What's the Best Wood Joint || Insanely Strong Joinery!
What's the Best Wood Joint || Insanely Strong Joinery!
In this video we test to see what’s the best wood joint and find some insanely strong joinery! Get Honey for FREE today ▸ https://joinhoney.com/bourbonmoth
Honey finds coupons with one click. Thanks to Honey for sponsoring!
Merchandise & Plans: https://www.bourbonmoth.com
Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/bourbonmothwoodworking
Cameo: http://www.cameo.com/bourbonmoth
Links below to tools and supplies:
Rockler Cross Cut Sled: https://www.rockler.com/tablesaw-crosscut-sled
Rockler Circle Jig: https://www.rockler.com/rockler-circle-cutting-jig
Double Sided Tape: https://amzn.to/3xMZlJH
Eye Protection: https://amzn.to/3gIO4A5
Woodpeckers square: https://amzn.to/3q8XObc
ISOtunes Bluetooth Hearing Protection (10% off code- BOURBONMOTH10) https://bit.ly/BourbonMoth10
Bits & Bits Precision Cutting Tools (10% off code- BOURBONBITS)
https://bitsbits.com/ref/6220/
RZ Mask (15% off code: BOURBONMOTH15)
http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=24281&awinaffid=1051405
Total Boat Epoxy: (10% coupon code TOTALMOTH) www.totalboat.com
Nicks Handmade Boots: https://bit.ly/3vZ8uMR
Firm Grip Work Gloves: https://thd.co/3LEO5TE
PowerPro Fasteners: https://amzn.to/3u3Mgtj
Pony Jorgensen Clamps: https://bit.ly/3knr9fZ
Spec Ops Hammer: https://amzn.to/3fMjAOd
Spec Ops Tape Measure: https://amzn.to/3w1M788
Spec Ops Pry Bar: https://amzn.to/2Ro3iC2
Spec Ops Chisels: https://amzn.to/3ga8kKv
Spec Ops Screw Drivers: https://amzn.to/3ciV8ls
Spec ops utility Knife: https://amzn.to/3g5ysWZ
Grizzly Tools:
Table Saw: https://amzn.to/3q8Wbu6
Jointer: https://amzn.to/3gFHE6a
Planer: https://amzn.to/3xCzH7r
Dust Collector: https://amzn.to/35AFEWw
Air Filtration: https://amzn.to/3zyXXsK
Band Saw: https://amzn.to/3gEtCAm
Drill Press: https://amzn.to/3xvhxEh
Lathe: https://amzn.to/3vChWUb
The length of the lever arm increases the weight (force) at the fulcrum. All your joints technically failed at a much higher weight. If you doubled the length of the boards you would half the weight of force. Mechanical advantage/disadvantage is magic 😂
Lamellos are mostly used to connect tabletops. So they don’t hold force at all. The are just a neat way to easy commect and align stuff. Not even joints most the time
👍👍👍👍👍
I want to see this but with the test piece being U shaped and the dude being applied downward testing it like someone opening a drawer.
Miter with through dowels
Really interesting and broadly as expected, but I’d suggest the primary variable to be controlled for better understanding is the gluing, surface prep, glue penetration to joint and clamping forces. The timber variance cannot really be managed but I doubt it’s as significant so long as you have generally clean grain quarter sawn for all.
If there was a steel made Lamella instead of plastic..
Great video. I’d like to see you test all mitre joints next time with lamello clamex cam connectors instead of the Tenso connectors you used here and mitre dove tails and mitres keyed joints as well
cheers!
Look out for "normal" lamello. Thats a piece of wood in shap of your cut, like the domino
Pardon being lazy! I don’t know if this has been suggested. I like the idea of the simple mitre joint with dowels inserted at 45 degrees from outer edge of the corner.
My guess strongest first:
Pocket holes outside
Pocket holes inside
Dowel pins
Dominos
Box joint
Dovetail
Lamello
Miter with splines
But joint
Miter
Got the top 1 and bottom 2 right.
domino surprised me most.
I often build speaker enclosures with nothing more than a miter cut. This makes me feel better about it.
Dude this was so valuable in my woodworking techniques! I can’t thank you enough! And by the way, I picked the top too 🙂
how the fuvk is this professor is doing a scientific unspiring generic and there’s no inconsistency in this GARBAGE we need to unsubscribe, do you think this innovation, innovative next gen, what a shame slow poo🤣
I sure wonder about a rabbet joint! And I also wonder what glue+nails would do (finish nails, of course). And… What about dowels angled like the pocket holes?
I suggest rerunning the test with a dovetail joint cut using a jig and router like the Leigh jig. Those crazy narrow pins might look sexy, but in my opinion create a much weaker joint than you would obtain with broader pins. Probably not as strong as the splined miter, but definitely stronger than the handcut dovetail.
Holy shit, it was awesome idea to test it..interesting and useful.
Nice video! I’m wanting to build a simple box frame that can withstand force that would come from the side (meaning I’m trying to prevent the square from turning into a parallelogram). What joint is best for that kind of load?
it took a second for my brain to register that he said the lube instead of glue. I was like “You only need lube if she’s not… Wait, what were we talking about?”
Really interesting 😮
Thumbs-down solely because of the jungle-bunny ears…
You’re lucky you didn’t try this at planet fitness, would have set off the lunk alarm 🤣
Do a spline joint with two locking dowels. Good luck drilling it straight. We believe in you, Man!
If there’re no weed jokes on this joint video, I’m going to be a little disappointed
Good stuff BM!!!
