A finger joint, also known as a box joint, is a method of joining two separate pieces of wood together at a perfect right angle. Named for its resemblance to interlocking fingers, a finger joint is similar to a dovetail joint except the digits are square and commonly evenly spaced.
Generally finger joints tend to be easier to cut and do not have the same mechanical strength as its dovetail counterpart. A table saw or simple wood router is all that is needed to make finger joints.
Depending on the amount of strength necessary, two slightly different types of finger joints can be used in woodworking. Non-structural finger joints have shorter pins and are used mostly to join shorter pieces of wood together to make useable longer pieces. Structural finger joints, on the other hand, usually have long sharp pins and provide the strength needed when making more complex connections.
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Mention of finger joints being used in woodworking go back as early as Roman times although these claims are hard to prove since not many of the joints have survived the years. Steering wheels and wheel spokes from the 1920s reveal that early automobile manufacturers commonly used finger joints.
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