Design Nomenclature / Physical Model Making

Lap joint

Also called half lap, halving joint, overlap joint

Physical Model Making
Form & Geometry
3D

Two members overlapping, each usually recessed by half its thickness so the faces finish flush. Fast to cut, generous in glue area, and honest about what it is. It resists racking far less than a tenon does, because nothing but the adhesive stops the two halves rotating against each other.

Exploded view of a half-lap. Each of two crossing members has a rectangular recess cut to half its thickness; the recesses face each other so the assembled joint finishes flush on both sides.

Not to be confused with

Mortise and tenonA projecting tongue on one member seated in a matching hole in the other, resisting racking in every direction and offering long-grain glue surface on four faces at once. The oldest strong frame joint there is — and it is the tenon's shoulders, not the tenon itself, that keep the frame square.

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Not to be confused with

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