Creating and Managing Joinery Methods

A step-by-step guide to building reusable joinery in the Joinery Library.

The Joinery Library is where you define the joinery methods DESIGN uses to connect parts — such as dados, dowels, screws, miters, and line bores. Each method you create is saved and can be reused across your products, so you set up your shop standards once and apply them everywhere.

Good to know: Joinery methods can be saved in two places. Global methods are shared with every project in your account; Project methods exist only in the current project. Use the scope toggle at the top of the panel to switch between them.

Key terms

Term	What it means
Joinery method	A saved, reusable definition of how two parts connect (its type and dimensions).
Type	The kind of joinery — Dado, Dowel, Screw, Miter, Miter Fold, or a Shelf Line Bore.
Master / Slave	The primary part and the adjoining part a joinery is applied between.
Scope	Whether a method is saved to this Project only or to your Global library.

Open the Joinery Library

1. Open the project you want to work in.

2. In the left-side menu, open the Joinery Library (or type JOINERY, JLIB, or JOINERYLIBRARY in the command bar).

3. At the top of the panel, use the Global / Project toggle to choose where your changes are saved.

Create a joinery method

1. Click Create.

2. Enter a Name (required) and an optional Description.

3. Choose a Type. The form updates to show the fields for that type.

4. Fill in the fields (see the field references below).

5. Click Create to save. The method appears in the Select Joinery dropdown.

Update a method

1. Choose a method from the Select Joinery dropdown.

2. Change any fields you need.

3. Click Update to save your changes.

Delete a method

1. Select the method, click the trash icon next to its name, and confirm.

Copy global methods into a project

While viewing the Global library, use the Snapshot button (camera icon) to copy global methods into your current project — a quick way to start from a shared standard and then customize it for one project.

Joinery types

Choose the type that matches the connection you need, then fill in its fields.

• Dado — a groove cut to seat an adjoining part.

• Dowel — drilled holes for dowel pins.

• Screw — pilot holes for screw fastening (same fields as Dowel).

• Miter — an angled corner joint (no extra fields).

• Miter Fold — a folded miter variation.

• Shelf Line Bore – Fixed Number — a set number of shelf-pin holes.

• Shelf Line Bore – Per Section — shelf-pin holes spaced per section.

• Shelf Line Bore – Full Panel — shelf-pin holes across the full panel.

Dado fields

The examples below show two saved Dado methods: a “9.5mm Rabbit Dado” and a “6.5mm Dado.”

Field	What it controls	9.5mm Rabbit Dado	6.5mm Dado
Default Depth	How deep the groove is cut.	9.5 mm	6.5 mm
Oversize Width Amount	Extra width added to the groove for clearance.	0 mm	1 mm
Oversize Depth Amount	Extra depth added to the groove for clearance.	0 mm	0 mm
Inset	Offset distance for the groove (optional).	0 mm	0 mm
Shoulder Depth	Depth of the shoulder (optional).	9.5 mm	0 mm
Shoulder Height	Height of the shoulder (optional).	0 mm	0 mm
Recess	Recessed depth (optional).	0 mm	0 mm

Dowel and Screw fields

Example: a “Parametric Dowels” method using the Variable pattern.

Field	What it controls	Parametric Dowels
Pattern	Variable spaces holes automatically using Max Spacing Between. Fixed uses a Drill Mask you define.	Variable
Start Position	Distance from the start of the edge to the first hole.	25.4 mm
End Position	Distance from the end of the edge to the last hole.	50.8 mm
Diameter	Hole diameter.	8 mm
Master Depth	Hole depth in the primary part.	13 mm
Slave Depth	Hole depth in the adjoining part.	17 mm
Max Spacing Between	Maximum gap between holes (Variable pattern only).	128 mm
Reversed	Flips the hole orientation.	Off
Y Position	Optional vertical offset for the holes.	—

Shelf Line Bore fields

Example: a “Line Bore – 5 Hole” method (Shelf Line Bore – Fixed Number type) that drills 5 holes in the adjoining part.

Field	What it controls	Line Bore – 5 Hole
Number of Holes	How many holes to drill (Fixed Number type).	5
Distance From Front	Inset from the front edge to the first hole line.	25.4 mm
Distance From Back	Inset from the back edge to the last hole line.	50.8 mm
Max Distance Between	Maximum spacing allowed between hole lines.	609.6 mm
Diameter	Hole diameter.	5 mm
Depth	How deep each hole is drilled.	12.7 mm
Spacing	Fixed distance between hole centers.	32 mm

Tip: Per Section and Full Panel line bore types add Distance From Top / Bottom and a Fixed Distance reference (From Top or From Bottom) so you can control where holes are measured from.