What do you call the extra pieces of wood used to make a join?

[JoeStrout]

I've been considering different construction techniques for the Gauntlet cabinet that I want to start building next month.  I'm a woodworking noob with few tools and little budget, so I think I'm going to go with the simple technique I see many builders use: an extra piece of wood at each join, into which both visible boards are screwed.  You can see these extra bits of wood here:

This image is from Doc's MAME Cabinet, and he refers to them as "battens."  From Wikipedia, it seems like this is a reasonable term for any extra strip of wood.  But I'm unable to find any reference, outside of MAME cabinet sites, for the use of battens in making a 90 degree join.

So: in woodworking circles, what do you call this joining technique?  And, is "battens" the proper term for the wood used?

Finally, since I'm on the topic, I'm hoping that I can use 1x1 pine for my battens (or whatever), and screw into these without pilot holes.  My thinking is that the pine will be soft enough not to split when I do this, and by skipping pilot holes, I avoid the possibility of having them misaligned.  What do you think — will that actually work?

Thanks,
- Joe

[yotsuya]

I'd do pilot holes if you have the equipment, personally. Countersunk, even.

[BorgDog]

That and pine will split very easily without pilot holes, especially on something that small and if you are anywhere near the end. 

[JDFan]

Pretty much any pieces of wood can be used - If you do not have any spare wood laying around the hardware stores sell what they call Furring strips ( Home Depot Link http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Furring-Strip-Board-Common-1-in-x-3-in-x-8-ft-Actual-0-656-in-x-2-375-in-x-96-in-164704/100088011) which are sometimes used because they are very inexpensive less than $2 for a 1x3x 96 strip and you can cut the 1x3 into 2 pieces using a table saw to get 16 foot of strips to use.

[JoeStrout]

OK, it sounds like pilot holes are necessary.  Rats.

I was planning:

• Drill and countersink holes in the MDF/plywood panel, large enough that the threads slide right through.
• Clamp the batten in place, carefully measuring to make sure that the second panel will end up positioned correctly.
• Drill smaller pilot holes in the batten (through the holes in the panel) — only as wide as the shank of the screws.
• Screw 'em down.

My concern here is in step 3; since the batten pilot holes are smaller than the panel holes, it will be hard to get them exactly centered.  And if they're off at all, it's going to cause the batten to shift when I put the screws in.

I suppose what I could do is reorder things a bit... clamp it down, drill the small holes first through both pieces of wood, then go back with the larger bit to drill (and then countersink) the panel.  This would ensure that everything is perfectly aligned.

Wow!  It's such a simple thing, and probably seems obvious to most people, but I feel like I've had a real epiphany here.  Not only will this new procedure be more reliable, but it's less steps too!

[eds1275]

My technique:

Put some glue on the batten
Put the batten into place
Use my little brad nailer to attach it

Even if you are planning on screwing, I would recommend using some glue in there.

[Malenko]

Ive seen them called batons too
http://www.dancetech.com/construction.cfm

[JoeStrout]

I've also seen them called ledger boards in various places.

EDIT: as well as "glue blocks" and "cleats" apparently.

I sometimes have a sneaking suspicion that we're all just making it up as we go along.   

[Vigo]

Mostly hear batton, and I use furring as terminology, but they are both technically wrong. (Furring and Batton are both used in woodworking as spacers, not a joining method.)

The actual, technical term for the joint is a block joint, or a block reinforced butt joint. The name of the wood strip is a corner block. Also called glue block.

[JoeStrout]

The actual, technical term for the joint is a block joint, or a block reinforced butt joint. The name of the wood strip is a corner block. Also called glue block.

Thanks man!  Already that is turning up a lot more useful information in my googling than I was able to find before.

And now, when I finally start building and documenting my cabinet build, I can rest easy knowing that I'm using the proper terms.

Incidentally, this handy Powerpoint claims that the difference between glue blocks and corner blocks is one of size (corner blocks are bigger).  But now I'm really getting pedantic! 

[yotsuya]

The actual, technical term for the joint is a block joint, or a block reinforced butt joint.

Heh heh ... heh heh ...  you said butt and joint.... heh heh...

[kevkmartin]

I call them "poor woodworking technique". ;p

[JoeStrout]

I call them "poor woodworking technique". ;p

This might be a serious point.  I'm still in the glint-in-my-eye phase of the project, and it's certainly not too late to reverse any decision, but at the moment I'm leaning towards this corner block technique.  My reasoning is that (1) I'm on a tight budget, and don't want to invest in pocket hole tools; (2) it seems pretty easy and fool-proof; and (3) point (2) is important because when it comes to woodworking, I'm still a fool.

To put it another way, instead of "poor woodworking technique" I'm thinking of it as "technique for poor woodworkers" (which is me).

BUT... if you think I'd be better off using a different kind of join, please do explain!  I'm eager to learn.  If it matters, I'm planning to use plain MDF for the panels, and am content to fill/sand/paint it when done with assembly.

[eds1275]

I call them "poor woodworking technique". ;p

I call that a snarky first post! I see other techniques being better but I like this method for easy, solid alignment. The other methods require much more refined woodworking skill and more powerful tools.