A socket joint is a simple and strong woodworking joint that joins two workpieces at right angles. A housing joint is commonly used in shelving and cabinet frames, and can be cut with a router or by hand. Butt joints are also used, but require nails or screws for support. Glue blocks can be added for additional support.
A socket joint is a very simple and very strong woodworking joint that joins two workpieces at right angles by cutting a slot, or nut, in one piece and driving the other piece into it. Commonly found in bookcases and other shelving, as well as drawers and cabinet carcasses, they are favored by woodworkers due to the ease of construction, typically requiring only one piece to be cut. A seat joint consists of a nut perpendicular to the leading edge of a piece and no deeper than a third of its thickness. The die width corresponds to the width of a second workpiece, which fits into the die and creates a strong right angle joint.
One of the most common uses of a housing joint is in the construction of shelving, but they are also often used in the construction of cabinet frames. When constructing shelves, identical dice are cut on each side of the unit, perpendicular to the front edge, to the exact dimensions of the end of the shelf. When both dice have been cut correctly, the shelf will fit snugly in place. Modern housing joints are almost always cut with a router and jig, but were painstakingly cut by hand in the days before power tools.
If the cut is made completely from front to back of the bearing sides, the joint is called a “through” housing joint and no cut is made in the shelf itself. A drawback of the through housing joint, however, is that the elements of the joint are visible from the front of the part, which often detracts from its aesthetic appeal. An alternative is the “stopped” seat joint, where the cut is stopped before the front, and sometimes the back, of the side support. A firm seat joint generally requires that the corners of the shelves be trimmed to make it easier to insert the ends into the firm nuts. When viewed from the front, the nut will not be visible, giving a neat and tidy look.
Housing joints are one of the few strong and simple joints often used to make right angle joints. It has three elements: two sides and a bottom. A “butt” joint is constructed in much the same way, but is cut off the end of the piece so it has only one side and one bottom. When using a butt joint, the second piece is usually cut to fit. A butt joint is made by joining two pieces of wood together, edge to face, without any trimming. The two pieces are usually attached with nails and screws, as there would be too much pressure and stress for the glue to secure a butt joint.
Like most woodworking joints, housing joints are usually attached with carpenter’s glue and held until the glue has cured. Depending on the use of the joint, nails or screws may also be driven through the bottom of the nut and into the edge of the shelf, but most woodworkers disdain the use of screws or nails in their joinery. Another popular way to strengthen bay joints is to glue them down with glue blocks. These are simple blocks of wood that fit snugly into the corners of joinery joints and are glued into place, providing additional support to both joint elements and reinforcing the joint itself.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
