Wood assembly - tongue and groove joint
Wood assembly - tongue and groove joint
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Difficulty:
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In woodworking, wood assembly by traditional means without nails or screws yields a more natural, attractive and professional finish. The joining method is chosen according to one’s tools, knowledge, and habits as well as according to the project at hand.
This assembly technique has been used for a long period of time. It is quite straightforward: a groove is carved along the edge of a plank while a tongue is carved along its other edge. Tongues are inserted into corresponding grooves thus creating a solid joint.
Before Assembly
Traditional tools such as rabbet planes were long used by carpenters to carve wood planks along the tongue and groove technique.
The traditional tools were efficient and precise and they were relatively easy to use. Boards would be secured in a vice and the appropriate plane would be slid along the edge.
Nowadays, modern tools such as a router or a table saw equipped with a standard saw are used to shape the boards. When using the standard saw, the process can be accelerated if one uses a set of dado blades, combined to form grooves and tongues of different widths in a single pass.
Steps
1.1 Trace a line 3/16" from each end of the board’s tip.
1.2 Separate each small rectangle into three equal areas.
1.3 Hatch as illustrated to identify the portions to be removed.
2.1 Adjust the height of the blade to 3/16".
2.2 Adjust the position of the ripping guide so that when the board to be machined is pressed against it, the blade coincides with the hatched portions.
2.3 Make a first pass to dig a first kerf.
2.4 Move the guide a little and make a second pass.
2.5 Keep working this way until the entire width of the groove or the tongue is cleared.
Variations:
To secure shelves inside furniture (e.g.: bookcase), grooves as large as the shelves’ thickness can be made on the sides of the piece of furniture; thus the shelf doesn’t need a tongue and is inserted directly in those “rails”.
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