Week 4 - Different ways to join Wood

Exploring how to join wood:

Plywood or Metal strap

This is considered the simplest method and appearance is not as
important.

All you need to do is grab wood planks then lay it sideways along the wood pieces. Next, glue or nail the plank onto the surfaces of the wood pieces. This will work as long as you’re able to manage to keep the wood pieces close together. This is very simple and it saves money in the long run.

Make sure that the plank is able to support the wood pieces weight. Make sure to work on a flat surface. Also, pressing the pieces against each other leaves no gap.

These two pictures on the left and right are when I first performed this joining method with two pieces of wood put together with round head nails and screws.

This way to join wood is in my opinion the simplest and most cost-effective way of joining wood together while also providing the most strength as well. It only took me a minute to join them together and it was done.

Make a hole and screw pieces together

This is a fast way of attaching the wood pieces end to end. However, you need to drill multiple holes for securing the joining properly. This is a long-term solution and best used when combining this with other joining methods.

It is important to test this out. Just lay the pieces side by side. Drilling an angled hole on one wood piece towards the other is essential. 

I believe that I will use this style of joining the most, as it is the simplest and easiest way of joining wood, and it provides a lot of strength and it doesn't take a lot of experience to do it.

Using a Spline

This method is a bit more complicated but focusses more on internal strength.

The first step is using a saw blade to make a groove on both of the wood pieces. The groove stays in the middle of each wood piece. The width and the length of the grooves highly depend on the wood pieces dimensions.

I doubt that I will use this type of joining as there is no need for me to use it for the hive. This is because it is too complicated for me to do and I have no experience with doing this joining method and there is no need for it, this is why I believe I will not use it.

Half-lap joint

This method is simple, strong and also looks good. Making the pieces overlap is important as the more pieces that overlap the stronger it is.

One wood piece is sawed of its upper half of and the other at the lower half. Clamp the wood pieces together to check if they make a good fit. 

Also it is unlikely that I will use this joining method because it will be too complex to use for every join. I believe that it wont be strong enough to hold the weight of the hive and that there are other ways to join that are stronger and simpler.

The milter joint

·    Is created when the ends of two boards are cut at angles to fit. Cut both pieces of wood at a 45° angle and do the same on the other piece of wood so they come together at 90° angle. Use wood glue to secure it – can add nails or screws to make it stronger.

·    Doesn’t have to be a 90° angle, can be any other angle as long as they fit.

These two pictures on the left and right are also pictures of my attempt of performing this style of joining. For this I cut two pieces of wood at about 45° on each plank and then I joined them together with two round head nails. 

This style of joining took a little bit longer than it did for the plywood and strap joining method but still didn't take that long.

This method is still fairly simple and will be of great use when making the hive for when I am joining wood on the corners.

The dovetail joint

·    The dovetail joint is considered to being one of the strongest wood joints. It has different sections that interlock, so they are hard to move apart when they are in place. Although they must be glued for extra strength and security and they can also be nailed to further increase the strength of the joint, but it is not a necessity. 

      I believe that I will not use this join because it is way too complex for me to use for every join and I have no experience with this style of join. 

     https://howchoo.com/g/mmq4mdfiymr/how-to-make-a-dovetail-joint-with-traditional-woodworking-tools

     

      How To Join Two Wood Pieces End To End | Cut The Wood

Joinery Basics | Woodworking - YouTube

How this helped me?

This helped me as it further increased my knowledge of the different ways of joining wood together. It has also shown me many different methods and how they can be applied as well as their weaknesses and strengths. For example the dovetail joint is said to be the strongest for joins, and it is also used for beehives to provide a lot of strength, but I had never heard of it before I read the website.

Again, practicing these different styles of joining wood has improved my knowledge and skills of joining wood. I feel that combined with my increased awareness of wood cutting methods that I am starting to feel much more confident about starting the build.