Woodworking Calculators & Tools

Master woodworkers have understood wood movement for centuries. Traditional joinery techniques were developed specifically to allow wood to move without destroying the piece.

Joints That Allow Movement

• Breadboard Ends: Tongue fits loosely in groove; pegged only in center with elongated holes at ends
• Sliding Dovetails: Allow panels to expand/contract while staying captured
• Frame and Panel: Panel floats freely in grooves, never glued
• Tabletop Buttons: L-shaped blocks in slots allow top to move on aprons
• Drawbored Mortise & Tenon: Joint tightens as wood shrinks

Joints That Restrict Movement (Use Carefully)

• Cross-grain glue joints: Will fail or crack – avoid unless pieces are very narrow
• Wide edge-to-edge glue-ups: Must allow entire panel to move as a unit
• Screwing across grain: Use slotted holes, never tight round holes

Movement-Stable Wood Choices

If minimizing movement is critical, choose species with low dimensional change coefficients:

• Most Stable: Teak, Genuine Mahogany, Eastern White Pine (radial cut)
• Moderately Stable: Cherry, Walnut, Poplar
• Most Movement: Red Oak, Hard Maple, Beech

The Quarter-Sawn Advantage

Quarter sawn lumber moves about half as much as flat sawn lumber of the same species. This is why:

• Traditional furniture makers used quarter sawn for wide panels
• Guitar tops and soundboards are quarter sawn
• Mission/Arts & Crafts furniture featured quarter sawn white oak

We’re building more free tools for master woodworkers:

• Joinery Selection Tool
• Joint Strength Database
• Mortise & Tenon Calculator