Tweaking Your Tenons

[ByronBlack]

Whats the preferred way?

I'm thinking of tweaking the tenon cheek (is that the right terminology?) to make the tenon thinner if its too fat to fit into the mortise.

My first thought was a wide parring chisel 1.5 or 2"

But then saw some nice rebate block planes..

or how about shoulder plane - is that strictly for shoulders?

 

[Nick W]

No, a shoulder plane is good. You hereby have permission to go shopping. :wink:

 

[ByronBlack]

lol - I was hoping I would get the 'go ahead' for a cheap-old chisel Not sure i can stretch to the shoulder plane.. is it do-able with a chisel - or is it too difficult to get a good even cut?

 

[Alf]

Something skewed is nice for that. #140 if you're flush - wooden skew rebate if you're not

Cheers, Alf

Edit: Oh well, not flush - in that case a chisel works just dandy (possibly with some practice) Or there's the router plane dodge which some folks like.

 

[MikeW]

Yet another alternative is a fine rasp or coarse file. 99% of the time those are what I use.

A shoulder plane works, especially a wide one. Awkward for me though. What I liked better is the LN rabbet block plane. Felt like I had better control--certainly isn't as top-heavy.

But I have also used a 1 1/2" wide paring chisel if it was alread in my hand.

Regardless of what you use, BB, keeping both cheeks parallel to each other is the hardest part.

Take care, Mike

 

[ByronBlack]

Thanks for the alternative suggestions.

ALF - Do you perchance have a link or any info on wooden skew rebates - not sure what I would be looking for.

 

[Alf]

ALF - Do you perchance have a link or any info on wooden skew rebates - not sure what I would be looking for.

Ooo, d'you know I'm not sure I have. They tend to be a bit disregarded - one of the secrets of old tools that we of the fraternity don't necessarily share. Very, very common in "days of yore" and easily the cheapest/easiest way of getting a skewed plane of any description. I'll tack that onto the marking gauge pic note as something to do tomorrow, if I can find one... :-k Got a rather appealing craftsman-adapted one turned into a moving fillister f'rinstance, and Derek turned one into a dovetail plane IIRC. Yeah, it's here. Gads, I do hate Wiktor's sites - I never know which one to look on. :roll:

Cheers, Alf

 

[ByronBlack]

Would something like this do the job:

Old Tools

 

[MikeW]

You can do what you need with nearly any width rabbet plane. A couple pages after that one, there is a 1 1/2" wide one.

Trimming tenon faces is a task where width makes a difference. But it also depends on the length of the tenons you'll be thinning. No sense using one way wider than the tenons and conversely rabbet planes much narrower than the tenon takes a level of care a wide one doesn't.

In general, I have found more use for a wide rabbet than a narrow one.

But also don't overlook using a router plane, either. In some respects the results are more assured. But you may find less use for one as well.

Take care, Mike

 

[Anonymous]

Byron

This is what the LN Rabbett block plane excels at - " no brainer" as the americans often say

 

[engineer one]

check out the latest issue Woodworking magazine from the states,
spring 2007is devoted to mortise and tenons.

worth a look in my book, plus a couple of really interesting tips about
planing end grain.
8)
paul :wink:

 

[Chris Knight]

Byron,

Cheaper than a new plane would be a router (hand variety) supported on one side by the tenon itself and on the other by a piece of wood the same thickness at the tenon.

Doing it this way, you guarantee the parallelism of the tenon cheeks - which is otherwise dependent on skill (using a chisel or a shoulder plane).

 

[JFC]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-Bull-Nose-Rebate-Plane/dp/images/B0001IW4YG

 

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't mention this on a serious woodwork site but a long Surform "planer file" can be very handy for tenon fettling.

cheers
Jacob

 

[Scrit]

Shouldn't mention this on a serious woodwork site but a long Surform "planer file" can be very handy for tenon fettling.

I see that commercial expediency has reared it's ugly head again......

Scrit

 

[Anonymous]

Until recently I regarded rasp's and file's as joke tools, but am a convert as they really are seriously useful kit for all sorts of jobs, and would possibly also now use them for tennon cheeks, so wouldnt write off the 70's surform either. I use a cruder framers method than Mr Charleworth's method as describ'd by waterhead to fine tune, but similar. I set the depth of the tennon cheek from the face side of the component on an adjustable stanley sett square, and use it to find any high spot's; I've seen other folks use a simple batton with an adjustable depth screw which scratches any high spot's to reveal them. I shave them with a 2 inch framing chisel even on small tennons, it has solid weight. I do have a skew'd wood shoulder plane with a brass sole which is also useful in some cases to get into the corners. For shoulders on better class work I score the shoulder line with my oppinel knife first, carve out a vee, with the shoulder line vertical and the other side at an angle, drop in the saw then saw to the line and set the chisel to that line if the sawing was a bit off and needs a gnats paring off.

 

[ByronBlack]

Hi Mike

I'm in the process of making a small router plane, so could use that I guess but I can't really visualise how to use it? Would I 'plane' the tenon face across the grain or would I have the tenon directly in front of me and 'plane' backward and forwards down the length of the grain?

Looking on the oldtools site, is the one you were thinking of:

Jason - Bullnose rebate is out of my limited budget ATM - hence i'm looking for a cheaper alternative, but is definitely something I would be interested in later down the line.

Chris - not sure what you mean by having the router-plane supported but the tenon itself - do you mean to do it like this to plane the cheeks or the tenon face? Again, sorry, i'm having trouble visualising it..

Paul - thanks for the headsup on that, i'll check it out.

Tony - would love an LN rabbett plane, but lack of funds and all that

Grimsdale - I do have a surform but could never get the hang of it, it just kept digging into the wood creating tear-out, not sure i'm using it correctly. Also, wouldn't it create a 'dimpled' surface on the tenons and weaken the glue joint? Just that I read that the tenon faces should be smooth to ensure a good gluing surface - this is all theoritcal mind!

 

[Chris Knight]

Byron,

In the picture below, only one side of the router is supported by the tenon stock - I would use a bit of scrap of matching thickness to support the other side of the router if I were to use this method). The picture is from Derek's great review of the Veritas tool. ( http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/review ... rplane.htm )

 

[ByronBlack]

Chris

Thanks for the link, was an inspiring read and gives me plenty to think about, the 140 seems a handy little plane to have! Gah, so many tool and so little money

 

[MikeW]

Hi BB--yep, that's was it I believe. The width helps when using a rabbet plane.

Like mentioned, the router plane [hey, it's gotta be good because two Mikes suggested it <g>] really does make accurate work of it.

While one can use it as is--one side of the router plane resting on the face of the stock--on larger tenons, it helps to add a sub base. Router planes have typically two holes for screws to add such a base. My sub base is a long tear-drop shape just like for a powered router. This allows more support on long tenons so the router plane isn't tippy.

By suporting the one side of the router plane on the faces of the stock, and the cutter adjusted to the proper depth, one just sort of swings it over the tenon and it shaves the tenon and keeps it parallel to the face. Quite quick to use once one gets use to adjusting it.

I also use a router plane to fine tune lap joints. I butt both ends together and bridge the faces with the router plane and shave, check the fit, and shave some more away until both fit precisely together.

Take care, Mike