The video was the best. But it is a common joint. Why don’t you combine the two joints in one and make some variations for it? It would be lovely to see an art of your own and share it.
No mitered with domino?
That dovetail is surprising. I build guitars with dovetail neck joints, they have 210 lbs of string tension on the neck at all times. I’m thinking that it’s due to the size or lack thereof that caused the failure in this case
You called for a physics lesson: The accurate way to measure that breaking point is to measure torque on the joint. The torque is the twisting force and is equal to the perpendicular force times the distance from the pivot position. It is measured in foot-pounds or in newton-meters. Since you are using pounds and you are positioning your wood at a 45 degree angle, the Torque is T=Weight x Distance_perpendicular which is Torque= Weight x Length of wood x cos (45) where weight is the force in pounds, length is the length in feet from the joint to the edge of the wood where you are applying the force, and the angle in degrees is the angle from horizontal that you tilted the joint in the rig.
There are actually two ways to measure breaking force, torque (for twisting) and shear force. If you lay the top piece of wood flat at an angle of 0, you would just be measuring torque. If you propped the wood straight up (an angle of 90 from horizontal) and pushed straight down, you would be measuring shear force. You chose 45 degrees which is a combination of both but typically a joint will break to torque long before it breaks to shear force.
This was fun to watch, and informative. Thanks!
I honestly didn’t like the dovetail joint that he made. I felt like the "necks" were too small. I was taught to make each dovetail the same, and not skimp on the neck. I’m no expert, though, but thickness has gotta count for something. The box joint you made is a great example of each tooth being the same.
To test the actual joint you would have to vary the board width. Calculate the toal glue surface area for the different joints and adjust the size so the glue area is the same. After all, are you using one spline, two or three, how many dominoes, how many dowels, how many teeth are in the box joint, etc. Then after that we can talk direction of tension, e.g. what a boxjoint is good for vs dovetails.
Also, you can clearly see many of the joints have an initial break (the glue) an then after that the wood/screw/etc. meaning not all of them are useful as a unified joint, but some are either fragmented or designed as directional. Only the top few has one clear breaking point where both glue and design worked together as one.
Shame that a conventional biscuit joint was not tested.
Awesome test. Loved watching and learning. However I kept thinking, “what a waste of some really nice white oak boards”. But hey, some sacrifices must be made for science. Cheers.
dovetail pins too small
What is the difference between a drilled hole and a pre-drilled hole?
Its pretty rare that a drawer or box is stressed that way. I would love to see these tests repeated as a pull test instead (think the pulling action on a drawer).
This was really interesting! Thanks. How do you suggest we cut and put splines in a large piece of material. like a 2 x 12?
the dovetail had thin pins. make both sides equal and it would likely be equal to the box joint
Almost all of the breaks happened at the glue line, not the wood. You’ve underglued every test and have demonstrated that bond strength is largely proportional to glue surface area.
Would combining the miter and pocket together make for the strongest combination?
the box joint only had one additional bonded surface than the dovetail. 7 mating surfaces versus 6. that would account for some extra strength, but 100 extra pounds seems a bit crazy. that can’t possibly be right. there must be some other variable in play.
so i’m gonna need you to do another series of tests where you make twenty of each joint and then average the results. and you should glue the joints in repeating groups to minimize the effects of variability in your gluing method. what i mean is, glue all the different joints, then go back and do the second iteration of each joint, and so on.
you could also do half of them dry, then the other half wet… i.e., using a sponge to wet the wood before gluing. see what difference that really makes.
my guess for a super strong joint would be in this vein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-ODWGUfBEM
Physics + Woodwork … this sounds like a good collaboration project for high school students 🙂
How might a rabbet joint compare? Also, what about different materials like plywood?
I have tried them all. For speed, price, and strength I find pocket hole joints to be amazing. Not the best, but high in all areas and uses. Do not undercount pocket hole joinery.
I also make my own plugs, and I fill the pocket holes, cut smooth and sand. Nearly invisible.
My next favorite is splines. Always hardwood splines. I came across some super dense and thin plywood the same thickness as a rip blade. It was so nice.
I can make hand dovetails, mechanical dovetails….. just not worth it.
Finger joints… splines have replaced them.
Dowels take too long, with no leeway for error. Even though I make my own dowels.
Biscuits have too much space around the biscuit, and take too long. As Tenons are vastly superior in any application that you would normally use biscuits.
Tenon joinery is great but expensive, and so is biscuits.
Also, I made a ton of shelves/ boxes with rounded corners, and cove trim in the inside corners. Getting rid of all 90 degree angles with round over or round… insiders.. The cover trim glued into the 90 degree corner, made the joint incredibly strong. Kind of like spline gluing the joint long ways.
My predictions (at the moment you asked for them):
– Butt joint (Weakest)
– Miter joint
– Pocket holes inside
– Pocket holes outside
– Miter with spline
– Domino
– Dowels
– Dovetail
– Lamello
– Box joint (Strongest)
Based on the amount of end grain and long grain being glued, the kind of construction and the type of load you’re applying on the joints.
And wow, you’ve got me eating my words there. I did not expect that outcome. Also surprised by the strength of the pocket holes, and the weakness of the lamello. Never saw that before so I guess I excuse myself for getting that one very wrong…
Have done a box joint that is drilled and pinned with a dowel?
If you want to be more scientific about these tests, consider making at least 3 samples of each joint and average the results.
The more samples, the more representative your data will be.
i bet an old japanese guy could make a stronger dovetail without using glue