Everything you need to know about tongue and groove joints

Tongue and groove joints are special types of woodworking joint that are used to attach two or more timber pieces edge to edge. One of the edges of the piece consists of a slot (groove) which runs down the entire length of the timber and the tongue is fit into it. The joint is not normally glued, as shrinkage would pull off the tongue. Another way of assembling the tongue and groove joint is when the pieces are end-matched. This method eliminates the need for mitre joint, face nailing etc.

how to make tongue and groove joint

How to make a tongue and groove joint

Tongue and groove joint can be very difficult to make if the right machine tool is not used. however, one can easily buy an already made version of the joint to save time and mistake when trying to make it yourself. There are many types of timbers readily available with this particular joint which is the best option. if you still want to learn how to make tongue and groove joints you can just the video below:

Applications

A reasonable strong joint is obtained with the tongue and groove joint and the joint is aesthetically pleasing making it applicable in areas such as floorboards, lining boards, tabletops and wood panelling. Tongue and groove joint is widely used for re-entrant angles and it can be used in expensive cabinet work along with glued dovetail. This joining method is used on similar objects together and two flat pieces such as plywood can be strongly joined together to make a single flat surface. Plywood may be tongued all round to fit it flush into a framed structure, and plywood for sub-floors used in platform framing is often supplied with tongue and groove edges.

Read: Everything you need to know about Dovetail joints

Below are the woodworking tools used for the production of the tongue and groove joints:

  • A wood shaper
  • A circular saw benches
  • Suitable hand planes
  • A spindle router
  • A four- or six-head moulder

That’s for this article definition, application and how to cut tongue and groove joints. I hope the knowledge is attained, if so, kindly comment, share and recommend this site to other technical students. Thanks!

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