Cutting Tenons

[matt]

How do you cut yours? Tablesaw jig?

 

[Waka]

I've used the following methods to cut mine:

Router table
Tenon jig
Tenon saw
SCMS

depends how I feel at the time of doing them.

 

[tiler99]

Router table but i do have a tenon jig but the table saw isnt up to it.

 

[mailee]

I always use the Steve Maskery patent jig. :wink: Made it a few months ago and wouldn't be without it now, perfect tennons every time. Cheers Steve.

 

[matt]

I always use the Steve Maskery patent jig. :wink: Made it a few months ago and wouldn't be without it now, perfect tennons every time. Cheers Steve.

Tell me more... :-k :-k :-k

 

[dedee]

Like this

The wood is cedar and the waste just snapped off with finger pressure. Cleaned up with with a chisel

Not the best dimensioned tenon in the world but the greenhouse is still standing after a full 12 months :lol:


Andy

 

[mailee]

A picture is woth a thousand words so here goes:

It is used on the same principle as the Trend or Leigh tennon jig and once set up will cut perfect mortice after perfect mortice. It was a feature in one of the Good Woodworking mags a few months back. Hope this clarifies it a bit Matt.

 

[mailee]

Here is the finished article a perfect fit every time.

The only limiting factor is the length of the timber as the jig has to be mounted on a bench and the length of the tennons are limited by the length of the cutter used. I use an upcut spiral bit or if I need more depth a kitchen fitting bit which will give me two inches or just over. Routed the wrong way ie: climb cutting it produces no breakout either so perfect shoulders too.

 

[tinfoil]

Router table:



and little tenons:



Making the shoulder the same on all four sides obviously simplifies matters - same depth of cut all round. I take a first cut up one edge of the tenon then flip the workpiece once clockwise and complete the next face. This avoids any breakout.

No points for noting the rather crude and warped sacrificial fence! These tenons were being made for a set of 4 Shoji screens - WIP pics are on their way but work has slowed progress on the project.

 

[woodbloke]

Bandsaw and then skim to size on the router table - Rob

 

[Steve Maskery]

Mailee
Thanks for the plug, but I see you use it slightly differently to the way I do. You have to keep the router pushed to the fence to avoid over-cutting, do you not? Not necessarily a problem, I'll grant you. I use the opposite fences as limits, but that does make it a tad slower, as I have to keep swapping the spacer piece back and forth.

I have a question.

How do you calibrate it, first for size and secondly for position within the thickness of the workpiece?

Matt
I have another jig for the router table in the next issue of GW, and the one Mailee likes will be one of the ones feature in my DVD, whenever it sees the light of day. I'm feeling a bit like Alice in Wonderland at the mo, the closer I get, the further away it becomes!

Cheers
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Most often with table saw for the shoulders and bandsaw for the face cuts.

For smaller pieces, on the WoodRat.

Sometimes, with a tenon saw for fun and just because I can - no noise and I like the concentration

 

[tinfoil]

In my post above (with the router table pics) I said I rotated the workpiece in a clockwise direction. That should have been anticlockwise, or widdershins. Sorry.

 

[OPJ]

I'm growing to love my six-month-old bandsaw and find it to be an ideal solution to ripping the cheeks of tenons, although I'm still not certain of the accuracy for cross-cutting just yet. Could be a job for the router table...

I'm actually about to very soon start making a jig for both cross-cutting with the circular saw and also cross-cutting with the router. It's so simple to make, I just need to get around to actually doing it!

 

[Charley]

I've been known to do them by hand with a saw but if I've got a few to do I use the table saw.. I used to use the router table and a jig - https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/jigs/tenon/

 

[mailee]

Hi Steve, yes I do use it slightly modified to your original as you can see. I keep the baseplate tight up to the fence as you observed and make sure I always use the same side of the router for this. It is a little tricky with trial and error for the adjustment each time I use another size of tennon but once set will happily turn them out time after time. I normally use it for the gates I build which are all made out of 2" stock so it is set for this size. I have been toing with the idea of making another for other sized tennons so I don't have the hassle of setting it each time I change. As for setting the position I use the mortice that I cut on the morticer and mark the test piece from this. I then cut a little on the wide side and creep in until I have a good fitting tennon. I almost always use a spiral bit and cut clockwise from the top (Climb cut) which gives me no tearout at all and a perfect tennon every time. For the tennon length I just clamp a couple of blocks on the ends. Once set it is so quick it is a doddle. Thanks for a great jig mate.

 

[curlywol]

Radial arm saw with dado cutters.
Once set up, accurate and quick

John