Distinction between Carpentry and Joinery.
The smaller and better kind of work executed by the carpenter is called Joiner’s work, such as the making of doors, windows, stairs, wainscotting, boxes, tables, &c. &c., which are usually formed of yellow or Norway deals, wainscot, or mahogany.
When a large surface is to be of wood, it is not formed of planks fixed together side by side till the requisite width is attained, but it is formed of framing and panelling. A frame-work of the area required to be covered, is formed of narrow planks, with cross-bars between to strengthen the frame; these are called stiles and rails, according to the directions in which they run, the former name being given to the upright planks of the frame, while the horizontal ones are called rails.
The rails are mortised into the stiles, and the tenons, since they must be comparatively thin, are made proportionably wide, nearly as wide as the rail. The tenons are always pinned into the mortise holes by one or two wooden pins driven quite through the stiles and through the inclosed tenon.
The edges of the stiles and rails are ploughed, that is, a rectangular furrow is cut in the edge by means of a plane, to receive the ends and sides of the panels. These panels are formed of thinner deals than the stiles and rails, and are made by glueing the edges of two or more boards together to make the proper width of the panel; the ends and edges of the panel are thinned off to fit into the groove or furrow in the stiles and rails, or else the ends and sides of the panel are rebated, that is, worked by a plane into the form shown in the following figure, the projecting part being received into the furrow.
As the panels are thinner than the frame, the former constitute so many recesses, at least on one side of the framing; and a small moulding is glued round the edge of the panel to form a finish to the work. Or else the same object is attained by working the edge of the stiles and rails with such a moulding, so that when the panel is put in, the moulding may finish against it. Sometimes the face of the panel is made to lie in the same plane with the face of the stiles and rails, and the panel is then said to be flush, and the edges of the stiles, &c., are finished with a small bead, also flush with the panel when finished.
In joiner’s work the whole surface of the work is made perfectly smooth by planing the material, and allowance must be made for the reduction in thickness and width of the wood, produced by this planing, in the choice of the rough material.