Table of Contents
What tools do I need to make a mortise and tenon joint?
If you’re doing woodworking on a shoestring budget, you’ll be happy to know that the only tools you need to cut tight-fitting mortise and tenon joints are a square, knife and marking gauge, a fine-toothed saw, and a couple of sharp chisels and mallet.
How do you make a mortise and tenon joint step by step?
Step 1: Mark the Tenon Shoulder Line. Step 2: Mark the Tenon Cheeks and the Mortise Walls. Step 3: Saw the Tenon Cheeks. Step 4: Remove the Tenon Cheeks and Cut the Shoulders. Step 5: Cut the Tenon Sides. Step 6: Layout the Mortise. Step 7: Chop the Mortise & Fit the Joint.
Should you cut the mortise or tenon first?
The mortise and tenon is probably the most used and trusted joint in traditional woodworking. For me, making the two parts of the joint always follows a specific order — the mortise comes first, followed by a tenon to fit.
How far should a tenon go into a mortise?
But as a general guideline, make the tenon about 1⁄ 3 the total thickness of the tenoned workpiece, and about 1⁄ 2 – 2⁄ 3 as long as the width of the mortised workpiece. Though it’s not structurally necessary, cutting a shoulder adjacent to the rail’s edge as well as the face allows you to completely hide the mortise.
What size should a mortise be?
Mortise & Tenon Dimensions Thickness of Stock Mortise Width Tenon Length 1-3/4″ 3/4″ 2″ 2″ 7/8″ 2-1/2″ 2-1/4″ 7/8″ 2-3/4″.
What is the weakest wood joint?
The Butt Joint is an easy woodworking joint. It joins two pieces of wood by merely butting them together. The butt joint is the simplest joint to make. It is also the weakest wood joint unless you use some form of reinforcement.
How tight should a mortise and tenon joint be?
Tenons too tight in their mortises can cause splits, as shown. A good mortise-and-tenon joint should go together easily by hand, but not be loose enough to fall apart. Avoid too-thin mortise walls, which split easily, by never making them less than 1⁄ 4 ” thick.
Which is stronger screws or dowels?
Dowel joinery is stronger than screw joinery. The increased glue surface caused by the glue deeply penetrating the wood gives the dowel more holding power. Dowels also have superior holding power in modern composite materials such as particleboard and plywood.
Can you mortise with a drill press?
Mortising attachments are available for almost every drill press. Although they vary in appearance, they all have three basic components: a fence, a chisel holder and a hold-down. Mortising bits cut square holes. The auger bit fits inside the chisel and protrudes slightly.
Can you mortise with a hand drill?
Pro Tip: Don’t attempt to use a mortising bit in a handheld power drill. We’ve tried it…and it doesn’t work. If you attempt to use a mortising bit in your drill press, you’re going to need to retrofit your machine quite a bit.
How long is a tenon?
Tenon length: The general rule is that the minimum tenon length is five times its thickness. So a 1/4″-thick tenon should be 1-1/4″ long. Of course, if you look at antique furniture, you see this “rule” violated , or maybe the furniture was made before they made the rule.
What is stub mortise and tenon?
A mortise and tenon joint is used most often to join two pieces of wood at 90 degrees, and consists of two parts; the mortise hole and the tenon tongue. stub mortise – is a shallow mortise, dependent on the size of the timber. through mortise – mortise that passes entirely through the wood, so you can see through it.
What is a stub tenon?
A stub tenon and groove is similar to a mortise and tenon, but there are a couple of things that set it apart. The main difference is that a shallow, continuous groove is substituted for a deep mortise. The groove then makes cutting and fitting the short, mating stub tenon an easier task.
What is a Haunched mortise and tenon joint?
HAUNCHED MORTISE & TENON. When a tenon is cut back or notched along one edge, the resulting short stub is referred to as a haunch (drawing above). This type of mortise and tenon joint is commonly used in making heavy-duty frame and panel assemblies.
How does a mortise gauge look like?
Like the simpler marking gauge, a mortise gauge has a locking thumb screw slide for adjusting the distance of the scribe from the edge of the wood. It has two protruding pins, often called “spurs”, which are designed to scribe parallel lines marking both sides of a mortise at the same time.
What does a marking gauge look like?
A marking gauge is the most common type of gauge used for marking. It uses a small pin, sometimes referred to as a spur, to mark the wood when the tool is dragged across it. In its early form, the marking gauge was simply two pieces of wood attached together with a pin through one end for marking.
Is mortise gauge a marking tool?
A mortise gauge is a Marking tool. A mortise gauge is a woodworking tool used by a carpenter or joiner to scribe mortise and tenon joints on wood prior to cutting. Mortise gauges are commonly made of hardwood with brass fittings.
What kind of chisel is used for mortise?
A corner chisel is often used to make cabinets. These hand tools are used for cutting deep corners into mortises and cleaning out square corners. Each chisel face is sharpened using an oil stone.
How do you make a tenon by hand?
How to Cut Tenons by Hand A step-by-step guide. Begin by marking the tenon shoulders. Use a cutting gauge for clean, deep lines. Pick up the mortise width. Mark the tenon thickness. Mark the haunch. Secret to a clean shoulder. Cut the shoulders using a backsaw with crosscut teeth. Cut the cheeks with a ripsaw.
How does a tenon saw work?
A tenon saw is a type of back saw that is used to make straight cuts, usually for tenon joints in woodworking applications. Tenon saws cut pretty fast, and have a rib along the top edge of the blade, like a spine. The rib makes the blade very stiff, allowing it to cut more accurately.
