Mortiser Info

Just as an aside from the mortiser preferences that I've seen here, how do most of you cut the tenons to fit your mostises? Dado on a tablesaw vertical on a tablesaw, chisel or some other method?

Reply to
Upscale
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Same time I bought the mortiser, I bought the Delta tenon jig. So far I've only cut one tenon, but it was a nice fit. I'm looking forward to doing the rest of them.

I've done them on the bandsaw in the past but was not happy with the results. I don't have a dado blade so I did not get to try that method. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net

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Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Table saw with a stop, Delta tenon jig & bandsaw to form cheeks and shoulders. The tenon jig is great and makes quick work.

Reply to
Tom Kohlman

Radial Arm Saw with dado head, and band saw if only a few are being cut.

Reply to
Rumpty

Bandsaw cheeks, but I have the LN rabbet block to clean faces and the LV shoulder to fudge those.

Dado also good for hogging away after shoulders are cut. Depends on how lazy I am.

Reply to
George

I use power tools (table saw, with fence and Delta tenon jig, and a bandsaw with fence) to cut the majority of my tenons. While there are many ways to accomplish the same thing, the following is my preferred methodology:

I cut mortises first, then cut tenons.

The most important part in cutting tenons with power tools is "batch cutting". IOW, cut ALL parts which require the same operation using the same saw blade and fence stop settings BEFORE resetting equipment and fence and going on to the next operation. This is especially important when using the "fence as a stop" for cutting the shoulders.

Order of cut, depending upon type of tenon:

Delta table saw tenon jig to batch cut the cheeks on all parts.

Note: If you use a jig like the Delat, ADJUST it repeatedly, on scraps of the _same_ thickness, to get a precise fitting tenon for the width of the mortises which you previously cut. Most of these jigs/tools are infinitely adjustable and will cut a tenon of a precise width, so take the time to get the precision it will give you, otherwise you will be chiseling, planing, sanding and otherwise wasting time fitting each tenon into its respective mortise.

Table saw with lowered table blade to cut shoulders. use a miter gage and table saw fence as stop (cut any short shoulders, generally with a required blade height change, BEFORE moving the table saw fence!)

Bandsaw, with fence, to cut excess material off any short shoulders or haunches. This last operation can often be done with the tenon jig, but is faster setup on the bandsaw.

Fit tenons into their respective mortises "hand tight" ... if you have to pound them with a deadblow, they are too tight.

Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the length of a tenon for the shoulder to fit precisely against the leg/stile. Do this with a hand saw, bandsaw, or chop saw ... but NEVER recut a shoulder after this operation. :)

Tenons for the slats for Misssion style furniture I usually cut with a dado set, a miter guage, and the table saw fence as a stop. You do yourself an immense favor if you design the mortises and tenons for slats so that one height setting of the dado set cuts all four sides of the slat tenons.

HTH ...

Reply to
Swingman

In the last step on cutting tenons in slats, and in the likely event someone in the future will be dense enough to snug a dado blade (or any blade for that matter) against a table saw fence, be sure to use a "sacrificial fence" attached to your table saw fence.

Reply to
Swingman

If it fits in my delta tenon jig; I use that. Otherwise I use a dado blade on the table saw; or for just one or two; I hand cut. For furniture sized items; I do shoulder cuts (4) [may need two setups], then cheek cuts with miter gage and no inset (the pieces cut off drop down into the saw and do not bounce around the shop). Use whatever method or sequence that works for you.

Reply to
Alan Bierbaum

Oops, reverse shoulder and cheek in prior post.

Reply to
Alan Bierbaum

I built a tenoning jig for my PM66 that fits in the miter slot. It even has a fine adjustment setting with wing nuts. This makes quick work of the cheek cuts. If there is a lot of material to remove, I use the bandsaw to cut away most of the waste to prevent a flying thin piece of wood and to get a more accurate cut. I used to cut the cheeks by doing multiple passes over the table saw blade. Cutting and making adjustments to tenons is a lot easier than cutting/adjusting the mortise.

Reply to
Phisherman

Old heavy Delta tenon jig with double blades and spacer. Cuts both cheeks at once.

Reply to
My Old Tools

I use a horizontal mounted router.

Ted

Reply to
Bigpole

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