: I visited a local woodworker today who has a new CNC router in his shop and
: is looking for ways to use it. We talked about the obvious, cutting forms.
: We also talked about cutting scarf joints. He showed me a bowl he had made
: with a series of stepped cuts, which were clearly smooth enough to make a
: good scarf joint. We talked about making a stepped scarf joint that would
: reduce the number of individual passes with the router and leave steps
: that would lock together and self-align the joint. Then he said, "Why
: not just make a shiplap joint the length of the scarf." That got me
: thinking. Why not make a stepped joint with just one step? It doesn't make
: sense if you're cutting the joints with a plane, but it does if you're
: using a router. And, how many steps does it take to effectively mimic a
: bevel cut scarf joint?

: Mike Scarborough
: Friendship Kayak

Steps have sharp corners and sharp corners are stress risers. I would suspect for that reason the stepped joint would not be nearly as strong as a normal scarf. The fewer the steps the less the strength.

I suppose thats still stronger than the butt joints I use so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Kyle T.