# large chiseled tenons



## Brian Baley (Feb 22, 2009)

Hey all,
so I am working on my first set of (mostly) hand worked large mortise and tenons...

They are for the aprons and rails on my woodworking bench.
While not truly "large" they are 4"x4" legs and 3"x6" aprons/rails in hard (Oregon) maple.

The mortises are pre-drilled with an auger bit.

My questions are;
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1. technique: I seem to be doing ok (end result), with very sharp chisels, getting an ok joint but it is taking me hours per tenon, and I feel like I am expending way too much effort and time on each one.

Most of my time/effort seems to be squaring up the sides - 

so I am wondering if there are any tips for chiseling and trying to maintain a right angle etc.

I am trying to use push strokes where I can as it seems more efficient than the mallet, but it's very hard to keep perpendicular to the joint walls.

I have five more to go, so I thought I would ask after the first one.
It fits very well, better than I thought - so I am not unhappy... just curious about hints and techniques.

I included a few pics for reference - 
they are part through (6") /blind (2.5") tenon

thanks for any help !


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Have you seen this*

http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=26994
Maybe there's something for you, but you seem to be doing quite well.
What I remember seeing done is a block or metal angle secured to the wall of the opening at the desired cut line and then the chisel is pared down using the block as a guide and to keep the chisel vertical. :smile: bill
Would you be opposed to using a router or is this a hand tool only labor of love?


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## Brian Baley (Feb 22, 2009)

*router, labor of love*

well sure some part of me wants to be able to figure out how to do it manually...

But primarily because of the dimensions I would not be able to route, or table saw (ends) to that depth so I would end up at least cleaning the middle.

I guess what I am most interested in is the maintaining of perp/square when chiseling.

I have tried using a block above the joint to rest the back of the chisel against - mostly to avoid digging-in, under cutting, etc.

It seems like the push stroke works best, but requires huge amounts arm/shoulder strength to maintain repeatable accurate cuts -I'm sure hard maple does not help...

Maybe a bigger chisel (timer/framing/boatbuilders ?) might help ?
not that I have specific plans to do this every month - but I do like to work with larger pieces


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Timber framers use a "slick"*

There are variations but this one  is used by TT










Here's my winkie little one :huh:


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## Brian Baley (Feb 22, 2009)

holy cow !
why you have to show me toys I don't have ????
I guess I should have told you I'm a tool addict.


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Are you using mortising chisels or standard bench chisels? Like woodnthings said a larger chisel may help. The mortising chisels aren't beveled on the sides so they tend to be easier to keep square. Clamping a guide block will help you a lot with keeping the chisel square. Also, are you using a microbevel on your chisel? There are better angles to use for mortising than, say, dovetailing. If you are using a standard 25 degree angle try switching to a 30 with a 1 deg microbevel to see if you get better chopping results and edge retention. Hard maple is gonna give you a work out either way in my opinion. Looks really good so far though. I guess you have to weigh the plus vs minus of hand tools vs power tools. If you research some of the older work done with hand tools, and I mean like classic work from the 16, 17, 1800s sometimes they mention how many man hours these things took to build. A lot of the classic names are the namesakes of the items but had a shop of apprentices helping out to speed things up. Anyways, please post us the finished project when you are done!


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## jlhaslip (Jan 16, 2010)

It might help to consider the height of the work while you are doing chisel work.
I am 6 ft tall and have a set of horses that are only 24" tall for doing framing and assembly on.
If the horses/bench you are using is too high, it gets tiring in a hurry.

An a quick question: 
Why the 'stepped tenon' ??? 

Don't see that too often. What is the reason for the step?


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

My son has recently acquired a Fein Multimaster. This has an attachment suitable for cutting mortices and tenons, or at least roughing them out.
johnep


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## Brian Baley (Feb 22, 2009)

ACP said:


> Are you using mortising chisels or standard bench chisels?


Bench - that's all I have. The mort/ten are about 15/16"



ACP said:


> Also, are you using a microbevel on your chisel?
> [/quote/
> 
> Yes - primary is about 25 then microbevel (but I could tell you exact angle diff )
> ...


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