A box joint is a

woodworking joint Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

made by cutting a set of complementary, interlocking profiles in two pieces of

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

, 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 A finger joint, also known as a comb joint, is a woodworking joint made by cutting a set of complementary, interlocking profiles in two pieces of wood, which are then Adhesive, glued. The cross-section of the joint resembles the interlocking of ...

. 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 A dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joinery technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery (carpentry), including furniture, cabinets, log buildings, and traditional timber framing. Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart, a ...

, but is much simpler to make, and can be mass-produced fairly easily.

Creation

Box joints are generally created by using the same profile but displaced for both halves. In modern workshops these are often made on

table saw A table saw (also known as a sawbench or bench saw in England) is a woodworking tool, consisting of a circular saw blade, mounted on an mandrel, arbor, that is driven by an electric motor (directly, by belt, by cable, or by gears). The drive ...

s, sometimes using a dado set. Custom machinery can cut the entire joint in one pass, using a suitable jig multiple pieces, even of opposing senses, can be cut at once. They were traditionally produced manually using a tenon saw and chisel, and fine cabinet makers still use these methods. Jigs can also be used, as with dovetails, to help produce a consistent result.

Applications

Applications include all sorts of wooden boxes and carcasses. While primarily used for right angle joints it can also be used for hexagonal boxes and other unusual shapes. It is used for the sides of drawers and lids, but not, in general, for joining thin panels to structural members.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2019 Joinery

Creation

Applications

See also

References