When I consider the fasteners I’ll use on a project, it’s easy to default to woodscrews. They’re simple to install and they’re reliable, but they’re far from the only fasteners available. In these next few pages, we’ll take a look at another set of options: wood fasteners.
WHY WOOD?
As useful as screws are, there’s a number of places in a project where they’re less than ideal. A screw is an inelegant way to reinforce a miter, and they lack shear strength compared to wood. Wood fasteners can also be used as quick alternatives to traditional joinery (for instance, dowels taking the place of a mortise and tenon in a frame). Here you’ll find the four, simple wood fasteners that I use most in my shop — and which might find their way in to yours.
SPLINES
A spline is simply a thin, long (or wide) piece of hardwood. They’re easy to make, and, as long as your splines 1⁄8 " thick, all you need to make a groove for a spline is a flat top blade.
USING SPLINES.
Splines work best when used to join boards along their edges. They work great for operations like adding edging to a panel, or to align and strengthen miter joints. Using cross-grained hardwood splines in these joints will ensure they last for decades.
MAKING SPLINES.
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| Pay attention to grain direction when cutting your splines. Cross-grain makes for a stronger spline. |
One blank can make four splines. When sizing the blank, you'll usually want it wider than it is long (depending on the orientation of the joint). A spline is at its strongest when it’s supporting the joint with cross grain rather than long grain.
You can see how I make splines in the box above. Two cuts are needed at the table saw for each spline. The first cut is made on-edge, creating a groove down the width of the workpiece (Figure 1) to section off a small tab. The second cut is made on the face, freeing the newly made spline from the blank as you see in Figure 2. Cut the splines on the outside of the blade to avoid pinning them against the fence and risking kickback.
DOWELS
Dowels are another easy, functional fastener. One big advantage I find in using dowels is that a drill bit instantly makes a perfect hole for the dowel — no need to refine the fit of a mortise and tenon.
Dowels are also quite versatile. Not only can they function as small, loose tenons, but they’re more than sufficient in many places where a screw might go. Depending on the mating pieces, dowels may even be stronger than woodscrews, plus they don’t need to be disguised if you don’t want to see a screw-head peeking out of your project.
MAKING A DOWEL JOINT
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| Layout. Begin by marking the locations of the dowels across the jointline on the faces of both workpieces. | Centerline. Score the centerline of the first workpiece on the edge. I add a pencil mark for visibility as well. | Transfer Layout. Use a square to transfer the layout lines from the face to the edge. |
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| Drilling. Head to the drill press to make the dowel holes. Use the fence to keep the holes even. | Chamfer. Finish the dowel holes with a slight chamfer. This will make tapping the mating pieces together easier. | Dowel Centers. Use dowel centers to transfer the locations, then drill and chamfer the mating workpiece. |
LAYING OUT DOWELS.
Installing dowels begins with a good layout. For something like the frame I made below, I use two dowels to join the end of a stile to the edge of a rail. Steps 1 through 3 in the box below show how I make a reliable layout for the dowels.
DRILLING & CHAMFERING.
Drilling out the dowel holes is easy. Set the fence on the drill press to keep the dowel holes even, then drill out as in Step 4.
I follow up the drilling by adding a slight chamfer to the holes (Step 5). This makes it easier to tap in place during assembly. Just use a countersink bit and make slight contact with the hole to create the chamfer.
To make sure the dowel holes will be a perfect match, I use dowel centers (Step 6) for an exact transfer. After drilling and chamfering the stile, the frame is ready to glue and tap together.
PEGGED JOINT.
Another common use for dowels when joining boards is to make a pegged joint. As I mentioned earlier, dowels can be used in place of screws for many operations.
For instance, on a case with rabbeted sides you can peg the top in place with dowels for their shear strength. You could also peg a dowel (or dowels) through a mortise and tenon joint for a supremely sturdy connection when you need it, such as in a dining table or workbench.
BISCUITS & DOMINOS
The last pair of wood fasteners to discuss are biscuits and dominoes. Both have their distinct uses, and with the tools you see on the opposite page they’re quick and easy to make.
BISCUITS.
On the left (opposite page) you can see a biscuit joiner. It wasn’t too long ago that one of these was in nearly every shop. Nowadays most of them are tucked away, collecting dust. But not all.
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| Biscuit and domino joiners are specialized tools — each with their own unique cutters — that can quickly make mortises for a variety of uses, from panel glueups to casework to frames. |
Biscuits are more useful than they may look. They function like small splines, making them great at on-edge joinery. This could be gluing up large panels, helping to align miters, or even joining a whole case together.
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| A biscuit joiner is a quick way to align miters and join up large panels. |
A biscuit joiner is really a slot cutter with a fence to keep it aligned. To use one, you simply set the height of the fence, set the depth of cut, and adjust the angle if necessary. After that, just start the joiner and push it in to make the slot.
DOMINOES.
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| A Domino joiner makes cutting mortises for loose tenon joints a breeze. |
The tool above is Festool’s Domino joiner. Although it looks (and operates) similar to a biscuit joiner, this tool actually functions more like a sideways plunge router. As you push forward and cut, a mortising bit in the joiner oscillates to make the mortise.
Dominoes aren’t as long as biscuits, but they are thicker, and they extend further into the workpiece. This means they work well on ends, as when making a frame, while also creating a stronger joint. It’s not often that you see these two tools in the pages of Woodsmith, but don’t be fooled — they certainly earn a place in any shop.
