How to Make a Comb Joint - Part 1

In this video, you will learn how to make a Comb Joint.

A ‘comb’ or finger joint is made by cutting a complementary series of rectangular slots in two pieces of wood so that they interlock like the fingers of a pair of hands.

The tools that you will need are: a Try Square, a Ruler, a Marking Gauge, a Marking Knife, a Pencil, a Crosscut Saw, a Coping Saw, a Vice, a Bevel Edge Chisel, a Mallet and a Bench Plane.

The materials you will need are: Two Workpieces, Adhesive and Sawdust.

Step 1 - Marking the fingers.

Start by using a Try Square to check if both pieces of wood are square, to ensure an accurate joint.

Make any necessary adjustments using a plane.

Set a marking gauge to slightly more than the thickness of the workpiece.

This will create longer fingers that can be leveled later on.

Scribe a line along the edge of the first piece to mark the depth of the socket that will be cut into it.

Extend the line onto the adjacent side.

Highlight the line with a pencil.

Now, mark the depth line on the second piece.

Decide on the number and size of the fingers and mark them across the end grain of the first piece.

Here, we have used a 12 centimeter edge which will be split into two 3 cm fingers and two 3 cm slots.

Measure the distance between each cut with a ruler and pierce the marking knife into each point as you exchange the ruler with a try square to cut a straight line.

Extend the lines to the front face of the workpiece.

Draw a series of stripes to differentiate the waste wood that needs to be cut off.

Step 2 - Cutting the fingers.

Secure the piece in a vice with the endgrain facing up and use a crosscut saw to cut the 3 cm lines down to the shoulder.

Remove the bulk of the waste using a coping saw, making a J-shaped cut into the adjacent vertical cut.

Remember to cut a little into the waste wood so that you can finish with a chisel later.

Use a coping saw to get rid of the waste wood in the middle.

Turn the workpiece to its side and saw off the next section of waste wood with the cross cut saw.

Remove any remaining waste from the walls of the fingers using a bevel edge chisel.

Flatten the shoulders with a paring action of the chisel.

You can also clamp the workpiece horizontally and chisel vertically using mallet strikes.

For the remaining steps, continue watching How to Make a Comb Joint part 2.

Watch the Video How to Make a Comb Joint part 2.