What is the best way to join together two mitered pieces of wood at a 90-degree angle? Although screws would do the job, I am looking for an invisible joint. The top would be constructed of a 2-inch thick board and would be fastened to legs that are also 2 inches thick. This very simple table — a u-design — would then be placed on castors.
Michael Dresdner: I would use either a lock miter or a splined miter. The former is made by a dedicated router bit that cuts a unique, interlocking joint whose facing edge is a miter. The latter alternative is to cut a slot at 90 degrees to the cut face of each side of the miter, and glue a spline along the length of it. If the spline is of solid wood, the grain must run the short way, in the opposite direction of the grain of the leg it goes into, for strength. Other spline alternatives include high veneer count plywood, and HDF.
