Skill Builder: CNC Panel Joinery

By Sean Michael Ragan
Category: Machining, Workshop

I’ve been collecting clever ways of slotting flat stock together since I first read Victor Papanek and James Hennessey’s Nomadic Furniture back in 1999, well before the advent of the accessible hobby-class CNC tools that make manufacturing parts like these pretty easy today. Now the world is full of people designing models, project enclosures, sculpture, furniture, and all kinds of other cool stuff to be assembled from parts made on laser cutters and CNC routers.

I keep expecting a definitive book or website to emerge that covers the “bag of tricks” in an organized way. So far, I haven’t found it. Perhaps this article can serve as a jumping-off point.

MAKE Volume 33 features our special Software for Makers section covering apps for circuit board design, 3D design and printing, microcontrollers, and programming for kids. Also, meet our new Arduino-powered Rovera robot and get started with Raspberry Pi. As usual, you’ll also find fascinating makers inside, like the maniacs on our cover, the hackers behind the popular Power Racing Series events at Maker Faire.

Try your hand at 22 great DIY projects, like the Optical Tremolo guitar effects box, "Panjolele" cake-pan ukelele, Wii Nunchuk Mouse, CNC joinery tricks, treat-dispensing cat scratching post, laser-cut flexing wooden books, sake brewing, growing incredibly hot “ghost chili” peppers, and much more.

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One Response to Skill Builder: CNC Panel Joinery

Shannon Love on March 9th, 2013 at 9:45 am said:

Hmmm, it looks like you’ve got the wrong wood for the joint element in the photo there. That’s natural wood, not engineered and it has grain. Wood splits along the grain and the hooks in that center part are made with the grain. When force is exerted on the hooks, I pretty sure the grain will separate and split off the hook.

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