Study Group Update

A recent objective for the online carpentry study group has been the study of various Japanese joints. The right of the page has featured a rather nondescript looking 3-way connection between a post and header at a corner. I had originally planned to post an animated gif file there showing the joint going together, but that seems to be a difficult thing to accomplish in blogger, so I went with the ‘mystery’ view.

It seemed like time to share with readers here the way that joint goes together.

The parts:

 

The post features a cross-wise stub tenon at the base of a half tenon:

Assembly start:

Assembly midway:

Header parts are together:

Keys are tapped in:

The post slides in:

Assembled:

The keys are shaped of course for easy remove-ability, as this is simply a model. Ordinrily the keys would not have such large top portions and would be driven in with a hammer and then trimmed flush.

Another view:

Normally, a joint like this would be used for the connection between post and header, or post and sill, and thus the joint mechanism would not be exposed to view. This is about all one would see:

It is a joint which could be used architecturally, say on a projecting framework, or as a furniture connection.

I used some left-over Iroko for the joints, which was easy to cut with sharp tools but very delicate and easily dented. It is about as soft a wood as Western Red Cedar. All in all, probably not the best choice for a joinery model subject to handling and the wear and tear of frequent dis-assembly. However, it was on hand and there to be used, and that’s what I did.

All for today – thanks for visiting.