Housed joint

A housed joint is the crossing joint of a log cabin: two beams cross and each bites a piece out of the other.

Housed joint. Drawn by the editor's own geometry code.

When to use it

Use it where log walls cross at a corner. Set the bite separately for both sides and both edges when the beams are not equally thick.

Fields

Field	Unit	Range or options	Default	What it changes
Position X	mm	from 0	1500	Anchor point of the joint on the beam.
Length reference side	mm	from 0	70	Length of the bite on the reference side.
Depth reference side	mm	from 0	48	Depth of that bite.
Length opposite side	mm	from 0	70	Length of the bite on the opposite side.
Depth opposite side	mm	from 0	48	Depth of that.
Length reference edge	mm	from 0	85	Length of the bite on the reference edge.
Depth reference edge	mm	from 0	15	Depth of that.
Length opposite edge	mm	from 0	85	Length of the bite on the opposite edge.
Depth opposite edge	mm	from 0	15	Depth of that.
Drill hole			off	Whether the machine drills a dowel hole through it.
Face		Top, Bottom, Front, Back	Front	The side of the part the processing is on.

Default: what Add fills in on a 3000 mm part of 120 x 120 mm.

Add a housed joint

1. Select the part in the Parts list.
2. Under Extra processings, click Add.
3. Type housed in the search field and pick Housed joint.
4. Set Face and Position X, the anchor point of the joint.
5. Set the length and depth for each side and edge. Switch Drill hole on for a dowel hole.
6. Check that the part shows a green check. If not, open the Issues tab.

Caution

The official machine files carry only the dimensions of this joint, not its shape. The drawing shows the zone as a dashed outline; the exact shape is machine geometry.

Machine export

Format	Status	Details
BTLx	Partly supported	LogHouseJoint.
BVN (Hundegger)	Not written	Refused: the parameters do not match.
BVX2 (Hundegger)	Not written	No equivalent mapping.

A file that the app writes is not a check by your machine. See Export for what each format is for.

Related pages

• Dovetail: The classic log building corner joint: a tapered tail that drops into the crossing beam. Fields, drawing accuracy and machine export.
• Notch: Cut a notch or rebate into a face over part of the length. Angle, width, depth and limits, with defaults and machine export.
• Tyrolean: The flat Tyrolean dovetail for log building corners: one angled plane per side. Fields, drawing limits and machine export.
• Arch: Machine a true circular arc into a face over part of the length: concave or convex. Centre, chord, camber and machine export.
• Scarf joint: Lengthen a beam with a bevelled scarf joint that hooks into its counterpart and takes tension. Fields, limits and machine export.
• Straight lap: The simplest lengthening joint: two ends cut away so they overlap, held by dowels. Fields, defaults and machine export.