Scarf joint

Two beams spliced end-to-end along a long diagonal, pegged home.

Wood Scarf Joint Beam
A scarf splice on a long tie.

When a tie is longer than the tree, you scarf it — two beams joined end-to-end along a long diagonal so the splice has more glued-and-pegged surface than a butt joint could ever offer.

How to cut it

slope      1:8 or longer — the flatter, the stronger
faces      plane both mating faces dead flat
keys       wedge keys or pegs to keep it from sliding
stagger    never align a scarf over a post

Where it lives

Long tie beams, plates, and sills in frames wider than any single log will reach.