Mortis and tenon joint.

[Dan Robbins]

HI there, this is my first post,
I am trying to make a mortis and tenon joint out of pine, but the wood doesn't come off nice and cleanly when i am chiseling it away, is this because it is a softwood or technique? i am pretty new to woodwork so didn't want to buy plenty of hardwood to practise on. Can anybody give me any advice?
Dan

 

[Jacob]

Softwood can be hard to cut cleanly, softer it is the worse it gets. Sharpness helps, and lots of practice.
Getting it perfect is good but really you only need to bother about the visible bits on the finished object, as long as it fits well enough elsewhere.

 

[James C]

I agree with Jacob. When teaching students this joint at school the thing we suffer from the most is blunt chisels in Soft Pine.

Keep your chisels as sharp as possible. Make sure you don't let the chisel lean to the left or right either.

 

[Dan Robbins]

thanks for the advice. The chisels are kept sharp as i sharpen them after every use. I am still getting 'flakes' of pine though, nothing cuts cleanly, I just get a terrible mortise filled with wood chips, no clean sides, and it looks abit rubbish.

 

[Steve Maskery]

If the wood is soft you will struggle.
See if you can get some Poplar (also sold as Canary Whitewood). This is soft enough to cut easily but is much nicer that pine and affordable, too.
S

 

[Dan Robbins]

That is excellent. Where would be a good place to source wood? Most of the timber merchants i have seen (online) only seem only to stock pine.
Dan

 

[Gary Morris]

Could you get a single small piece of hardwood and try a joint on that, you could at least rule out your chisel and technique as suspects?

Gary

 

[Dan Robbins]

Oh yes, i could get hardwood to practise, but am looking for a decently cheap supply of timber. Where do you typically get your wood from?

 

[deserter]

If its the mortice that's causing the problem, mark if out with a deep knife line on both sides, then cut to half depth from one side before turning over and cutting again to finish the mortice. The knife line should prevent the surfaces from looking shabby and as Jacob said so long as the center is close, no one will ever see if its not perfectly clean.


~Nil carborundum illegitemi~

 

[Dan Robbins]

Will redesign my cabinet in that case, I am set on using a mortise joint so will continue to practise. Does anyone know where i can source reasonably priced timber?

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Skips are a good source of free timber especially in cities where they are refurbishing pubs and restaurants, I have rescued plenty of counter tops from skips that would otherwise go to land fill.

 

[Jacob]

Yes skips are good. Or if you are making small stuff old furniture is a good source. Often heavily built with good sized pieces.

 

[Graham Orm]

As has been said before sharp chisels and practice. You will never get softwood to look like a crisply cut hardwood mortise.
Cut the tenon a few mm shorter than the depth of the mortise so the excess glue has somewhere to go and put glue on the tenon and in the mortise, if you just put it in the mortise the joint will be weaker. A damp sponge is the best way to clean up excess glue.

Have a look on ebay for hardwoods. There will be somewhere in your locality that you can buy it. It's just a matter of tracking them down. Start by ringing a local builders merchants, if they don't stock any then they will probably be able to tell you where to go locally. Or search online, google or Yell.com.

Have fun!

 

[carlb40]

Dan welcome

If you want some tulipwood to practice one. There are a few listings on ebay or depending which part of brum your in? Give Davies timber on the alcester rd a call, they stock it amongst other hardwoods

 

[hanser]

You could try reclamation yards - slow growth softwoods ( ie old stock) would be fine for you to practice on.

 

[Dangermouse]

Hi Dan,
Welcome to the forum. You rarely achieve a clean cut on mortices in soft pine. Especially the rubbish pine you get sold these days.As has been said don't worry too much about the look of the mortice, as long as your line on the tenon is square and straight thats all you will see when the joint is assembled. If your worried about the join strength, use a glue that is gap filling. Several on the market, just do a google or ask your local tool / wood supplier. The easiest way to find a wood stockist is use yell.com which lists all the timber merchants in any area.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Dan,

This is a good link for Timber Merchants.

Thanks,
Neil

 

[Mister Griffiths]

I used to live in Birmingham, and I found Great Barr Sawmills to be a great source of timber if that is anywhere near you

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Start at the beginning - your "pine" is probably spruce. Good pine isn't too bad to work, spruce is pineapple.

 

[Gary Morris]

Hi Dan, try the postcode app on the home page, it may help, although I too live in South Birmingham and the closest link is 16km away. I've ordered wood from ebay, I just typed "Timber" into the search engine and browesed. I have picked up some really cheap (and fair quality) hardwood. Downside is postage, but some deliver free if over a certain £

Gary