Mortise and Tenonn Joins

[KentAndy]

Hi Everyone,

I am hoping to start making wood projects using mortise and tendon joins. I plan on cutting the mortises using a plunge router. My question is, is it better to square the mortise or round the tendon? And which method would you use to do either?

Thanks

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I made a bench on which I rounded the tenons. Never again - it's got to be easier and quicker to square the mortices.

 

[rafezetter]

Can't you simply knock off the corners of the tenon with a chisel to make them slip in? How important is it that 100% of the tenon faces mate with the mortice?

 

[mseries]

I usually round the tenons with a chisel. But I am in the process of making a M&T template that will allow me to create rounded tenons with my router using the same template as that used for the mortice. It's essentially my interpretation of the design used on the Trend M&T jig

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

Either squaring the mortice or rounding the tenons is legitimate, so do whatever suits the job or yourself. Rounded through tenons look nice, especially wedged. You see that quite often for decorative effect. Blind mortices, no one can tell so it doesn't matter much, except arguably on very small M and T joints, squaring the mortce and keeping the tenons with corners gives appreciably more glue surface than rounding them.

It is easy to square up the mortices with whatever suitably sized chisel you have, though I would use a firmer or morticed chisel over a bevel edge, if they were available. Doesn't really matter much. I use a dreadnought file and then a second cut file to round over the tenons. Rasps and files , samdpaper stuck to sticks all work well.

Mike.

 

[custard]

Rounded through tenons look nice, especially wedged.

Whatever floats your boat, but for my money rounded through tenons look awful. They yell "pretend machine made version of hand work", plus the very best style of wedging won't actually work with rounded tenons and mortices.

 

[mseries]

Rounded through tenons look nice, especially wedged.

Whatever floats your boat, but for my money rounded through tenons look awful. They yell "pretend machine made version of hand work", plus the very best style of wedging won't actually work with rounded tenons and mortices.

I agree, if I do through tenons I square the corners - this is easier than rounding the tenon perfectly

 

[woodbrains]

Rounded through tenons look nice, especially wedged.

Whatever floats your boat, but for my money rounded through tenons look awful. They yell "pretend machine made version of hand work", plus the very best style of wedging won't actually work with rounded tenons and mortices.

Hello,

Obviously, differences in taste means you can like rounded tenons or not. But I'm not certain what the best method of wedging means and why it cannot be done with rounded tenons. They can successfully be wedged without any problems, so what is the issue? And 'screaming pretend hand done',what does that mean! There is more hand work done in a rounded through tenon than a hollow chisel morticer made square one, so which is pretending to be what? I just answered the question as to what can be done, the philosophy as to what and why is is another thread. In any case, any rounded mortices I make are done on a wood turning lathe chucked with an engineers end mill, with an adapted XY table bolted on. I don't often use a router to do them and I never pretend something is hand done when it is not, I hope I try to use what is structurally sound and aesthetically beneficial to the design and like most of us, use a combination of hand and machine tools to do it. One is no less valid than another, they are all just processes to an end result.

Mike.

 

[deema]

A bit off the wall, but it probably quicker and easier to do the Mortices with a mortice chisel. Not very expensive if you are just buying one from eBay (I actually only really ever use three (1/4, 1/2 , 5/8"). Have a look at the Paul Sellers UTube video on making them to see how easy it really is. Cutting the tenons by hand requires a lot more skill but is something a little or practice soon resolves. Cutting Tenons with a router is very easy.

 

[Jacob]

A bit off the wall, but it probably quicker and easier to do the Mortices with a mortice chisel. Not very expensive if you are just buying one from eBay (I actually only really ever use three (1/4, 1/2 , 5/8"). Have a look at the Paul Sellers UTube video on making them to see how easy it really is. Cutting the tenons by hand requires a lot more skill but is something a little or practice soon resolves. Cutting Tenons with a router is very easy.

Reminds me of when I first bought a mortice chisel about 1970 Hazelhursts tools opposite the Queen Vic Hospital Derby:
"I want a 1/2" mortice chisel"
Young shop assistant:
"Wossit for"?
Old chaps behind me;
"for chiselling mortices yer daft twa.t"

 

[paulrockliffe]

I've rounded tenons with a bearing-guided roundover bit in the router. easier in a table. Takes a matter of seconds.

It leaves a half inch at the base of the tenon that needs rounding with the chisel, but that's quick too.

 

[Benchwayze]

Custard, Woodbrains,

I don't have the problem. I never use through tenons.
I can always make it look as if I had with a small inlay of course! :twisted: (hammer) (hammer)

John

 

[Benchwayze]

A bit off the wall, but it probably quicker and easier to do the Mortices with a mortice chisel. Not very expensive if you are just buying one from eBay (I actually only really ever use three (1/4, 1/2 , 5/8"). Have a look at the Paul Sellers UTube video on making them to see how easy it really is. Cutting the tenons by hand requires a lot more skill but is something a little or practice soon resolves. Cutting Tenons with a router is very easy.

Reminds me of when I first bought a mortice chisel about 1970 Hazelhursts tools opposite the Queen Vic Hospital Derby:
"I want a 1/2" mortice chisel"
Young shop assistant:
"Wossit for"?
Old chaps behind me;
"for chiselling mortices yer daft twa.t"

Said Simple Simon to the Pie-man, 'What have you got there?'
'Pies yer silly So*d.'
:mrgreen:

 

[JonnyW]

Love reading these posts - what an excellent forum this is!!!

I absolutely hate seeing rounded through tenons, it just screams "mass produced". I did see a squared tenon that had been completely rounded off at the end with a couple of dark coloured hardwood wedges. Looked lovely.

I do agree if the tenon isn't going to be seen, then I wouldn't care about squaring the corners off.

I was given a Clarke pillar drill for a birthday present a few years ago (I mounted it on a drawer unit with lockable casters that I made, so I could move it around the workshop), and I bought a mortise and tenon attachment for it. OK it's not going to be as good as a dedicated M&T machine (on my list), but it works quite well - if you're into squared holes that is ;-)

Jonny

 

[Benchwayze]

Love reading these posts - what an excellent forum this is!!!

I absolutely hate seeing rounded through tenons, it just screams "mass produced". I did see a squared tenon that had been completely rounded off at the end with a couple of dark coloured hardwood wedges. Looked lovely.

I do agree if the tenon isn't going to be seen, then I wouldn't care about squaring the corners off.

I was given a Clarke pillar drill for a birthday present a few years ago (I mounted it on a drawer unit with lockable casters that I made, so I could move it around the workshop), and I bought a mortise and tenon attachment for it. OK it's not going to be as good as a dedicated M&T machine (on my list), but it works quite well - if you're into squared holes that is ;-)

Jonny

I cut them by hand for donkey's ears, until I got a mortice attachment with a Stanley-Bridges Aluminium cased drill, in an Arcoy stand. Lasted me from the seventies, right up to the mid nineties, when the drill clamp on the stand snapped. I went back to mortice chisels, but the intervening years had taken their toll, and an aching back forced me to get a small bench morticer. Since I was lured by a Domino, the morticer has seen little action! Depends on the job I suppose, but all my woodworking is for me now, so it's the most convenient I go for; even a router for big mortices.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If no one is bothered about the actual fit at the sides of the tenon, just leave the round ends in the mortices and cut the tenons not so wide and square sided. Job done.