A splice joint is a method of joining two members end to end in

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

. The splice joint is used when the material being joined is not available in the length required. It is an alternative to other joints such as the

butt joint A butt joint is a technique in which two pieces of material are joined by simply placing their ends together without any special shaping. The name "butt joint" comes from the way the material is joined. The butt joint is the simplest joint to ma ...

and the scarf joint. Splice joints are stronger than unenforced butt joints and have the potential to be stronger than a scarf joint. Splices are therefore most often used when structural elements are required in longer lengths than the available material. The most common form of the splice joint is the

half lap A lap joint or overlap joint is a joint in which the members overlap. Lap joints can be used to join wood, plastic, or metal. A lap joint can be used in woodworking for joining wood together. A lap joint may be a full lap or half lap. In a ful ...

splice, which is common in building

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 ...

, where it is used to join shorter lengths of timber into longer beams.

Applications

* Joining structural members end to end

Types of splice joints

There are four main types of splice joints: half lap, bevel lap, tabled, and tapered finger.

Half lap splice joint

The half lap splice joint is the simplest form of the splice joint and is commonly used to join structural members where either great strength is not required or reinforcement, such as mechanical

fastener A fastener (US English) or fastening (UK English) is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. In general, fasteners are used to create non-permanent joints; that is, joints that can be removed or disman ...

s, are to be used. The joint is cut as for a half lap.

Bevel lap splice joint

The bevel lap is a variation of the half-lap in which the cheeks of the opposing members are cut at an angle of 5 to 10 degrees, sloping back away from the end of the member, so that some resistance to tension is introduced. This helps to prevent the members from being pulled apart.

Tabled splice joint

The tabled splice joint is another variation of the half lap. The cheeks are cut with interlocking surfaces so that when brought together the joint resists being pulled apart.

Tapered finger splice joint

The tapered finger splice joint requires a series of matching 'fingers' or interlocking prominences to be cut on the ends of opposing members. The joint is brought together and glued, with the fingers providing substantial glue surface. This joint is commonly used in the production of building materials from smaller offcuts of timber. It is commonly found in skirting,

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can a ...

, and

fascia A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs ...

. The joint is usually made by machine.

References

{{Woodworking Joinery Woodworking