popularmechanics.co.za MAY / JUNE 2022 81
STEP 1: Four-square your two pieces of wood for the joint. Make sure they
are exactly the same width and thickness as each other. For this practice joint,
the boards should be 150 mm to 250 mm long, 140 mm wide and 12 mm thick.
STEP 3: Apply blue painters tape to
the boards as per the images. An eternal
argument exists among woodworkers as to
which part of the joint to cut first. We always
use the ‘tails first’ approach – our students
find it easier, and by doing so you can lay out
and cut multiple tail boards simultaneously
when clamped together, for example when
matching drawer sides.
Once you’ve established the orientation of
the boards and marked them clearly, scribe
the joint baselines on both boards using the
marking gauge set to the exact thickness
of the board. Scribe the tail board on both
edges as well. There’s no need to scribe the
edges of the pin boards. Setting the gauge
to the board’s exact thickness means there
are no proud pins that will interfere when
you glue and clamp the joint.PROCESS
STEP 2: Begin by marking out the orientation of the pin and tail boards – inside
and outside faces, top and bottom, front and back. Remember that in cabinetry, the
tail boards always make up the sides of drawers and carcasses, and the pin boards
are usually the fronts and rears of drawers and tops and bottoms of carcasses due
to the mechanical ‘locking’ action of the joint.