How to create a mortise and tenon
Mortise and tenon joinery has been around for 1000’s of years and still remains popular among fine woodworkers today for one reason: they are among the strongest kind of joinery. Where the kreg jig has made furniture building easier for a person with no experience, the mortise and tenon joint is going to give a piece of furniture a long life…as long as the piece is built correctly!
What you need:
plunge router with 1/4″ upspiral bit
table saw
wood chisel or sandpaper
2 pieces of wood ( I am showing you on a leg and an apron)
plunge router with 1/4″ upspiral bit
table saw
wood chisel or sandpaper
2 pieces of wood ( I am showing you on a leg and an apron)
The Tenon
1. Place a mark 1/3 of the height on your end grain (for instance, if your board is 3/4″ thick, mark the end grain at 1/4″. Set the board up against your table saw blade and raise or lower your blade to that height.
2. Set your fence at the width your tenon needs to be. Using your miter fence, push the board through several times pulling it away from the fence each time.
3. Flip the board over and repeat the process.
4. If you don’t want your tenon be be full height, set the saw blade at the height of your tenon and set your fence at the width you’d like to trim.
The Mortise
1. Transfer your tenon measurements to your board (in this case table leg).
2. Clamp the board in place.
3. Set your plunge router bit the depth of your tenon.
4. Push your router into the mark and pull out, outlining the entire mortise hole.
5. Push the router back in at the point furthest away from you and pull toward you to straighten the sides.
6. Either square up the mortise corners with a chisel OR round the tenon corners with sandpaper.
7. Test fit the joint. It should be snug. Make any necessary adjustments.
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