Tongue and groove joinery is a step up from the butt joint.  The joint consists of two components, a tongue and a groove, one on each mating edge.  Unlike the butt joint, it's crucial that the mating edges are flat and square to each other, not just complementary angles.  The size of the tongue really shouldn't be larger than 1/4-3/8" deep and the thickness should be at least 1/3 the thickness of the total board.  A wider tongue is more likely to break off under stress.

Advantages of the tongue and groove
A. increased gluing surface
B. interlocking components for added strength
C. interlocking components aide in keeping surfaces level with each other

Disadvantages of tongue and groove
A. set up time can be long and frustrating
B. tight joints can cause splitting of mating pieces

Wood prep - just as important or more important than butt joints
A. mating edges must be square and flat for tight interlocking joints
B. stock must be of equal thickness
C. for best results, all tongues should be cut at the same time and all grooves should be cut at the same time.  This will decrease any irregularities between interlocking components.
D. remember also that if you want the boards to appear uniform in width, account for the hidden tongue.

Tools for joinery - depends on the woodworker, but either the tablesaw or router are your choices
A. tablesaw uses either the dado blade, the traditional blade or a moulding head cutter.
B. routers are best used in a router table with either a straight bit with multiple passes or a specialized bit.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!! If you are interested in winning a five piece Pinnacle Tools turning set then send me an email to get your name in the drawing. Woodcraft tools was kind enough to offer this great looking set of tools for me to give away to a lucky listener. I'm keeping the drawing open for a period of two months to give everyone a chance to enter. Names must be submitted by 12:00am October 6, 2006. That weekend the winner will be drawn and then announced on the following episode. It'll be the winner's responsibility to cover the cost of the shipping, but given the value of these tools, it'll be worth it.

Thanks to Shutter Sam Photography for the picture. Check out her work at www.shuttersam.com . Thanks for listening and remember to submit your name for the tool drawing.

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The butt joint is a basic all purpose joint, easy to make and very useful in all sorts of situations. The butt joint is crucial for gluing up multiple narrow boards into a single wider board. The key to a successful joint is to make sure that the mating edges are complimentary to each other. Most likely your mating edges will be squared as a result of running them through a power jointer, but there are other ways to achieve the complimentary edges. Other methods for achieving the mating edges include using a hand plane or even using jigs for either a router or a tablesaw. The strongest butt joints are achieved by gluing long grain to long grain edges, this type of joint is strong by itself but if you're concerned about excessive stress it's possible to reinforce the edges with various aides. Reinforcing joints can be done with either a biscuit joiner, dowels or even pocket holes.

Thanks for all the emails and for all the support it's greatly appreciated. Remember to get your name in for the Pinnacle tool set from Woodcraft or just to get your name in for some of the free schwag we have. Check out the Woodcraft magazine link for a free issue.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!! If you are interested in winning a five piece Pinnacle Tools turning set then send me an email to get your name in the drawing. Woodcraft tools was kind enough to offer this great looking set of tools for me to give away to a lucky listener. I'm keeping the drawing open for a period of two months to give everyone a chance to enter. Names must be submitted by 12:00am October 6, 2006. That weekend the winner will be drawn and then announced on the following episode. It'll be the winner's responsibility to cover the cost of the shipping, but given the value of these tools, it'll be worth it.

Thanks to Shutter Sam Photography for the picture. Check out her work at www.shuttersam.com . Thanks for listening and remember to submit your name for the tool drawing.

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It's the end of summer here in Michigan, it's time to start thinking about moving projects indoors.  This is the perfect time to go over a few steps that ensure our tablesaws will be working at their best when we need them the most.  Not to mention, having a tablesaw that's all tuned up from the get go will make your work even easier.

Areas to go over include, the motor, the tabletop, the blade and the blade alignment, the fence and it's alignment.  Once the tablesaw is set, all you have to do from time to time is just check to make sure it stays set.

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Congratulations to Brian K. Ross, this weeks winner of free swag.  To get your name in for free swag, just drop me a line at mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com. 

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!! If you are interested in winning a five piece Pinnacle Tools turning set then send me an email to get your name in the drawing. Woodcraft tools was kind enough to offer this great looking set of tools for me to give away to a lucky listener. I'm keeping the drawing open for a period of two months to give everyone a chance to enter. Names must be submitted by 12:00am October 6, 2006. That weekend the winner will be drawn and then announced on the following episode. It'll be the winner's responsibility to cover the cost of the shipping, but given the value of these tools, it'll be worth it.

Thanks to Shutter Sam Photography for the picture. Check out her work at www.shuttersam.com . Thanks for listening and remember to submit your name for the tool drawing.

Straight grains and sharp blades, Matt