Abstract: A fixing is described with a head portion (2), preferably formed as a headed stud (8, 9), and a dowel portion (1). The dowel portion (1) has a generally polygonal, preferably square, cross-section, and on each face is formed a series of barbs (4). The fixing is designed to be hammered into a hole of internal diameter corresponding to the external size of the shaft. Once inserted, the barbs (4) prevent easy extraction, e.g. from a chipboard or mdf-based furniture component. The fixing may have an axial hole (12) through which a secondary fixing, such as a headed screw, may pass, in order to render the force needed to pull the fixing out even greater.

Abstract: A joint piece and jointing system using that joint piece are described. The invention is of particular value in making furniture which can be easily assembled and where the joints formed by joint pieces are visible only on the exterior of right-angled corners on one side of the exterior corner. Each joint piece (7) consists of a base having a protruding collar with a head. The base is circular or polygonal and fits into a recess made on one side of one of the panels (5) to be joined. Once fitted, the protruding collar and head fit into keyhole-shaped slots formed on the adjacent panel (6). An advantage of this jointing system is that the panels (5, 6) to be joined may all be produced by CNC milling from one side of a large original sheet of material, e.g. of wood or high density fibreboard.