3 Traditional Joinery Techniques

[@FireAngelOfLondon]

Japanese traditional joinery without using metal grew out of necessity. Japan has very little natural ore and so in ancient times when Japan did little trade with foreigners metal was short in supply and very expensive. Nails and screws were considered a waste of precious resources and metal was reserved for things that really needed it like sword blades. Since there is plenty of wood in Japan they developed the facility to perform joinery without nails or screws. Making joins without glue the Japanese way also makes buildings easier to repair after an earthquake and earthquakes have always been relatively common in Japan. Once the techniques were developed for the building trade they made their way into other areas. It is notable that even Japanese furniture was built without metal fasteners of any kind and often without glue. Where glues were used they were often deliberately made from ingredients that made them water soluble so repairs were easier. Repair has been important to Japanese designers in wood whether designing items as small as jewellery boxes, or larger items like furniture or buildings. That is something we can all learn from. Nice to see your first efforts at this kind of joinery, they were better than mine. EDITED to correct spelling.

[@booboo-nl3wi]

And breath

[@wessamazzo8856]

Need is mother of invention.

[@valdius85]

Japan has an incredibly humid climate. Any metal put inside the structure will attract humidity and cause rotting of the structure. That and monthly earthquakes are a bad combination. Similar reason for avoiding masonry: humidity and earthquakes. Japanese were using metal nails for certain structures - like bridges. One of the reasons for tatami mats is also humidity - under the floor are bags of charcoal. It absorbs humidity during monsoon season and leaves it during dry months.

[@Benzknees]

No-one used metal in carpentry in the past, go into a medieval cathedral roof space and you’ll only find timber jointing. But that’s no reason not to move with the times.

[@vinhwang5143]

It's come from China truly

[@BelzoGraphics]

I have an idea for the work top bench, why don't you use velcro or the stands and the bottom of the workk top you can maybe get enough grip instead of screwing it on all the time?

[@KoohaEbuyer]

no "smoko time" in the video?!? What's up with that?

[@ScottBrownCarpentry]

Damn, you're right

[@tranak23]

What's impressive is the straightness of the timber you be finding.

[@valdius85]

#1. Your Japanese pronunciation is close. #2. I will recommend purchasing a thick (0.8 mm) automatic pencil. I used to do setting out for a living. It saves a lot of time and improves accuracy. I hate inaccurate markings or workmanship. #3. Japanese did not use metal nails because the humidity will cause them to rust. Also, the timber in the joint will rotten if the metal is inside it. Japanese had steel in the past, it was just humidity that influenced their civil engineering. The same goes for mortar. Only some castles were made out of stone. Stones inside the house will drip wet during monsoon season. The tatami floors are also humidity related. Under these floors are big bags filled with charcoal. It absorbs humidity during humid seasons and releases it during dry seasons. Same goes for furniture - any nail that will start rusting with mark the clothes. Kimonos are expensive. The humidity is the reason why the Japanese use open-plan housing and a very minimal amount of items. The open structure, which allows good ventilation, protects timber members from rotting. New housing methods still use some traditional methods. Nails are used when it makes sense. Mould is no longer a problem as heavy isolation is used. Saying that new and cheap buildings have issues with humidity. No-one cares as the buildings are renewed every 30 years anyways.

[@whitacrebespoke]

Sling the circular saw and multi tool back in the van. Have faith in your hand saw and chisels. Always mark out with a knife as it gives a defined cut line.

[@Elfin4]

Reminds of college days when I was an apprentice joiner 39 years ago... Nice video Scott, respect from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@Aepek]

ya know, sometimes doing something.....the “old school” way, is just cool to see & have something built from “forgotten” practices. Pretty cool to see, & also see the structures standing today that were built like this. Cheers

[@tmac9941]

Very cool mate!

[@michaeljacobs9613]

So good to see! Love this kind of practice. Especially when you "do" construction on the regular. Takes you to a purer form of the craft.

[@sethbracken]

Working out versions of these joints that are more amenable to power tool use would make for great content and certainly allow you to stand out even more so in your work.

[@chippysteve4524]

FYI- the reason that traditional Japanese carpentry(structural,using timber) not joinery(non-structural,using wood) is done that way is because of earthquakes. Nails,pegs,braces would all fail instantly,whereas wedges will eventually work themselves somewhat loose but can be knocked back in again afterwards. For the same reason,beams are put into posts vertically i.e. from above so they can't 'escape'.

[@thelight3112]

Nails are actually pretty good in earthquakes, which is why wood frame construction is often used in earthquake prone areas. Prior to the industrial revolution, however, nails were quite expensive - and that's in Europe, where iron ore is abundant. Japan barely had any iron ore, so they basically weren't used. It would be like if you had every joist hanger in your house made of inconel.

