A Better Way to Tab. Most likely you have used tabs, or micro-joints, in one application or another in your shop. The most commonly used type of tab is a wire tab. It is also the weakest and most unstable form of tabbing. Wire tabs do not break cleanly and leave a sharp edge on your parts. This requires the parts to go through a secondary de-burring operation, which is inefficient and time-consuming. Fortunately there are several other techniques for making tabs that may work for you.