# Mortise and tennon



## Buckbuster31 (Oct 28, 2014)

I just did my first using a table saw, drill press and chisel. Out of 8, only one didn't fit quite right but it took forever! Is there any jigs to make it easier?


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## mmwood_1 (Oct 24, 2007)

Well, I don't know what type of M & T you did or what technique you used, but you can make your own jigs. There are probably some out there. Mainly though, if you practice, you get better and faster at them. The time/money you spend on gadgets could be spent on practicing the technique, and you will be a more skilled craftsman.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

http://www.shopnotes.com/files/issues/090/plunge-router-mortising-jig.pdf

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum from mmwood, heres a nice little jog from shopnotes that uses a router to cut the mortise. On your own for the tenons though


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## wericha (Apr 29, 2012)

Depending on the make and model of your table saw, there are commercially available tenoning jigs that you can purchase. I had a delta model and ended up giving it away. Several folks have made their own (I believe woodnthings has) and find them more accurate. Building your own jigs builds your skills as well, so they are a win/win.

Just do a search for tenoning jig and mortising jig.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

There's a number of options. I have a delta tennoning jig I use all the time, and a bench top mortiser. Those two pieces will cost you about 400 total. From there down there are homemade jigs like the ones posted above. All kinds of options out there.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*tenons are easy*

Tenons can be done on the tablesaw withing a jig or the bandsaw using the fence with stops or by hand using a backsaw.

Mortises are tough since they are surrounded by the parent wood and have various depths. You can use a hollow chisel mortiser, a mortising chisel, a drill press with Forstner bits, or a router with a specific jig. The easiest way would be to use a "self centering" router base plate on a plunge router:

http://www.infinitytools.com/Base-Plate-Self-Centering-Kit-With-Roller-Bearings/productinfo/115-039/
https://images.search.yahoo.com/sea...r=ytff1-gl-gen1&va=self+centering+router+base


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Buckbuster31 said:


> I just did my first using a table saw, drill press and chisel. Out of 8, only one didn't fit quite right but it took forever! Is there any jigs to make it easier?


Do you own a router? I use a router on M and T joints if I do more than a few. 









Machine is shop built. There are easier machines you can build with costs less than $50 that work quite well. This one has a cost of around $65. Greg Paolini has a plan on line for sale. You can find it by Googling his name. That's where I got my ideas. I have also posted a few threads here on different methods. You can find them in my profile.

Check out Greg's video, it will make a believer out of you. 

Al B Thayer


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## Buckbuster31 (Oct 28, 2014)

Thanks guys!


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Al, do you use loose tenons with the mortises? If so, how do you make them and do you leave them rounded so you don't have to chisel out the mortise?


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

was2ndlast said:


> Al, do you use loose tenons with the mortises? If so, how do you make them and do you leave them rounded so you don't have to chisel out the mortise?


Yes I make a long strip the thickness of the mortise and then round the ends over with the router in a table. If they come out too tall you can rip a smig off one side and route again. Best off to cut them a little tall and route and fit to size. After routing both sides they can come out a little short. I've even glued them in one end and used a wedge tenon on the other too.









A little hard to see but they are there. Take a look at my thread on building 6 chairs in my profile. I did a massive amount of them in a short amount of time. 

Al


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