Four methods of internal fixation for trapeziometacarpal arthrodesis were evaluated for biomechanical stability under axial compression, torsion, and cantilever bending in either flexion-extension or radial-ulnar deviation. The techniques tested included crossed Kirschner wires, cerclage wiring, cup and cone with a single oblique Kirschner wire, and a tension band technique that has not previously been reported. Results reported included stiffness (load/deformation) of the construct and toggle (displacement without load applied, after cyclic loading). The tension band and cerclage techniques provided greater construct stiffnesses in axial loading than crossed Kirschner wire or cup-and-cone fixation, and toggle was significantly lower than for specimens fixed by the cup-and-cone technique. In torsion the tension band technique produced fixation that was significantly stiffer than cup-and-cone fixation. In cantilever bending the differences between fixation systems were not significant, except between cerclage and cup-and-cone techniques in flexion-extension. On the basis of our results in a biomechanical model, the tension band technique offers superior fixation in torsion, the cerclage technique in flexion-extension, and both in axial loading.