How to Make Finger Joints on a Table Saw

Finger joints, named so because of their resemblance to interlaced fingers, are a sturdy joint that you would find in a lot of wooden boxes. These joints are usually secured in place with wood glue and are great at preventing any twisting of a joint. If you are working on a project that would best be completed with the use of finger joints, then follow the steps below to learn how you can create these joints using a table saw.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Table saw Stacked dado set Miter gauge Scrap piece of plywood Scrap board Wood screw Screw driver Boards to be jointed Sandpaper

1. Set your stacked dado set to the width that you would like your finger joints to be.

2. Attach your scrap of plywood to your miter gauge so that it extends past your blade and the left side of your miter gauge.

3. Run the scrap of plywood through the saw once you have squared it to the blade.

4. Detach the scrap of plywood from the miter gauge.

5. Cut a peg that is twice as long as the width of the pieces that you are working with to fit through the notch that you just cut in your scrap piece of plywood. Screw the peg in place with a wood screw.

6. Reattach the scrap of plywood to the miter gauge to the right of where it was originally attached, twice the width of the blades. So, if the blades are set to 1/2 inch, then you are going to reattach to scrap of plywood 1 inch to the right of where it was originally attached.

7. Place your first work piece so that the first cut with notch out a chunk that is the width of the fingers, which is the width of the blades. So, if your blade is set at 1/2 inch, then you want to place your work piece so that a 1/2-inch notch is cut from the top of it.

8. Place the notch you just cut over the peg that you attached to the scrap of plywood to make your second cut. Then move the board so that the second cut is now over the peg. Continue making cuts in this fashion until you reach the end of the work piece.

9. Cut the second board in the same manner, only make the first cut with the board resting against the peg that you attached to the scrap plywood.

10. Sand the work pieces as needed to make them fit together.