Japanese wood connections clearly explained

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You want to try your hand at a very special kind of wooden workpiece. Ornate Japanese wood connections would be just the thing. But what is a Japanese wood connection and how do you get it?

Working with wood is a challenge.
Working with wood is a challenge. © Kurt_Michel / Pixelio

What you need:

  • Japanese saw
  • Angle measuring device
  • Workbench
  • file
  • wood
  • pencil
  • drill

The slightly different wood connections

  • Toshio Odate, author of the book "Shoji - Sliding Doors and Partition Walls Made by Yourself", describes Japanese wood connections in his work as "mitred tenon-in-tenon connections". Ultimately, this means one thing above all for you: Japanese wood connections are corner connections for wooden frames that can be used universally.
  • In other words, you can think of the miter as the corner joint of two elongated work pieces that meet at a certain angle. As a Japanese wood connection, such corner connections are suitable, regardless of the specific angle.
  • For you, tenon connection means a plug-in connection in which one tenon can be inserted into the tenon height sawn out for this purpose on the second workpiece. So you have at least 2 movement parts, one with the inner tenon and an outer tenon hole, the other with an outer tenon and an inner tenon hole.

How to make the Japanese connection

  1. Clamp your parts in the workbench and take the Japanese saw to hand, if necessary another saw model will do the same.
  2. Now mark the miter. Precise measurement with the angle encoder is necessary for this. For example, if you want to mark a 45-degree miter, you should know that this is formed by the diagonal of a square. From point A, you subtract the bar width B so that a point C results. The dimension must be angled on the opposite side, whereby the distance AB should run at a 45-degree angle to the longitudinal edge of the workpiece.
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  3. Notch the cracks on your miter so that you can easily guide the saw along them later.
  4. Now use a pencil to mark the intended cracks for the inner tenons and the inner tenon hole of the later connection, observing the same marking gauge setting. After sawing along the markings, a wooden peg should remain on each work piece, an inner one on one and an outer one on the other.
  5. Keeping this in mind, now saw your miter on the inner tenon, then saw the tenon cheeks located there.
  6. Now mark the tenon height so that you can also saw this. Once this is done, the miter is sawn behind the inner tenon part, the tenon height is transferred to the counterpart and you can shorten the tenon itself.
  7. Now it is time to mark the outer tenon, you have to pay attention to the identical mark setting. Also make sure that the mortise should end up around the inner tenon. When that is done, mark the necessary cutout for the outer peg behind the inner peg.
  8. Now transfer the setting to mark the height of the outer tenon so that you can then saw the tenon cheek. You measure the depth of the corresponding tenon holes again and saw the respective tenons to size accordingly.
  9. Finally, finish the miter. You work behind the inner tenon with the help of a drill and clear the hole for the outer tenon with the file.

If you have worked properly, the tenons should now be firmly inserted into the holes provided and you have the prototype for all your future Japanese wood connections.

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