Mortise marking

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I use the Lee Valley saddle square on the end marks.

[charlieb]

If you absolutely, positively layout mortise and tenon joints the Glen-Drake Tite-Mark (TM) though not inexpensive (as opposed to "cheap" which implies "crappy tool") is THE handiest M&T marking gauge out there, including Lee Valley's less expensive clone. Get a pair of the Mortise "wheels" when you buy or order it - they'll save you all kinds of grief.

One of the MANY uses for this tool is laying out M&T joints with those "mortise wheels. Set them anywhere on the rod - the distance between them being the width of the chisel you will be using - flat faces in for mortises, flat faces out for tenons and tighten their set screws to keep them there. Then slide the rod out from or in towards the big brass "fence" to the distance you want your mortise to be from your reference face. Just get sort of close then "micro adjust" by locking the rear locking nob? then turning the gnurled thing to move the fence "in" or "out" - very precisely. When you've got EXACTLY where you want the "mortise" wheels tighten the front nob?.

Keep one of you're scribed with the TiteMark mortise layouts handy. Remove the "mortise" wheels which were Face To Face and turn them around facing away from you. Don't set the set screw yet. Set the "fence" on the reference face of your mortise and move the "mortise" wheels so the "drop into the scribed lines for the mortise - then tighten the set screws.

Really nice to be able to use the scribed lines from the mortise to set the wheels for the tenons.

The TiteMark with a pair of the "mortise" wheels lets you keep their spacing while still being able to move the fence

- for say an apron set back from the leg's reference face. Real handy being able to do that.

This thing has so many other uses - scribing the bottom of the sockets for dovetails and finger joints, rabbets etc. AND can be used as a depth gauge/blade or router depth of cut "settings copier", . . .

This is one of those extremely well thought out tools I really appreciate - along with the Festool DOMINO, the AKEDA dovetail jig and the JoinTech Cabinet Maker System (router fence plus precision fence positioner) and the Veritas Twin Screw vise. Start with a blank sheet of paper, think a great deal about what the tool is supposed to do, then think of additional things it could do - THEN design the tool and make it to do all you designed it to do AND be easy and intuitive to use. Oh, and make sure the tool actually meets or exceeds your expectations.

An indication of how well thought out the TiteMark is are the nobs on the "fence" part and the other sliding brass thing. They're kind of big - which is good - for two reasons

1. you can tighten and loosen them with one hand
2. they keep the damned tool from rolling of the phreakin' bench, chipping the carbide wheel then landing under something heavy, next to the things that bites, stings, stinks or all three.

charlie b

[SonomaProducts.com]

[depictureboy]

Thanks for the heads up...I actually linked to the wrong book above. this is the book that has all the free-tenon advice in it Cabinets and Built-Ins: A Practical Guide to Building Professional Quality Cabinetry by Paul Levine It was a very nice book and very helpful.

was able to find it at my local library.

[Pat Barber]

The very simple answer is yes... many folks "only" do floating tenons.

There have been hundreds of stories in the rags on "how to do it" and it is a very simple way to start doing M&T joinery.

With a decent router jig and some loose tenons made from scrap, you are in the m&t business.

Here is > Does anyone use floating tenons? I saw those in a book on

[SonomaProducts.com]

Another prize!!!

That's the > The very simple answer is yes... many folks "only" do

[Dick Snyder]

I take Shopnotes and had completely forgotten about this article. This jig looks pretty simple to make. Have you used this jig yourself?

[Hoosierpopi]

Mortise-and-Tenon Joints (DVD)

with Frank Klausz

Produce clean and quick joints, by hand or machine Woodworkers rely on the versatile mortise-and-tenon joint for making sturdy frames, panels, stools, tables and stands. Frank Klausz shows you how to make the joint cleanly and quickly, using hand tools or basic woodshop machines.

You will learn about:

• laying out for handwork * chiseling the mortises * sawing the tenons * laying out for router and handsaw * routing the mortises * bandsawing the tenons * laying out for mortiser and table saw * making a hollow-chisel mortiser * working tenons on the table saw

No. Description

Price

Quantity

3281 Making Mortise-and-Tenon Joints with Frank Klausz (DVD) $19.99 $15.99

[Mike Richardson]

Hey Charlie,

What do you think about the Domino system?

Ooops - I'ma go fishing somewheres else.

Mike Who is sad he doesn't have as many drive-bys as Charlieb

[Pat Barber]

Yes... but I also built a slightly more complicated version they did a few years ago.

The simple version is great for longer pieces like garden benches,etc,etc.

Dick Snyder wrote: