cut my tenons too small. now what?

Hello,

I need to know if anyone has successfully corrected this problem. I'm thinking of using some gorilla glue, which I'm told expands some. Other than that I could put a layer of masking tape around the tenon before gluing. This is the amount of play in the unglued joint (maybe

1/32 in.) The project is an end table, so it's not going to take alot of heavy stress. Should I just glue and clamp as normal? I could always re-make the stretchers, but if I can solve the problem another way.... Thanks.

Curt Blood

Reply to
dustyone
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Make wooden shims to fill the gap between the tenon and mortise. Glue them to each face of the tenon. Gorilla glue will foam and expand, but does not have a lot of strength once it expands to fill gaps.

Reply to
stoutman

You could cut some thin wood shims to fill the space. Set your table saw fence so that when you run the wood through, the piece being cut off on the outside of the blade is your shim. Trim it to fit, glue it to your tenon, then assemble the tenon and mortise. Hope that helps.

Will

Reply to
NorthIdahoWWer

Simply glue additional wood to the tenon with the grain oriented to match the tenon. Allow the glue to dry and then saw and/or plane the tenon to the correct dimension. You may need to glue the additional wood to both cheeks so that the stretchers end up with the correct reveal relative to the legs.

John

Reply to
John Grossbohlin

If they're through M&Ts, what about a wedge, same or contrasting color, and turn it into a feature. It a Micro$oft thing.

Dave in Fairfax

Reply to
Dave in Fairfax

Two things you can do.

Add a thin piece of wood do the tenon and re-cut them

Add a very thin piece, like plane shavings, to shim them.

If they are all the same undersize I'd probably opt for fix #1. If it is only one tenon, #2 can be done. You won't regret doing a proper fix rather than just trying to fill the void with poly glue. If you don't have one already, get a Veritas shoulder plane so you can easily fit tenons that are a smidgen oversized. Check for fit after every pass of the plane. It is very satisfying to take a pass or two and have it slide in perfectly.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I see you've gotten the wood shim idea, or you could use some veneer, same thing. Consider carefully what faces of the tenons you adhere it to since it will change the geometry of your piece slightly.

OR

You could glue things up with epoxy, epoxy is a good gap filling adhesive. It's also totally irreversable once cured.

The foam of gorilla glue has no structural strength, don't go there.

Reply to
George Max

Glood idea, but it doesn't have to be an exact size shim. Glue a solid [thicker] piece that can be controlled to fit, then recut the tenon to proper size.

Reply to
Guess who

I like epoxy so would probably go that route.

If you use epoxy, thicken with some microballoons to make a better gap filling material.

As George says, stay from Gorilla glue in this application.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Is there a reason why you can't make the mortise slightly larger? I agree easier to use shims though. If its through tenons think about using contrasting wood in shims to add interest. Either way you definitely don't want too the joint too loose. Hope all goes well.

Reply to
Derrick

"dustyone" I need to know if anyone has successfully corrected this problem. I'm

I fear that shimming the tenon cheeks with veneer is not a very satisfactory solution. The cross sectional area of the tenon is less than intended, so it is weaker than intended.

For a remedy that will stand the test of time, a false tenon would be the best solution. Perhaps you would like to try my web site. Click on 'Blunder Busting'.

Jeff G

Reply to
Jeff Gorman

Depends on the length. A wedged tenon will have some degree of non-parallelism to the outside face. If you're having to expand this by a whole 1/32" in a short tenon, then you're not going to get much grip around the shoulder end of the tenon. It would work for the rails in a small fully-framed table where there's bracing from other joints too, but I wouldn't trust it in a chair.

Shim it. Square the tenon up, glue the shims on, let it dry well and then re-cut them.

This sort of problem is why I always cut my tenons (which are easy) after my mortices (which are hard).

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Thank you all for your ideas. I'm going to glue shims and re-cut the tenons.

CB

Reply to
dustyone

Hand planes are wonderful for this.

Barry

Reply to
Ba r r y

I would glue some veneer to both sides of the tenon then adjust with plane if needed.

Reply to
Kc-Mass

Shims are one way of doing it.

Try using yellow glue, painting and dipping the tenon and scattering some sawdust in the mortise to make it tight.

If you want an elegant solution, kerf and wedge.

Reply to
George

How did you cut the mortises? Why not make matching mortises in the stretchers after cutting off the undersize tenons, then use loose tenons cut to the correct size?

Steve

Reply to
Steven and Gail Peterson

Take some nice big shavings from some scrap of the same kind of wood with a plane, and glue one to the face of the undersize tennon. When the glue is dry, you can clean up the over hanging bits with a sharp knife.

I've used the technique more than once :-)

Reply to
Roy Smith

Does this make sense to anyone else? If the male end (the tenon) is too small, enlarging the female end (the mortise) wont make a small male member tight in the female member?

I mean I think this is self explanatory right?

Reply to
Tattooed and Dusty

You are correct it doesn't make sense. Sorry about that I didn't explain very well.

After making mortise wider, glue in a plug of wood to fill cavity. Now you can make a new mortise that is a little smaller than original allowing for a beefier sidewall. Sorry for the confusion.

Reply to
Derrick

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