Woodworking joints guide
Strength and difficulty of 8 joint types — pick for the task
| Joint | Strength | Difficulty | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butt joint (screws) | ●○○○○ | ●○○○○ | frames, rough work |
| Dowel joint | ●●●○○ | ●●○○○ | furniture, tabletops |
| Mortise & tenon | ●●●●● | ●●●●○ | chairs, doors, frames |
| Dovetail | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | drawers, chests |
| Biscuit joint | ●●●○○ | ●●○○○ | panel glue-ups |
| Pocket hole | ●●●○○ | ●○○○○ | frames, face frames |
| Finger joint | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | length splicing |
| Half-lap | ●●●○○ | ●●○○○ | cross frames |
Strength is relative, from glued-joint tests. Mortise & tenon and dovetail are the furniture gold standard. Pocket screws are fastest for frames.