How do you cut tennons?

Jeff Horton

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I have a project with a fair amount of tenons to cut. I have a tenoning Jig for the Table Saw. I tuned it up yesterday and finally got it to cutting square shoulders.

I know there are several ways which these can be cut. Just trying to settle one method that works for me.
 
I have a project with a fair amount of tenons to cut. I have a tenoning Jig for the Table Saw. I tuned it up yesterday and finally got it to cutting square shoulders.

I know there are several ways which these can be cut. Just trying to settle one method that works for me.

I usually use the tablesaw and tenoning jig, but if you have a lot of same-sized tenons to cut, you can cut the shoulders on the tablesaw, then move to the bandsaw, with a fence and stop block, to cut the cheeks. I find that to be a faster method for 'production' tenoning.

For final fitting, I use either the LN or LV shoulder planes, and/or a sharp paring chisel.
 
I've gone over to loose tenon joinery. When I did cut integral tenons I used a tenoning jig on a table saw, with good results. I when over to loose because of the mortise.Too much hand work in cleaning up the bottoms for me.
 
Nowadays, I use the loose tenon cut on router table but, if the tenon is too long I cut it on the table saw with tenon jig.

On the pics, you can see my home-made (well, even if I want, I cannot buy it here) that is riding on the fence on wheels (4 side and 4 top wheels).

I start with a little bit bigger (wider) tenon and than fine adjust it by using business cards of 0.3mm (0.012") for perfect fit.

Regards
niki

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If you're making standard tenons (no compound angles), you can cut them on the table saw. A dado blade makes it faster but you can use your standard blade - it just takes more cuts.

Let's say you want to make a tenon 1.5" long. Use your sled and set up a stop block 1/5" from the far side of the blade (not the side closest to the stop block but the other side).

Now, set the depth of the cut. Let's say you want the tenon to be 3/8". Figure out how much you need to cut on each side to leave 3/8" in the middle. Raise your blade less than you think you need, and cut just the end of the board. Measure the depth of cut. Adjust blade until you get the right depth.

BTW, if I want at 3/8" tenon, I make it a fat 3/8" to make sure it fits the mortise and trim with a shoulder plane when I'm fitting. The alternate way is to raise the blade as discussed earlier, but make a cut on both sides and trial fit into your mortise. When the fit is right, use that depth of cut.

All you have to do now is just keep making cuts until your board hits the stop block. For the sides, I usually make the shoulders the same just so I won't have to re-set anything. Sometimes you can't do that because you want a bigger shoulder on one side.

This gives a square tenon with square shoulders. To avoid tearout, make sure you have a good backer board. Another reason I make my tenons fat is so I can trim off the saw marks, but with a dado blade they come out pretty smooth.

For complex tenons, I use a tenon jig.

Good luck!

Mike
 
I'll use a dado or combination of the tablesaw and the bandsaw for a few. For a lot (to me that's more than four) I use the tenoning jig. The actual cutting takes longer but the end result is more consistent so I spend less time fitting. I have the feeling you will get as many answers as we have members ;-)
 
for big tenons i use the band saw -i have a store bought tenon jig and shop made ones that work better than the delta store bought but i always go back to this-
DSCF0005-9.jpg

now if table saws made you nervous i wouldn't cut tenons like this-the trick is a sharp blade and the fence set exactly parallel to the blade-i keep a couple of fingers of my right hand hooked over the fence -i like to rub car wax on my table saw tops and the fences every few days,makes something like this smoother .

rounding off the sharp corners
alex
 
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