in many cases than the common square or butt-joint, but it is more work. Strips of moulding are often cut in this way.

There are many ways of splicing two or more pieces so as to get greater length, many of them, such as are used in bridge-building and roof-framing, being quite complicated. You will rarely, however, in such work as you will do at first, have occasion to do more than nail strips (fish-plates) on the sides of the pieces or make a halved splice or scarfed joint (Fig. 563). The latter is often made longer than that shown and fastened in various ways. A joint for a brace is shown in Fig. 564.

Fig. 562.

Fig. 563.

Fig. 564.

See Cleats, Doors, Dovetailing, Dowelling, Gluing, Halving, Mitring, Mortising, Nailing, etc.