The scissor joint is just one of many woodworking joints and has a specific purpose.

If you want to build a project with wood, whether it is about making furniture or larger projects such as the construction of buildings, you will have to make a choice for the most suitable woodworking joint.
You will have to choose a style of wood joint based on the project you are working on.

Often the most well-known joints will be used in woodworking such as the half-lap joint, the tongue and groove joint, and a few other well-known joints.
In most cases, these are good enough as a solution to join two pieces of wood together.

But some woodworking joints are a bit more specific. For these special cases, you will have to look for suitable wood joints.

That is why I want to talk about the scissor joint in this blog.

After reading this blog you will know what the scissor joint is, why it is used, and how to make this scissor joint yourself easily.

This is the first woodworking joint explained step by step how to make it.
Continue to follow this series on my joinery journey to see more amazing handmade woodworking techniques.
You can see all previous joints and their step-by-step guides in the woodworking joints category here.

What is a scissor joint?

The scissors joint is like a double-splayed scarf joint.
As the name suggests, this connection resembles two scissors hooking together.

Both parts have sloping sides. These sloping parts serve to be connected and are a mirror image of each other. That way, once they are joined together, they will fit together perfectly.

It will become more visually clear from the pictures and the step-by-step instructions in this blog.

What is a scissor joint used for?

A timber frame scissors joint is mostly used vertically to lengthen a post or when a part of a post needs to be replaced.

For example, with this technique, you can remove a rotten piece from a post and replace it with a new piece without having to throw it away and replace the entire post.

Watch the video here & learn how to make a scissor joint

Here you can watch the video and see how to make the scissor joint.
After watching the video, you can continue reading the step-by-step guide to making this scissor joint yourself. 

How to make a scissor joint step by step

Step 1 | measure

To make the scissor connection, it is important to know the height of the wood.
In the example on the photos, I demonstrate this with a piece of wood of 40 mm by 60 mm, taking the size of 60 mm as the height of the wood.

Step 2 | Marking

To be able to mark the outer lines of the scissor joint, the size of the height of the wood must now be multiplied by two. So in this case, 60 mm x2 = 120 mm.

A marking can now be made around the wood at 120 mm.

Another mark to be made is in the center of the wood. So divide the width of the wood in half for this. In the case of the photo, 40 mm can be divided by two, and thus a mark can be made 20 mm from the side of the wood.

Make this mark on the top as well as on the bottom of the wood.

Now the sloping sides can be marked.

On one side, start the beveled mark at the intersection of the marks on the top of the piece of wood.

On the other side, start the beveled mark at the intersection of the marks on the underside of the piece of wood.

In either case, mark an oblique line to the opposite corner of your starting point.

Step 3 | cutting the scissor joint

Now that all marks have been made, you can cut the scissor joint.
To do this, saw away the parts that are colored in the drawing.
Place your saw next to the marked line, on the side of the piece to be cut away. Later you can touch up with a chisel.

When you have made all the cuts, your workpiece should look like the drawing below.

Step 4 | repeat

When you made one half of the scissor joint, you can continue through making the second half.

The working method is identical and can therefore make a perfect copy of the piece you have just made.

Make sure you have made all the marks correctly before you start cutting.