Joinery for the Beginner

You know Todd, you are exactly right. I’ve been building projects and they take weeks instead of days, and allot of it is because I stress too much on the joinery. I have a dovetail jig, a dado blade, and all the router bits for cutting rabbits and such, yet I still don’t even have a “simple” kreg pocket hole jig system or a biscuit cutter. I think it is time I started to re-think some of my project ideas and find ways to incorporate some time saving methods such as these. Thanks for the blog!

-- Sgt_Lobo -- Aurora, CO

Happy to see a profession tell it like it is. Fine woodworking does include these two methods of joinery, and as you have stated, the time saved can be used to create sublimely designed cabinet work that is far and away more than clunky and square. Set yourself free – great title for the closing paragraph. Thanks, Todd.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Thanks for the confirmation.

Sgt Lobo – I had to try and share this because many starting out don’t realize that these are very valid forms of joinery.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com

Thats a nice cabinet Todd, and a perfect example of “production” case work and joinery. Reminds me of the old days back in the cabinet shop! Pocket holes and biscuits aren’t cheating, the are valid and often used joinery methods. Throw some wacky wood into the mix, for another not too well known trade secret for working curves! We used pocket screws so much we had a production pneumatic pocket hole driller. Great post!

-- http://www.facebook.com/pages/DSO-Designs/297237806954248

I sometimes repair things like rotted bottom rails on doors and window sash. An older guy i used to work with questioned me whether screws and glue were sufficient for this application instead of using wood dowels.

I told him i was using dowels. They were just of the more durable threaded, galvanised steel variety!

So far no callbacks!

-- "The way to make a small fortune in woodworking- start with a large one"

Well said thanks for the advice and conformation. Now if I can get my customer (wife) to agree <grin> I’ll be all set for buying a pocket screw kit. I already talked her into letting me get a new biscuits jointer. Has anyone ever done a real stress test that was posted on the net? I am sure someone has, does anyone have a link to it?

-- "so much to learn and so little time"..

only stress test I’ve seen is the one conducted by DowelMax

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

oh and then there is the stress test on dovetails conducted by Bob#2 at the woodshow he and Mot attended.. (don’t know the link off-hand)

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

todd thank you ! youve done it again ! this blog is exactly why i consider you one of my favorite lunber jocks.
i bow with humility, great admiration and respect to those who use traditional joinery. however i cannot afford to walk that path with them . my work is my only source of income and im under the gun to keep costs realistic, especially the past year . i take comfort in knowing im not alone on my path. thanks again ! by the way i buy pocket screws in boxes that i dont always feel up to carring to my truck !

Todd, I have to agree on the use of pocket screws and biscuits. In the past I’ve tried to use more traditional joinery and I’ve burned through more good wood due to mistakes than I like to think about. For carcass and faceframe construction where the joint isn’t emphasized I’ll probably just go ahead and go with the pocket screws or biscuits from now on. Even a simple dado to attach a faceframe to a carcass requires much more work and doesn’t look any better or provide much if any more strength. You just here so many traditionalists rail against non-traditional joinery (the anti-Norm movement) you start to think there’s something wrong with it. However, almost all the professional finish carpenters I’ve come across use pocket screws and such whenever possible, and if it’s good enough for professional work it should be good enough for my projects around the house.

-- You're a unique and special person, just like everyone else.

I’ve got one of those Porta-Cable production pocket screw set ups that I use every day. Traditional joinery is great when I get to do Zen and woodworking…but most days I just get to do sweat, swear, and hope i get the check deposited in time woodworking.

dennis im jealouse !! i been wanting one of the production set ups for a while. business has been very bad this year around where i live or i would have bought one . if you grt time pm me with the pros and cons and what you think of it thx

Great blog, Todd. Very good points. I’ve seen some amazing projects that are made with biscuits and pocket screws. Our LJ friend, David, is affectionately nicknamed, Kreg by his loved ones.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Gwurst, you said it perfectly..when your doing carcass or face frame joinery where the joint isn’t emphasized, then biscuits or pocket screws are the way to go. My old boss at the cabinet shop turned me onto pocket screws and I am a firm believer! I have the Kreig Master set up, along with an extra deep square driver, a couple extra deep joint clamps and the 90 degree joint clamp. I always do my face frames with pocket screws and have done a few carcasses with pocket screws instead of rabbits/dados. The one complaint I have is if your doing carcass assembly the pieces have a tendency to move as the screw gets driven home. I just align and clamp everything, then drive the screws. Sometimes we would even drill a pilot hole with a long drill bit. The 90 degree clamp helps with that allot but you cant always use it.

-- http://www.facebook.com/pages/DSO-Designs/297237806954248

Thanks for all the comments guys. I have not been able to get back into the site for several hours. I had the same problem for the last couple of days and I just read Martin’s post about the new server. Of course I couldn’t read it when I could not get on.

Anyway, just like any tool or woodworking method, there is a time an place to use it. On the modern furniture you can see the pocket holes if you take the drawers all the way out and look inside the box. But who does that very often? Will they see something cheap? Nope.

Gwurst is right on the money in understanding that the joinery is not the featured element and that the holding strength will be sufficient for these methods of joinery.

And Brad Nailor brings up some good points because every method has certain characteristics that you need to work with.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com