# End Grain to Face Grain Joinery



## GLENNpm (Dec 15, 2018)

I'm still learning my way around here and hope it's ok to post a question in this forum. If there's a better place to post questions like this, please redirect me.

Short story:
I want to join end grain to face grain with a spline (or possibly dowels), but I don't know how to line up the cuts on the opposing pieces. Please let me know what you think would be the best method for this.

Long story:
I'm building a simple craftsman-style inspired frame for a chalkboard to take notes on. It's a simple project and I could easily use pocket holes or another method to join the frame together since the back isn't made to be seen. However, I'm super inexperienced and figure this is a good time to learn how to do "proper" joinery since I want to minimize my use of screws and nails on future projects. My tools are super simple and low-end. I don't have a dowl jig, so I figured I'd be able to make some splines and use my recently built router tablet to cut the slots for them. I figured out how to center the groove on the end grain, but the face grain isn't supposed to be centered (see the attached pictures for reference). Yet, it needs to line up with the end grain of the opposing piece. I'm sorry if this is confusing. It's tough to explain in text only. If you understand what I mean and have a solution, I'm not sure I'd be able to understand without video or other visual aid. With that being said, I'll take whatever help you'll offer. I have a lot to learn and I just want to get good at this.

Thanks for reading. I hope I've provided enough information. Please see my workshop for a list of power tools I have to work with to accomplish this goal.


----------



## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

I guess it depends. Can you afford a dowel jig? You can buy an ok one for $50ish. They also make some little inserts where you drill a hole, place a metal "pin" into the hole and use the pin to align the hole for the adjacent dowel. Those are usually cheaper, I believe General still makes them.


----------



## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Are your vertical pieces already cut to final length? If not, I think a simple half-lap joint would do the job and be simpler to make and construct.









You can certainly do splines as you suggest. As long as you reference the back face of both pieces on the fence, it won't make any difference that the slot isn't centered.


----------



## GLENNpm (Dec 15, 2018)

> Are your vertical pieces already cut to final length? If not, I think a simple half-lap joint would do the job and be simpler to make and construct.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ah! Ok. I think I see what you're suggesting. But I might still be a little too dense to understand how to accomplish it. Again, this is tough for me to explain without visuals, but from what I've gathered (again, I'm as green as they come), I have to always feed my pieces into the router from the same direction (I had all kinds of issues pushing out of alignment when trying to go from the other side). So, when I rotate a piece that needs "splined" on both ends, the rotation essentially reverses the piece so that the top/bottom pieces that aren't centered will end up being at differing distances from the fence, therefore one side won't be in the same alignment as the other. I hope this makes sense. I think I need a video tutorial to follow, but I just can't find one for this specific example. I think the most common use would be creating splines for bookshelves. But I haven't had any luck with that search yet, either.

As far as the half-lap joints go, You're 100% correct. That would have definitely been the way to go if I hadn't thought of it AFTER cutting my stock to length. ugh. I'm tempted to start over and put this wood in the scrap pile as I feel like half lap would be the right way to go. BUT I feel like this is still a good opportunity to learn a new skill. I think figuring out how to properly align joinery is pretty essential in the long run.


----------



## GLENNpm (Dec 15, 2018)

> I guess it depends. Can you afford a dowel jig? You can buy an ok one for $50ish. They also make some little inserts where you drill a hole, place a metal "pin" into the hole and use the pin to align the hole for the adjacent dowel. Those are usually cheaper, I believe General still makes them.
> 
> - SMP


I can handle getting something like that. I'm sure it will be quite useful in the future and not just a one-time. I really might do that. But I had a professional cabinet maker friend once tell me that while he appreciated all the expensive machinery he was able to use with his company, he would have never made it that far if he hadn't figured out how to do all the exact same things he does now without all the fancy equipment - being a woodworker is less about the equipment and more about the mindset. I want to have an engineering mindset and figure out how to make it work, dang it! haha


----------



## bilyo (May 20, 2015)

The easiest, least expensive, and least technical would be dowels. You even might be able to do it without a dowelling jig.

