Timber Joints We Use

Dovetails are one of the strongest joints that you can use for case type construction.

Here at Boustead and Brown, we use this joint greatly in draw and solid timber cabinet construction.

Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart in one direction it makes it the perfect choice.

All of the dovetails we make are cut by hand as you can tell them apart from machine dovetails, just don’t look right.

There are different types of a dovetail joint each with their own look and uses.

Mostly used on the table tops and case sides to gain the size we need. We use a hand plane on all edge to edge joints so they are perfect.

Many people believe that you can just glue straight from the saw or a jointer but this limits the amount of wood on wood glue area. So you have ridges that meet up and that creates a weaker glue joint.

We also spring the joint so over time the ends don’t open up on you. After that, we will strengthen the joint with biscuits or a tongue and groove.

We generally use mortise and tenons for the leg to rail joints because we believe they are the strongest joint for that application. It’s a very strong and has been used for thousands of years.

There are many variations of mortise and tenons, basic joint comprises two components: the mortise which is normally a rectangle hole cut into one part and the tenon which is cut and fitted to the right size to make a snug fit to the mortise.

We can use drawbore mortise and tenon or wedged to lock joint in place as well as glue. We prefer to drawbore them as this is the longest lasting method, as the pins keep the joint closed. In many cases for hundreds of years.