Link to mortise-and-tenon
- Thread starter lwhughes149
- Start date
-
- Tags
- link mortiseandtenon
- Status
Me too! Tried it once and it worked . . . sorta of . . . but it was a pain to put on or take off. Finally gave it to someone (Mike, I think). IIRC Tom Hintz said he has a couple in the woods behind his shop. :lol:
It can be done, but the PITA factor looms large. :-(
Roger
David a dedicated mortiser is night and day different than the DP mortise rig. I too tried one once and quickly when out and got a good Delta mortiser. With sharp chisels (which the Rockler cone stone set-up can maintain) punching mortises in Oak is easy. But no set-up is going to give you a blow-out free thru motise, unless you cut from both sides.
Dave
Ok guys, I get the message. Lets go in another direction. My set-up isn't complete so I can stop right here. The board I am cutting is the top of a trestle table leg so the cut goes all the way through, this one does anyway. It is Norm Abrams pattern from one of his books. The cut goes through a 5" board that is 1 3/8" deep. What Norm used was a Forstner bit and cleaned it up with a chisel. My wood is walnut. Any suggestions. I also didn't purchase the attachment for the drill press so no money lost. Maybe I will post mine for sell. Help. :BangHead:Lorraine
Norm knows his stuff...that would be the easiest way to do a few mortises. Scribe well with a marking knife on both sides (if they are thru) and drill from both sides with the appropriate sized Forstner bit, and then clean it up with a chisel.
Dave
I think I am going along with Norm and sharpen up the chisel. Thanks guys. Lorraine
I recently saw "Norm" cut a through mortise by working from both sides to prevent tearout. For a table top this may not matter if you aren't concerned about the bottom side of the top. On the other hand, if you are one to over imbibe, you could find yourself under the table looking up. :drunken_s
In that case, it might be preferred to have a pretty bottom.....I mean the underside of the table top.
Roy
In that case, it might be preferred to have a pretty bottom.....I mean the underside of the table top.
Roy
The plan I am following is one of Norm's and this plan cuts the mortise from both ends. I am going for it tomorrow. I think I would rather use the Forstner bit and the chisel than worry with the attachment on the drill press. You know when I do the next table, cherry for me, I will make that cut before I glue up the two boards. The foot was two pieces with the cut made and then glued up, why norm didn't do that on the top piece I don't know. The foot is completed 2 3/4" where the top of the leg is 1 3/8". Maybe some one can tell me the reason. For those of you who have seen my past projects, this is my first attemt at mortise and tenon. Lorraine
Good luck and take your time. A sharp block plane to "tune" the fit of the tenon in the mortise is a wonderful thing.
I will report in this evening with pics. Thanks guys. What would I do without you? Lorraine:icon_thum
I kept my promise of pictures of todays progress on the mortise cuts. The pics are in my gallery along with a recent cutting board, a project of my husbands, and other pieces for the table. I like the Fortsner bit best. I packed that other thing up and put it away. Lorraine
Last edited by a moderator:
Dave, you don't understand. The pic you have on this thread was cut from the tablesaw and glued together. The other pic in my gallery was the one cut with the Fortsner bit. I had to glue two boards together to get the 1 3/8" so I could have cut that on the tablesaw as well. I may do that when I make my cherry table. Lorraine
Thanks Dave. I had considered rounding the tenon, that board is 5" deep. Can a chisel really do that? Lorraine:BangHead:
It sure can if it is at least 5" long. Or 2½" if you work from both sides :-D. You will want to use a squared block of wood to help guide your chisel to travel plumb, and it would be best to work from both sides. If the center is a little undercut that isn't a big deal, there will be a lot of surface area in that mortise.
Dave
Dave
One last question. The center board for the legs is to be 10" in width with 8" mortise opening. I made a mistake and find I have one at 10" and one at 9". This 9", if I make them both 9" will give me a shoulder of 1/2" instead of 1", would that be strong enough or do I need to add the extra inch? That would give me a 5/8" shoulder and a 1/2" shoulder. :BangHead: Lorraine
I would think that a ½" shoulder would be strong enough to resist any racking forces. You have tremendous glue surfaces on that wide of a M&T and that will provide the most strength.
My biggest concern would be the potential movement of an 8" wide tenon in the mortise. Personally I would have split it into two tenons and used narrower mortises, which would also give a little more glue surface too.
Dave
My biggest concern would be the potential movement of an 8" wide tenon in the mortise. Personally I would have split it into two tenons and used narrower mortises, which would also give a little more glue surface too.
Dave
- Status