Start by temporarily putting aside the top and bottom wide boards. Now clamp the remaining inner frame (I'll call it) together with all pieces in final alignment. Now drill dowel holes (at least two) through the top an bottom pieces into the end grain of the sides (no jig needed). Glue the dowels into place and let it dry (put a couple of grooves down the side of the dowels to allow excess glue out. Otherwise, hydraulic pressure will make it difficult to drive the dowels in and may even split the wood). Now you can insert the chalk board, finish it and hang it on the wall. Attach the top and bottom wide boards as trim pieces directly to the wall as you would with window or door trim.

If you want the top and bottom wide boards to be fastened to the frame, you could do it with dowels, but this will require some means of pre-aligning the holes such as what SMP suggested. Instead, I think using pocket screws in this instance would work just fine.

Keep in mind that if you are going to put any fasteners (nails?) through the wide board trim pieces when you mount them on the wall, this act will put a lot of shock and stress on what ever joint you have to the inner frame bottom and top members. Very few walls are perfectly flat.


----------



## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

If I were to make that I would have used mortise and tenon construction. It looks like you have already cut your pieces to length so it is too late for that. Dowels would be my next choice. These Dowl-it jigs are very inexpensive and are well built and easy to use.


----------



## LeeRoyMan (Feb 23, 2019)

I would cut dados, then screw the long pieces, then glue and clamp the top and bottom.


----------



## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

LeeRoyMan's idea would also work with dowels and you could clamp the pieces together and drill through the horizontal piece into the endgrain of the verticals so you wouldn't need a doweling jig for alignment. Lotta ways to skin the cat.


----------



## Novamr99 (Oct 9, 2020)

Heap cheap simple dowel alignment. Dowels don't HAVE to be centered, just aligned with each other.

https://www.harborfreight.com/22-piece-3-8-eighth-inch-doweling-accessory-set-96857.html?_br_psugg_q=doweling%2Bsets

P.S. From your pic above with the router table, I understand what you're saying, but that approach is well beyond the scope of this project. But since you've got it out anyway, use it for the dados. (I read that you don't like your TS.)


----------



## GLENNpm (Dec 15, 2018)

> The easiest, least expensive, and least technical would be dowels. You even might be able to do it without a dowelling jig.
> 
> Start by temporarily putting aside the top and bottom wide boards. Now clamp the remaining inner frame (I ll call it) together with all pieces in final alignment. Now drill dowel holes (at least two) through the top an bottom pieces into the end grain of the sides (no jig needed). Glue the dowels into place and let it dry (put a couple of grooves down the side of the dowels to allow excess glue out. Otherwise, hydraulic pressure will make it difficult to drive the dowels in and may even split the wood). Now you can insert the chalk board, finish it and hang it on the wall. Attach the top and bottom wide boards as trim pieces directly to the wall as you would with window or door trim.
> 
> ...


This is a lot of good information. Thank you. I know it's not necessary, but I want to try and do this build without any fasteners - all joinery. I look at it as practice/experience for high-end furniture I hope to do one day. I'm sure something like a Festool Domino would solve everything. I even have access to one. But it's not mine and I want to be able to figure out how to do any woodworking with just the tools that are available. I feel that's important in my journey to (hopefully) become a master craftsman one day.


----------



## GLENNpm (Dec 15, 2018)

> If I were to make that I would have used mortise and tenon construction. It looks like you have already cut your pieces to length so it is too late for that. Dowels would be my next choice. These Dowl-it jigs are very inexpensive and are well built and easy to use.
> 
> - bondogaposis


Thank you, very much! I think you might be right. I was hoping not to make any purchases, but that's certainly not a bad price and I'm sure it will be a good investment to come in quite handy on future projects as well.


----------



## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

Quick and easy is to glue the parts as shown in LeeRoyMans image then instead of a screw, drill the proper size hole for a dowel add glue and insert the dowel(s) for reinforcement of the glue joint. No jigs needed.

Another method is to use a pocket screw system. Kreg it the post popular and they have them all the way from a single or double clamp on guide (about $20+ a drill bit) to very sophisticated set ups.


----------



## LeeRoyMan (Feb 23, 2019)

Looks like you're set on doing a spline??
And for the record, high-end furniture, and master craftsmen use screws when possible/needed.

Just run the dowel all the way through for both pieces.


----------

