Joinery is an ancient craft used by all cultures for the construction of their homes and furnishings. From the hand hewing of timbers for post and beam construction to the highly complex and intricate joints of furniture, the craftsmanship and skills required have been passed on from generation to generation or obtained through journeyman apprenticeships.

Joinery at the simplest level is the assembly of two wooden parts, at right angles, at splayed angles or extending in the same direction. Though the principles of joinery are similar in homebuilding and furniture making, i.e. the mortise and tenon joint, the care with which it is crafted is far more refined in the joiner’s shop.

In the traditional sense, after the “carpenters framed the home”, the joiners would arrive to do the finish work, splitting their duties between the shop and the structure being built. The joiners would mill and install the floors, wall panels, doors, windows, trim, staircases, carvings, built-ins and cabinets. Molding details would vary from structure to structure, based on the tools that particular joiner had in his collection and when necessary would make the tooling for the profiles required.

The following quotes should also help to define the word, “joinery”

“Joinery includes the design, setting out, preparation and fixing of woodwork
chiefly used for internal fittings and finishes increasing the habitability and
appearance of a building. ”
W.B. McKay, a builder in 1938

“Of all the mechanical arts, joinery (menuiserie) is the one in which
there are the greatest number of tools, the perfect knowledge of which
is indispensable both for the manner of making them and for that of
using them.”
A translation, from Jacques-Andre Roubo’s “L’Art du Menuiser”, published between 1769 & 1775............

In a joinery shop, close fitting joints, accurate workmanship and smooth finished surfaces are chief objectives. A predominant joint in the joiner’s repertoire is the mortise and tenon, which in furniture forms the essential component of frame and panel construction (as in a raised panel door). Through dovetails and half-blind dovetails typically comprise the assembly of cabinets made of wide expanses of solid wood (as in a blanket chest) and in the assembly of drawers.

All woods, no matter how well seasoned the wood may be, have the potential to change in width across the grain when exposed to varying environmental conditions. Therefore, knowledge of the properties of various woods, as well as thought given to the form and character of the joints, will ensure that the joints are strong and durable despite the stresses caused either by the behavior of the material itself or by the extraneous forces to which they are subjected to such as in doors, windows or shutters.

In my workshop, after formulating the design, I layout full scale drawings to determine the various forms of mortise & tenon and dovetail joints necessary for the construction of your cabinets, doors, furniture or furnishing. In constructing drawers I use the half-blind dovetail joint to assemble the “drawer box” both in the front and the back. Wooden slides/runners (versus metal slides) are created for maximizing the inside depth and use of drawers except where weight or size might exempt this practice. My joinery work is performed using both machine and hand tools as the needs necessitate. I also have the capability to shape custom knives for those unique profiles. Finishes are applied by hand.