With a metal pipe, a simple jig and my radial-arm saw, I solved the problem of cutting round tenons on the ends of slats for the sides of a cradle. Find a 6-in. length of pipe that slips snugly over the slats (my slats are 3/4 in. wide by 3/8 in. thick). Add masking tape to the slats to tighten up the fit if they’re loose. Build the simple jig shown in the sketch and clamp it and the stop block to the saw’s fence. Carefully adjust the stop block so that the tenons will be the right length. Mount a sharp plywood blade in the saw and center the blade over the slat location. Now push a slat into the pipe and place the pipe in the jig with the slat up against the stop. Lower the blade until it just touches the flat side of the slat (this will result in a slightly undersize 3/8-in. tenon). Rotate the pipe to cut a clean shoulder on the slat. Work the pipe back and forth under the blade, slowly rotating the pipe. A round tenon will result. This process leaves the tenon a little bit rough, but so much the better for gluing. After you’re set up, you can cut the tenons on 20 or 30 slats in an hour.

George Eckhart, Kenosha, Wis.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, April 1981 No. 27

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