I guess what prompted me to ask was that I was thinking along the lines of:

If butt joints are adequate with the support of the surrounding strips (sort of an edge lamination), wouldn't 30 or 45 degrees give the aesthetic improvement that scarfing does with a little less work?

Someone mentioned using compound angles, which sounds like a strong joint. I was wondering why the angles are through the thickness rather than the width to begin with? Is it because of looks?

> Rob is correct: I believe that a careful analysis shows that
> the longer the scarf the stronger the joint. I don't have the skill
> to make 1:12 scarfs.

> Howard is correct: The joint area only needs to be as strong
> as the rest of the area. Where the joint is constrained by the edge
> bead and coves and the fiberglass butt joints are sufficient. I also
> cannnot make tight butt joints.

> I use 6:1 simply because that fixture slides better than my 8:1
> fixture.