Table Saw Tenoning Jig

[Robert166]

Considering buying one for the table saw. Do you have one? Use it much? Regret the purchase? Thoughts?

 

[Martin Roper]

I have one that has never been out of its box. I bought it years ago on CL for $50 as well as a Delta mortiser. I wasn't doing much woodworking at the time. I bought it for "someday" when I would have more time. Someday is here and I still don't do as much woodworking as I'd like, but in the meantime I bought a Domino. I sold the mortiser and probably should look for the tenoning jig and sell it too.

Lesson learned: Don't buy tools for "someday." Buy them when you actually need them.

 

[Rwe2156]

I never used a miter gauge type but I quit using mine and use a dado instead. I really think I get better results. I definitely get more accurate cleaner shoulders and no multiple passes to get rid of waste.

Could be just an impression, but on longer dados, I think there can be some blade deflection especially in hard woods. Of course, that can be me pushing to fast, but it seemed when I used the router plane to dial in the tenon, it wouldn't be the same across the tenon.

What I do know it the blade has to be perfect 90°.

But here's the one I made, after seeing the one Steve Latta used. Really works well, but for me its easier to dial in the other side with a height adjustment on dado rather than the tap tap on the fence.

 

[JimD]

I used to use one kind of like DrBob illustrates. Now I just use my domino. I don't know if the heavy cast iron commercial version that runs in the miter slot is better or not, I've never used one. My home made fence riding jig worked fine for shorter pieces that would clear the ceiling, But loose tenons eliminate the sometimes tedious shoulder trimming (I got a domino).

 

[tghsmith]

I have a cast iron one,, stores easy until needed, works well when needed..

 

[Craig C]

Have one of the cast iron Delta kind. Picked it up from a yard sale. Have never used it. No feedback on its effectivess but can tell you if you accidentally bang your toes into it, it hurts

 

[Warren]

I've had the cast iron type for at least 25 years. I use it with a router mortiser. Cut mortise and use tenon fixture to set the tenon size. As tghs said, works well when needed.

 

[Mike Davis]

I think I've had 5 different ones. Old cast iron Delta, was too heavy and off balance, hard to set and not accurately repeatable.
Homemade one I threw together in a hurry to get a job done, worked OK- pure ugly.
Nice homebuilt one somebody gave me after they upgraded to a new saw that didn't fit the old jig. Worked well, looked nice, Gave it away and wished I hadn't.
Another Delta- newer version some aluminum, lighter, still not accurate nor repeatable.

Grizzly, have now, all of the above some things less some things more. Guess it's OK.

Mostly I use my dado blade or just cut with a handsaw. Dial in with a router plane if needed.

 

[Echd]

As an incompetent moron I find it easier to use my bandsaw when possible and then trim it down to the final size with hand tools. I considered buying a jig at one point but reviews were all over the place and I realized that I wouldnt be batching out that many identical joints so manual setup hand cutting actually made more sense for me.

If a job required a lot of similar or identical tenons I'd definitely just make a simple jig.

 

[pop-pop]

I think I've had 5 different ones. Old cast iron Delta, was too heavy and off balance, hard to set and not accurately repeatable.

My Delta tenon fixture is about 20 years old. If one tightens the coarse adjust lock lever normally, the base deflects and the fixture then rocks on the saw table which affects accuracy. Thus the “ barely snug” reminder.

 

[chris_goris]

I have the old cast iron Delta... thinking of using for a boat anchor here at the lake.

 

[Robert166]

Sounds like I should stay away from delta, and build my own.

 

[Robert166]

This looks interesting, not for table saw but......

https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-870-Aluminum-Mortise/dp/B00563TL2Y/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=tenoning+jig&qid=1645563089&sr=8-7

 

[zdorsch]

I use mine to cut tenons on bigger stock when the extra mass is a good thing. I do not use it much, but when I need it I’m glad to have it. I find it easier than taking big stock to the bandsaw and find it consistent after setting it up.

 

[Yelverton]

I have the same jig as @pop-pop and I think it's very useful. I use it on a Ridgid table saw, so the miter slot distance from the blade is not optimal, it's different from the Delta table saws it was intended for. The Ridgid miter slot is also a little smaller than the guide on the jig, so it needed to be filed down a hair. The biggest headache, which took me several attempts spread out over months to get it right I'm embarrassed to admit, was adjusting it to be square. There are a lot of moving parts that impact getting it square horizontally and vertically and I struggled to get it right.

That being said, now that it's right it is a repeatable, accurate way to cut many different sizes of tenons. The micro adjustment is effective and it turns out good tenons.

 

[rivens]

I have an older Delta that I use from time to time. It does a pretty good job of tenons, but like pop-pop says be careful with tightening and always apply pressure the same way every time. I did a large run of cabinet doors with the Delta jig and had no real issues. It is easy to set up as well. Home made jigs in my basement workshop shrink and swell a bit and have to be refit a bit when it comes time to use them again.

 

[rivens]

I use mine to cut tenons on bigger stock when the extra mass is a good thing. I do not use it much, but when I need it I’m glad to have it. I find it easier than taking big stock to the bandsaw and find it consistent after setting it up.

View attachment 208615

That is a monster!

 

[Mountain City Bill]

I have the Delta cast iron one. It works well. Although I don't use it a lot, I'm glad I have it.

 

[tghsmith]

this is one tool where the boat anchor weight adds to its function,, allows for smooth and controlled use..

 

[Bigdog72]

I have the Delta cast iron one. It has been in one of my bottom drawers for many years. Basically brand new!