How many types of mortise and tenon construction are there in Chinese mahogany decoration?

Five common types of mortise and tenon construction in mahogany furniture

One of the hallmarks of Chinese mahogany furniture that distinguishes it from other types of furniture is the subtle mortise and tenon construction. The use of mortise and tenon construction in the joints of various parts of classical Chinese mahogany furniture is one of the most important features of traditional Chinese furniture culture. Redwood furniture usually adopts a kind of concave and convex joint on two or more connected members, in which the projecting part is called tenon or mortise and tenon; the concave part is called mortise or tenon groove, mortise and tenon eye. Today, we will talk about the five common mortise and tenon structure in mahogany furniture.

First, two pieces of thin boards are commonly used when splicing "Longfeng tenon", that is, the tongue and groove with tongue and groove splicing.

Mahogany boards together, in order to increase the fastness, to prevent it from bending, on the reverse side of the groove, will be trapezoidal long mortise and tenon grid through the people, known as "through the belt". This mortise and tenon is called "dovetail tenon". Thick mahogany boards with right-angled joints often use boring tenon corner joints and bright tenon corner joints. Open tenon joints are rougher and are often used in places where they cannot be seen, such as the corners of drawers. Some mahogany furniture craftsmen are highly skilled, can be very thin mahogany boards with "boring mortise and tenon" joints.

Secondly, there are many places in furniture where vertical and horizontal joints occur, and these are joined using "lattice mortise and tenon".

Round material joint, horizontal material thin, vertical material thick, can be in the center of the vertical material joint, can also be in the vertical material on the edge of the joint, the latter can make the horizontal side of the material and the vertical side of the material is flat, similar to the latter, such a joint is called "floating shoulder". When joining square materials, because of the needs of the style, there will be "big grid shoulder" and "small grid shoulder" style, the horizontal material through the vertical material is called "through the tenon", otherwise it is Otherwise, it is called "half tenon". Most of the furniture in order not to show traces of the use of "half tenon", a few furniture for style considerations, not only use "through the tenon", but also intentionally stick out.

Third, the ancients in order to make the desktop under no cross staff affect the activities of the legs and feet, with the "king's staff" to replace the fixed role of the cross staff.

The upper end of the staff with wooden pins and table under the "through the belt" connected to the fixed, the lower end of the use of "hooks and mortise and tenons" and table legs connected to the leg of the mortise and tenon on the leg of the right-angled ladder table shape on the small under the big, tenon and tenon is also this shape upward, and tenon and tenon, below the empty space! After the mortise and tenon, the empty space below is padded with a wooden wedge, and the staff is stuck firmly, and will not exit. If the wedge is removed first, the staff can be taken down again.

Fourth, mahogany furniture in the curved curved material is often difficult to find joints, is the use of "wedge mortise and tenon".

Mahogany chairs on the chair is the use of this mortise and tenon will be several sections of curved wood connected together. First in the wood at both ends to do two pieces of the shape of the palm, the head and then do groove and tongue, hold each other through, no longer moving, in the middle of the hitch brain chiseled square holes, will be the head of the thick end of the square wedge thin inserted, two sections of the arc will be connected to the one.

Fifth, "chuck tenon" in the Song Dynasty Chinese furniture cases have begun to use.

Ming Dynasty mahogany furniture of this mortise and tenon structure is very mature, and there are many variations. The basic production is in the case of the leg groove, the top and then do embedded in the bottom of the desktop tenon, the tooth plate and tooth head clamped in the groove. This mortise and tenon structure in accordance with the furniture style to make a variety of shapes.