[@kazukarukelley]

"Timber. You will stick together. Because I said so." - SBC. I bought the same book, for the same reason! Joinery is wicked cool stuff and there are several really great books on it. Great project! Well done on camera angles and process shots! Hope you have a great rest of you week!

[@dougsaunders8109]

Yeah, Japanese..... Talking of which I am looking forward to Saturday’s match

[@refa42]

Heh, I like how you lined up all the fancy hand tools and then went on to using the traditional japanese circular saw. I've often wondered if there's a fast way to make some of the common japanese/chinese/western joints. Those can provide strong joint with or without glue, and a clean look, but it would have to be fast for a builder like yourself. The most suitable thing I can think of is a pantorouter with magnetic templates, and modifying the joints to eliminate any chisel work. Round ends shouldn't matter if the joint is hidden, or if it looks nice when visible.

[@LegoMan-cz4mn]

traditional japanese circular saw 😂😂 in the modern aera of japanese joinery, circular saws are actualy often used to rough cut waste to make chisel work easyer

[@whitacrebespoke]

If your cutting them on timber frame size pieces circular saw is perfectly acceptable as is chain saw. But in small stuff like this hand tool skills are quick enough in a lot of cases. You remove mortice waste with a chain mortiser so these big joints can be easily and fairly quickly achieved. It’s still lay out time that kills the job. All that said they make CNC machines to make timber frame buildings. Great on square timber

[@Helveteshit]

I think after you've done this hundred times. Nailing it in with a metal and screws and doing this type of joint is about the same amount of time. Because you've grown practices in how to cut the angles without having to mark a lot etc. Japanese joinery is also intriguing for Decks etcetera. Because you can avoid the metal and allow contraction/expansion of the wood while having strong bond. Then again, everything has its downsides and upsides.

[@JT-hs3pe]

@@Helveteshit no shot. Very cool practice but that's like saying old timers can hand nail as efficiently as a pneumatic nailer

[@zhy5364]

This is Luban technology, not Japanese, you can look it up on Wikipedia🍃鲁班 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%B2%81%E7%8F%AD

[@alext9067]

To pronounce Japanese words, you need to speak in a commanding grunt and use a halting tempo. At least that's the way they talked on Shogun. The waiters at the Japanese restaurant by me talk that way too.

[@sproggyjoe1]

New video was waiting... cheers scott loving the work 👍👍👍👍

[@lancewillinger2284]

Now grasshopper, when you can take the pebble from……lol. Very impressive ! Marking out seems crucial as you have shown. I would do it about the same as you. Lots of practice I’m sure to master. More power tools with precision would be nice. Sticking with traditional method is probably best in the end. Thanks, very informative.

[@ianoliver3879]

Almost bloody brilliant. If you were to count yourself and admit you're not a plural person, I'd say excellent. Thank you. Yours sincerely, A Pedant!

[@uriuriuri]

It's Japanese. It's in your hand. It's a tool = Japanese hand tool.

[@JohnColgan.]

Nice work scott.ontge first single dovetail mitre joint. You could practice improving your skills by adjusting the joints & cuts to perfect the joint without gaps? Are they because you didn't take out enough or took out too much?

[@martinfox9560]

Not sure if this has been covered. A knife wall- see Paul Sellers- helps with accurate Japanese saw cuts. The preceding post regarding the evolution of Japanese joinery is interesting too.

[@benmatthieu6344]

Why don't you use a marking knife for starting your cut with the saw?

[@jordyymoore91]

We need more vids, more often! Cant wait for the next one already lol.

[@johneales9490]

Good on ya for trying this great effort Essex Uk

[@GusAdams-v1c]

Ugh. Guy if you just took a couple minutes to think "how should I make this cut" you'd have a much easier time of it.

[@estonian44]

nice video, thanks, does that book u have, also tells us how strong is the joint, I mean do u have any joints that can handle 1T or 1000kg :)

[@vinhwang5143]

This technique comes from China. And Japanese bring it back to Japan from long time ago .

[@Stemlocksecurity]

Work of art Japanese joinery but I doubt anyone in the UK or New Zealand would want to pay the labour costs for that 😂

[@mikerinaldi3979]

12K a year for workshop?? i'm over here paying 120K a year in NYC!

[@MrHodgeon5th]

lumber pieces are really clean... who makes it?

[@Alejandro192011]

So... we just found something that scott brown sucks at... love the video thou

[@kiwi007-t5i]

Check out YT channel "Dorian Bracht" on japanese joinery

[@taidixiongsenye9650]

This is the purchase link of the item in the video: www.amazon.com/dp/B089M427YJ

[@gedog77]

that was my level, I have the book and will now use it! Have you done more yet?

[@slimborama]

Another exciting episode!

[@Catstorm99]

I wouldn't worry about the gaps. Bit of wood glue will sort that out!

