Techniques for Mitered Woodworking Joints
- A plain miter woodworking joint is one of the primary techniques used to join two pieces of wood. A good example of a plain miter joint is two pieces of wood cut for a door frame. The desired angle is 90 degrees, so the trim resting on the top of the door frame must be cut at 45 degrees. The wood trim running along the side of the door frame must also be cut at 45 degrees. When the two edges are connected to curve around the door, the angles match, making the desired 90 degree angle. A straight cut downward, along the face of the trim, makes this a plain miter joint.
- A drawer for a dresser or other piece of furniture requires an angled miter woodworking joint. This type of joint requires a 90 degree angle, and both adjoining piece must be 45 degrees. The difference in the cut is that it does not run along the face of the wood. The 45 degrees is cut down the width of the wood. This makes the depth of the drawer. You can glue the connecting corners together or use trim nails to tighten the joints.
- A miter woodworking joint that requires more strength needs a spline. You cut the trim at the desired angles but use a router to cut a slot down the center of the angles' thickness. The grooves can then have splines, small pieces of wood, inserted between the joint. Dry fit the splines and trim before running a bead of wood glue along the slot of each piece of wood. Glue the splines and joints together and use a clamp to hold the joints while the miter joints dry.
- A slotted miter joint requires more precision than any of the other miter joints. This technique is also used when you need the joints to have more strength. The desired angles are cut, similar to the other miter joint techniques, and the one piece of trim has slots inserted. The matching piece has nipples, similar to dial pins, cut out. The nipples must fit tightly into the slots to attach the miter joints and strengthen the joint. Once joined, only the miter joint is visible and not the nipples or adjoining slots.
