Hi Glane,
I too am not quite sure why you are asking this question but that's maybe what makes it such a good thought proving first principals question.
Everything Tim mentions above rings true but it does raise the tricky subject of lap joints which are effectively open mortices on one side and these tend to be fitted with a peg, sometimes skewed, which must work in single shear and cantilvered bending. This is a particularly ancient form of carpentry with some of the buildings constructed like this now in excess of 600 years old and so its a practice that does work.
Regards
Ken Hume
Last edited by Ken Hume; 08/12/10 08:56 AM.