[@Zero-unlimited]

It would have been better if you had sushi instead of sandwich

[@alexbarber1468]

Always look forward to your videos ✌ keep them coming

[@jackknows6509]

With very little practice you'll have these fitting nicely.

[@hyland1984]

That is an awesome book. Bought it last year. Showed it to my carpentry teacher. He had nothing but praise for Japanese carpentry.

[@szeptacz5342]

Where are u from

[@hyland1984]

@@szeptacz5342 Pluto.

[@JesusMartinez-bx8dh]

Very interesting video bro!! Please teach me more.

[@jeffjones4006]

It’s not cheating. Working smarter not harder.

[@sarah-janegalipo3995]

I love that you gave this a crack.

[@adamperry994]

You’ve got the same impact drill as me!!!

[@ouagadougou62]

Those techniques are amazing but aren't practiced anymore for economics reasons. They are used only on temples and shrines. Today's houses are all pre-cut in factories by machines and assembled on site like giant 3D puzzles. They put up a house frame in one day, another day for the roof and then the various other tradesmen come in do their part. They also build a lot of 2 by 4 houses, just like in North America. It's good to keep those techniques alive.

[@RayW808]

I'll stick with screws and glue :-)

[@ferggill9461]

I once made a Jamaican joint that turned my eyes red

[@christianalvarez7799]

I was just in Japan, they definitely do love building with just joinery

[@jackl9922]

Think this is great. Liking your shows. Western Red Cedar is expensive, and I live in western US. We use it for fences and decks. Great showing joinery techniques.

[@TheTexan83]

Hey mate, in a bit of a pickle down here in Tauranga and wondering if you could help out. Have you seen any products for under deck drainage here in NZ? The kind I'm looking for use a rubber liner and then a plastic down spout box suspended between the joists.

[@TheApothecaryAus]

This video is documenting the part of your journey as a trades/craftsman towards becoming an artisan and it's an absolute pleasure to witness. It doesn't matter what profession you are (I'm currently in IT, previously in aviation - but the same principles of persistence, dedication and passion apply to barbering, plumbing, welding, brewing, anything!) taking these practice steps to increase your knowledge and exposure of the world makes you stand out and become truly great. I'd recommend Mike Haduck from the USA for masonry and Thomas Nagy from the UK for electrical. Cheers from South Australia, keep up the inspirational work.

[@argentum_amans]

Being a carpenter for the military I understand efficiency and powertools, but half the fun of doing joinery like that is pulling the earplugs, eye protection, dust mask, and gloves off. There's something very relaxing about doing something like this the truly traditional way. That being said your joinery still looked pretty good. Little of the carpenters best friend (wood putty) would fix that right up

[@xray1292]

Visit the city of Auckland in the month of August 2019, the weather was rather cold, beautiful city and very nice people, Your videos always excellent, thanks for sharing.

[@IppiopaidFEEDBACK]

What’s up with this summer thing. Summer has ended already, and you guys summer is just started?

[@ScottBrownCarpentry]

Yeah pretty much

[@SilentStorm4U]

Scott Have you ever seen any episodes of... timber Kings.. they do a lot of that in a large scale when they build those big massive beautiful log cottages but really they're like mansion size homes.... Love your videos Scott keep up the good work👍

[@RockaShocka]

shame your thumbnail does not show the great carpentry in this video. i thought you just had some basic bridge joins so i never clicked for a few days

[@kyzenlanx]

Technically correct... The best kind of correct! 😍

[@letsgo6574]

His like the New Zealand Casey Neistat

[@jagros4672]

Hi Scott - can you say which storage company you use? I'm also in Auckland (East) and pay a lot more than you mentioned!

[@alexrains1893]

No scarf joint today Scott? Leave that one to the "Samurai" for now...

[@gostdeamon]

I must sat Scott i Iove this vid Iwill follow up on the recomendaions of that book on Japanese joinery I have been in the trade 40 years And I am at the point Where these things Are o great interest Different teqneque That are outside of the norm of traditional methods And with a lot of addaptation to comly wth code I recon some or most those methods Far exceed the code But due to skill level had to be sympyfideAnd due to costs and time constraints Imust sat say the Jpanese can play rugby and Legeu and build cars and houses better than us We have a lot to learn

[@jim-nicolroseberry7894]

I am a self employed carpenter as well, and I can completely relate to that moment when you are enjoying the process of using your hand tools, and then you think, "This is taking to long"! And out come the power tools...

[@francois1473]

...with a little mumble to your self about: If the old timers would have these tools they would use them to... :D

[@garryholmberg6502]

As I was watching this video a couple of thoughts occurred and reoccurred to me. Since I began watching your channel I have had a couple of recurring thoughts: 1. You have great attention to detail; 2.Your workmanship is excellent (at least what we see on video:)); 3. You're very creative as demonstrated by the telling of a story on video, and the editing/effects that you use to accentuate a point or process. Then in this video you did some first time joinery that was amazing for anyone who has tried to do this themselves for the first time. Your 3D thinking and attention to detail were on display again. So when you made the comment about furniture with that type of joinery being cool, it occurred to me that some time down the road, not sure how far, 1 year, 5 years, 20 years, beautiful custom furniture, even if if is just for you, is surely in your future. And I have no doubt those builds will be awesome!

