The Wonders of Carpentry: Joinery

Joinery

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Joinery is a part of woodworking which involves joining together pieces of wood to produce more complex items. Some wood joints employ fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, while others use only wood elements. The characteristics of wooden joints are strength, flexibility, toughness, appearance, etc. Derive from the properties of the joining materials and from how they are used in the joints. Therefore, different joinery techniques are used to meet differing requirements. For example, the joinery used to build a house is different from that used to make puzzle toys, although some concepts overlap.

A carpenter and joiner is one who has a much broader skill ranging from joinery, finishing carpentry, building construction and form work. A good carpenter must have joinery skills however a joiner don't necessarily have to be a carpenter. Joiners may work in a workshop, because the formation of various joints is made easier by the use of non-portable, powered machinery, or on job site. A joiner usually produces items such as interior and exterior doors, windows, stairs, tables, bookshelves, cabinets, furniture, etc.

Many traditional wood joinery techniques use the distinctive material properties of wood, often without resorting to mechanical fasteners or adhesives. While every culture in which pieces of wood are joined together to make furniture or structures has a joinery tradition, wood joinery techniques have been especially well documented and celebrated in the Indian, Chinese, European, and Japanese traditions. Because of the actual physical existence of Indian and Egyptian. While Western techniques focused on concealment of joinery, the Eastern societies, though later, did not attempt to "hide" their joints. The Japanese and Chinese traditions in particular required the use of hundreds of types of joints. The reason was that nails and glues used did not stand up well to the vastly fluctuating temperatures and humid weather conditions in most of Central and South-East Asia. As well, the highly resinous woods used in traditional Chinese Furniture do not glue well, even if they are pre-cleaned with solvents and attached using modern glues.