Although we've made our living as builders for nearly a quarter of a century, our interest in construction began when we were little. Our dad had an old-fashioned workshop that was filled with everything a kid could dream of. “The shop,” featured a bench grinder, table saw, drill press, pipe vise and a bench vise.

There were many tools...both power and hand. We still remember the shiny chrome-cased drill, the sander and the drawer full of screwdrivers of every shape and size. There were cans of this and pails of that and lots of scrap wood from past projects saved for future ones.

The concrete floor was a work of art, covered with paint from every color of the rainbow. The wood top of the workbench was peppered with notches, cuts, gouges and dried glue.

We attribute a large measure of our interest in construction to “the shop” and how our dad miraculously could transform an old stack of wood into a thing of beauty that mom inevitably found useful as a home for dishes, books, clothing or knickknacks.

We learned early that a saw, some nails or screws, glue and a few sticks of wood along with some time and energy could produce powerful results. And, along the way, we discovered that not all wood joints are alike. We learned that the means by which two boards were attached had a lot to do with the appearance of what we were making and how well the joint held up.

A miter joint is one of the cleanest looking joints, but one of the weakest. It is used to hide the end-grain of a board. Miter joints traditionally are used to make picture frames and for trim around windows and doors. Our earliest miters were made with a handsaw and a miter box that we made out of three pieces of wood screwed together. We used a carpenter's square to cut a 45-degree angled slot into the miter box, and we were off and running. With each use, the angles would become successively less accurate. Eventually, we traded up to a hand miter saw and table, and now make all of our miter cuts on an electric miter saw.

Before we began making miter joints, we started with the easiest and most common of joints...the butt joint. It is made by joining the end of one board to the side or end of another. Butt joints are used frequently in carpentry, but not nearly as often in woodworking or cabinet-making. The key to making a strong butt joint is to use fasteners (nails, screws, dowels) and glue. You can also use metal brackets if appearance will allow.

A variation of a butt joint that uses dowels for reinforcement is appropriately called a dowel joint. The wood must be carefully drilled, the boards perfectly aligned, and the dowels coated with glue to render the most professional results.

If you've ever made furniture or cabinets, you've probably used a “lap joint.” There are several variations of this type of joint...half lap, full lap, end or corner lap, middle lap, cross lap and dovetail lap. The half lap is used to join wood of the same thickness. The two pieces of wood are notched half their thickness to make the connection. In contrast, a full lap is used to join boards of different thicknesses. For example, when joining a 1 by 4 to a 2 by 4, the 2 by 4 is notched three-quarters of an inch (the thickness of a 1 by 4) to accept the 1 by 4. End, middle, cross and dovetail laps are variations of the half and full lap according to location and style.

A rabbet joint is most often used to assemble corners in drawers, cabinets, bookcases and the like. This particular joint is created by cutting a recess...called a rabbet...in the end of one piece to accommodate the second piece that is to be joined.

If you've ever built a bookshelf with fixed shelves...the ends of which are recessed into the sides...the joint that you created is referred to as a dado joint. Cutting a groove or recess across the grain of one board into which a second board is inserted makes a dado joint. It is an attractive and strong means of joining two boards.

A sharp saw, a good carpenter's square, a handful of fasteners, some glue and plenty of patience make for good joints. Always wear safety goggles and use tools (hand and power) in strict accordance with manufacturers' instructions.