How to Tie Boards Togther at a Right Angle

Cabinet makers use a number of techniques for joining boards at right angles to each other, and the most appropriate one depends on the ratio of the width of the boards to their thickness. If it's small, they can use splines, which are slices of wood glued into insets cut into the corner formed by the boards, dowels or screws. If the ratio is large, they may opt for a complex technique like dovetails. Unless you are building drawers or a high-end dresser, though, the simplest technique is usually sufficient. It's called gluing and screwing.

Scrap hardwood stock
Table saw
Tape measure
Pencil
Carpenter's square
Handsaw
Drill
Drill bits
Carpenter's glue
Wood screws

Instructions

- 1
  Use a table saw to cut strips of wood from scrap hardwood stock that have a square 3/4-inch cross-section.
- 2
  Measure the thickness of the pieces you are joining with a tape measure. If you are joining standard 1-inch stock, the measurement will be 3/4 inch. Make a mark at this distance from the top of one of the boards and use a carpenter's square to draw a straight line through the mark, parallel to the top of the board.
- 3
  Cut one of the strips of wood you made in Step 1 with a handsaw so that it is 1 1/2 inches shorter than the width of the board on which you drew the line. Drill two or three evenly spaced holes through two perpendicular faces with an 1/8-to-1/4-inch drill bit.
- 4
  Spread carpenter's glue on one face of the strip and center on the line. It should be underneath the line and its top edge touching. Drive a 1- to-1 1/2-inch wood screw into each hole to secure the strip to the board. Choose screws that will sink as far as possible into the stock without emerging from the other side.
- 5
  Spread glue on the top edge of the strip and place an end of the other board in the corner formed by the strip and the wood to which it is attached. Push the boards together so the end of the board you are joining is flush against the side of the other board, then drive screws into the strip from underneath.
- 6
  Wait for the glue to dry before you move the boards in any way that will produce stress at the joint.

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