Question for a Neanderthal

[Cobra Pilot]

When laying out mortises are there any tricks to get that sucker centered? It seems I spend more time fiddling with my gauge than cutting the mortise.

Thanks,

Gary

[J Pagona aka Y.B.]

Quite often, there is no need for it to be exactly centered. As long as you mark off the front face for both the mortises and tenons, the two pieces should come together with the front faces aligned.

David

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[Conan the Librarian]

Bingo. I stopped worrying about getting them perfectly centered a long time ago. Of course, now you have to be very careful to mark all your faces first and be consistent. DAMHIKT.

Chuck Vance

[Mike in Mystic]

As the other posters said, you don't often "need" to be centered. There is a simple way to be pretty darn close, though, depending on the dimensions of your stock. If you're mortising a 1" thick piece to accept a 1/2" tenon, for example, set your mortise gauge with a 1/4" chisel. I try to use my chisels for this purpose whenever possible, and it get's me pretty much dead on most of the time.

Mike