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Solid parquet T&G boards

Tongue and groove (sometimes T&G) is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood: flooring, parquetry, panelling, etc. Before plywood became more common, tongue and groove boards were also used for sheathing buildings and to construct concrete formwork.

Each piece has a slot (the groove) cut all along one edge, and a thin, deep ridge (the tongue) on the opposite edge. The tongue projects a little less than the groove is deep. Two or more pieces thus fit together closely. Such a joint should not be glued as shrinkage would pull the tongue off. The tongue and groove could be cut in a number of ways.

• Most is done in large quantities using a four or six head planer.
• Small quantities of odd sizes can be done on a spindle moulder.
• It can be done using a circular saw bench.
• Small lengths can be cut using suitable planes: a plough for the groove and a tongue plane for the tongue. Alternatively, in the later years of hand tools, a combination plane was available. This small-quantity work would be done today with a spindle router.

For most uses, tongue and groove boards were rendered obsolete by the introduction of plywood and later composite wood boards but it is still used in good-quality flooring and plywood can be tongued all round to fit it flush into a framed structure. As well, plywood for sub-floors used in platform framing is often supplied with tongue and groove edges. More commonly plywood flooring is grooved and loose plastic tongues are used to form the joint.

A groove is also a feature that can be cut or cast into any hard material to provide a location for another component.

• Slot
• Groove (joinery)
• Groove
• Tongue (disambiguation)
• Nipple (disambiguation)
• Cabinet making
• Carpentry
• Woodworking
• Woodworking joints
• Parquetry

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