How to Join Wooden Sticks together

There are many reasons why you might have to join two wooden slats together, for example when one bar is not long enough or when 2 slats intersect on top of a pole. There are many techniques that people still use to join wooden bars. We have compiled questions and answers on this, providing you with the safest and best ways to join wooden beams or poles in different situations.

Table of Contents

How to connect two beams together?

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Connect the two beams with bolts with connecting teeth in the middle. Stack the ends of the beams about 30cm on top of each other, and drill a 12mm hole in the center of the overlap. Thread an M12 bolt and washer into the hole of a beam, and thread the connecting tooth into the bolt head between the two beams. Push the bolt head through the hole in the second beam and thread the washer into the bolt head. Use a wrench to tighten the nut onto the bolt. ^{[1] X Research Source}

The connecting tooth is a ring with pointed teeth around and towards the opposite side. These teeth will plug into the two beams to prevent displacement.
This is a good choice when you need to join two beams under the floor where the beams are not exposed.
The final product looks like a long beam stacked head-to-head.

How to connect two wooden bars on a pole?

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Secure the wooden slats with a metal base. Choose a metal base that matches the width of the column and the total thickness of the 2 wooden slats. Place the metal base on top of the column and tighten the screw or nail through the holes located on either side of the metal base plate. Place two wooden slats side by side into the metal base plate on the top of the column, screw or nail through the holes in the base plate to secure to the wooden bar. ^{[2] X Research Source}

For example, if you need to join two 5cm thick wooden slats to a 13cm x 13cm pole, choose a metal base plate with one side 10cm and the other 13cm.
This is a good choice if you want to use commercial parts and are afraid to measure and cut wood.
The result of this method is a pole is covered with a metal base on the top, the metal base will hold the wooden slats on the top of the column.

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Use bolts to connect the wooden bar to the V-notch on the top of the column. Cut a notch in the top of the column with a circular saw, matching the height of the slats and as deep as the thicknesses of the 2 slats combined. Place the 2 wooden slats in the cut edge, side by side, and drill 2 holes 1.5cm in diameter, to the left and right from the center of the 2 slats, and through the slats and poles. Thread a 1.5cm diameter bolt with the washer through each hole, then thread the washer and nut into the bolt head. Use a wrench to tighten the nut to the bolt all the way. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

For example, if you are using 2 wooden slats measuring 5cm x 15cm, cut a notch 15cm wide and 5cm deep.
This is a good option when you don’t have commercial spare parts, or want to join flat-sided wooden slats to a pole.
The result of this joining method is that the wooden slats are joined seamlessly on the top of the column.
Never use bolts to join the overlapping slats without cutting the V, as the pressure on them will cause them to separate.

Which connection is the strongest?

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The yin-yang mortise joint is the surest in carpentry. To make this joint, drill a mortise into the end of one piece of wood where you want to join the other. Punch and sawn to create a mortise end with a depth and width equal to the mortise on the other end of the slat, apply glue to the positive end and push into the mortise. Clip the 2 sticks together while waiting for the glue to dry. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

There are many ways to create negative mortise and positive mortise with power tools or equipment. For example, you can use a planer with a spiral drill head to create a negative mortise, or an electric saw and a die to create a positive mortise.
This is a good choice when the joint is exposed, as the joint is very nice and invisible.
You can use a yin-yang mortise joint to connect two wooden slats straight or perpendicularly.
This joint looks like two wooden slats just facing each other.

How to join two wooden bars head-to-head?

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Use a half stacked joint. Use a table saw or a circular saw to cut the top half of each piece of wood, with the length of the cut on each log being the same. Apply glue to the joint and attach the two wooden slats together, then clamp the two wooden slats while waiting for the glue to dry. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

This is a good choice when you want to join 2 wooden slats into one bar with the joint being almost invisible.
This joint looks like you only have 1 piece of wood because the joint is flat face.
The length of the piece to be trimmed at the top of each piece of wood is up to you to choose. However, the deeper you stack two pieces of wood, the stronger the joint will be.
You can also use bolts to go through the two wooden slats to make the connection stronger, and this is a good idea if the wood is subject to heavy loads.
There are other ways to join two slats head-to-head, but not as reliably as a stacked joint. This means they are better suited to other carpentry projects but are not ideal for joining two slats head-to-head.

How to connect two wooden bars perpendicularly?

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Use diagonal joints. Use a saw to cut the ends of 2 wooden slats at a 45-degree angle facing each other. Apply glue to the two oblique sections and clamp the two wooden slats together. Screw or drive a nail through the joint, so that the nail passes through both sides of the 45-degree diagonal joint. ^{[6] X Research Source}

The diagonal joint is suitable for joining 2 wooden bars at right angles to each other, instead of just fitting one end to the other because this type of connection is not secure.
This is a good choice when you want a strong 90 degree joint, and is easier to do than a yin-yang mortise joint.
This joint looks like the corner of a wooden picture frame.

Steps

How to connect two beams together?

How to connect two wooden bars on a pole?

Which connection is the strongest?

How to join two wooden bars head-to-head?

How to connect two wooden bars perpendicularly?

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