[@lookyouboyo]

hey Scott, did your make your own workbench? Maybe an episode with some tips on making one? Keep up the quality content, it really is top notch.

[@caveweta]

Another awesome episode👍

[@needaman66]

Strangely as you were making the last cuts i swear i could smell the wr cedar. And as i was watching this vid woodworkers were having heart attacks. Hint, you dont marl out the second intil you cut the first....

[@MdaMda-ky7zd]

I'm a builder, a good one as well.. at my spare time I fiddle arround at my workshop with such small projects and joints and Im never fully satisfied with my gaps and final finish. one would never appreciate enough the patience and practice it takes to master these joints on joinery projects till you do it yourself. thank you for the video Scott.

[@potatopotatoeOG]

I enjoy the quality of your videos. Always very engaging and stimulating for the brain. Cool frames and editing with music and cuts. And you create super clean work. I particularly liked the debatedplywood wall that you did previously

[@RekimNZ]

Wow 17 dislikes (as time of this post) haters gotta hate I guess. (shame on them) Awesome work Scott !

[@vinolennaidoo7881]

Hi, what are roughly the dimensions of your workshop? I'm thinking of getting a 20 foot shipping container (6m length x 2.4m wide) for a home workshop

[@videostarish]

A 'trick' or 'magic dovetail' is cool! I've always wanted to do one, but never quite got round to it....

[@learningcoach1]

Hello Scott I bought the book and its pretty cool its sure to take my skills to the next level thanks for the video !!!!!!!!

[@davidpower1843]

damn dude your timber is so nicely machined! I don’t think lumber that square and sharp exists in the US

[@slowly_radish8374]

You inspired me to look at more Japanese joinery. Absolute best 3D puzzles, but useful applications. Amazing stuff- thanks!

[@justgregnow]

Great reminder of true craftsmanship. People got things done with what they had. Back when these techniques were more commonly used all tools were cordless. 🤔

[@craiglammasreach1242]

Starting to find your work & videos very interesting sir! But what’s more interesting is how you keep that damn t-shirt so clean! I go through clothes like no mans business!!!

[@markcopple2870]

This is an excellent video. I love your channel. There is something about the Japanese joinery that really resonates with me. Thank you!

[@grahammanley2086]

Great video. Building a walk in wardrobe next week for daughter, might use these joints ? Na. Nails and screws it will be !!

[@covcarpenter9158]

Iv found even if you dont use those techniques. Or if dont get it on the first go its good to do them because you will find you accuracy will improve across the work you do.

[@markgoode4109]

Interesting video. Was great to learn about these joints. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes

[@PDXHVACAPPRENTICE]

You and Paerau should build another little shack on Paeraus property and use that as yalls shop/film room

[@Ashe_Fenrir]

Have you ever seen Ishitani work? He's on youtube.

[@ScottBrownCarpentry]

I'm a big fan of the channel 👌

[@Riskninjaz]

Great content Scott. Kiwi boy in Sydney but still always a kiwi at heart. Miss the pies! 🤟

[@michaelplays2449]

Very entertaining excellent video and of course great joinery skills , very difficult joints to produce well done

[@NJTLove]

Ace video man, where'd you get the led panels from out of interest? In Auckland here. Cheers pal

[@mg-ir6vj]

look like a chinese way

[@retepnosbig4859]

u bloody flash fullas!

[@Ray2001ify]

So jelous of your van

[@camerooonie]

Maybe the next time you do one of these videos you could do a live show? Or even one where locals can come see you do it in person.

[@raysmith1992]

Thanks for sharing this I think you need to use a thinner pencil, and when I watch Japanese carpenters they are using hand tools

[@stich1960]

You could saw fit that miter, check out tips from a shipwright, that is how he does his woodworking.

[@kaiahclarke4187]

Bro that was awesome the way you used the speed square and multi tool 🔥

[@duncanlane22]

Brilliant video. I’m from England and looking forward to semi final Saturday!! Keep up the good work!

[@nastythomashobbs]

Feestool loose tenon joinery is great. Love it for building gates

[@NomenNescio99]

I've got the same marking gauge as you, I suddenly feel like a pro.

[@barkergardens]

Great work with the videos mate, Appreciate the Japanese fun protect s and your use of power tools this eve. Keep charged.

[@jamesdickson3616]

Very good scott

[@maxximumb]

Great video.

[@honumoorea873]

I love your humor, hello from France, keep it up..!