Our timberframe cabin part VIII: Japanese style spline joint

This japanese inspired spline joint is a good option when joining two or more horizontal members to a post at the same level. The wood used is hard/sugar maple 4x4. These pieces make up a part of our cabin’s strapping purlin/girt matrix. The joint is drawn together tightly with the locking keys with additional space left in the spline mortise to permit retightening of the joint in the future. A true japanese joint would have been executed with much better precision. This is a simplified version.