A joiner is an

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

and

tradesperson A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast t ...

who builds things by

joining Join may refer to: * Join (law), to include additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment *In mathematics: ** Join (mathematics), a least upper bound of sets orders in lattice theory ** Join (topology), an operation combining two topo ...

pieces of

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

, including

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating ( tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks) ...

and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in a workshop, because the formation of various joints is made easier by the use of non-portable, powered machinery, or on job site. A joiner usually produces items such as interior and exterior doors, windows, stairs, tables, bookshelves, cabinets, furniture, etc. In shipbuilding a ''marine joiner'' may work with materials other than wood such as linoleum, fibreglass, hardware, and gaskets. The terms ''joinery'' and ''joiner'' are in common use in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The term is not in common use in North America, although the main trade union for American carpenters is called the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. In the UK, an apprentice of wood occupations could choose to study ''bench joinery'' or ''site carpentry and joinery.'' Bench joinery is the preparation, setting out, and manufacture of joinery components while site carpentry and joinery focus on the installation of the joinery components, and on the setting out and fabrication of timber elements used in

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...

History

In the history of technology in Europe, joinery was the medieval development of

frame and panel Frame and panel construction, also called rail and stile, is a woodworking technique often used in the making of doors, wainscoting, and other decorative features for cabinets, furniture, and homes. The basic idea is to capture a 'floating' pa ...

construction, as a means of coping with

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

's movement owing to moisture changes. Framed panel construction was utilised in

making. The development of joinery gave rise to "joyners", a group of woodworkers distinct from the

s and

arkwright Arkwright is a surname, deriving from an archaic Old English term for a person who manufactures chests, and may refer to: People * Augustus Arkwright (1821–1887), Royal Navy officer and MP for North Derbyshire * Chris Arkwright (born 1959), Engl ...

s (arks were an intermediate stage between a carpenter's boarded chest and a framed chest). The original sense of joinery is only distantly related to the modern practice of

woodworking joints 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, ...

, which are the work of carpenters. This new technique developed over several centuries and joiners started making more complex furniture and panelled rooms.

Cabinetmaking A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...

became its own distinct furniture-making trade too, so joiners (under that name) became more associated with the room panelling trade. By the height of craft woodworking (late 18th century), carpenters, joiners, and cabinetmakers were all distinct and would serve different

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

s. In British English, a joiner is colloquially known as a "chippy".

Woodworking professions

The Institute of Carpenters recognizes the following professionals working in wood: *

Carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

* Furniture and cabinet makers *

Boat builders This is a list of boat builders, for which there is a Wikipedia article. Motorboats (<50 feet)

American Skier

* ...

(woodworking skills) * Joiners *

Shopfitter Shop fitting (shopfitting) is the trade of fitting out retail and service Retailing, shops and Retailing, stores with equipment, fixtures and fittings. The trade applies to all kinds of outlets from small corner shops to hypermarkets. A shop fitte ...

* Structural post and beam carpenters (

timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

) * Wheelwrights * Wood carvers * Wood turners Tischler 1880

References

External links

Institute of Carpenters

British Woodworking Federation
nbsp;– a not-for-profit woodworking body advice on joinery in the UK
''The art of joinery: 17th-century case furniture in the American Wing''
a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Construction trades workers Joinery Woodworking Woodworking techniques {{Woodworking-stub

History

Woodworking professions

See also

References

External links