I recently built three mahogany tilt top tables from an article in FWW by Mario Rodriguez. I had a little trouble cutting the sliding dovetails in the table legs.
I used my router table with a track cut into the top and used my delta tenoning jig to hold the legs to cut in either direction. It seemed to work great until I assembled the legs to the post and discovered that I had wobble in the joint. Apparently the tenoning jig (and not the router table or track) was out of square-so each time I passed the dovetail bit I was cutting at a slight angle. I have tried to true it up but just cannot figure it out-anybody know how to adjust those things???
Replies
Luke, Start with a few scraps of similarly sized wood and try again.
You'll have to 'shim'the platen to retrofit the non-parallel device.
Cut and add strips of masking tape to the offending ends of the device
and try again. If it gets worse, put the strip on the opposite edge. If this improves, add another shim atop the first. Pretty soon you'll get it 'spot on'
Now you can leave the shims in place and work on a new set of legs.
Since the attached joint doesn't show, you might patch the bad dovetail with wood and glue, and then recut using the shimmed up device. Steinmetz.
thank you-but I'm thinking that there has to be a way to adjust the metal platform. It otherwise is made very well-it has a adjustment knob that moves the platform side to side perfectly. I just can't believe that with that kind of craftsmanship that there isn't a way to adjust it to true.
Luke, take it back and bring a good square with you'
Show the AH behind the counter that it's 'out of square'
and that the money you paid for it was 'on the level'
Steinmetz.
Edited 1/30/2006 2:16 pm ET by Steinmetz
actually, it was a gift about five years ago. I've used it for cutting tenons and it seemed ok. Thanks.
I have a delta tenoning jig as well and thought the thing was great. That was until I was making a doublr twin tenon for a garage door and noticed that my cut was anything but parallel to the blade. One end of my tenon came out at 3/8" and the other was closer to 5/16. I never noticed how out of square it was until I was making such a large joint.
Sorry I cant help, but I as well would love a fix for this. Until I get one I'll keep making my tenons on the router table.
John...
I'm thinking that what I need to do is contact Delta directly seeking someone with tech support-I can't believe there isn't a simple fix for this-it is otherwise made very well.
My Delta tenoning jig works if I check it for perpendicularity to my saw table before I use it. There is a setscrew for fine adjustment of squareness. It is on a short lever arm rather than a long one which is not the way one achieves fine adjustment. That is why I check perpendicularity at the saw. The locking knob is a poor design also. My jig is the latest model with micro adjustment as praised by FWW. It probably is the best of those FWW reviewed. All look to have a poor locking knob. I wouldn't know if they need a perpendiclarity check as mine does. Your jig may be superior to mine since it is older. Maybe you should use a square, too.To fix your tenons, glue some veneer to the faces that are shy. You can cut them again after getting your jig right. Using polyurethane glue might be a good idea since you may be gluing glue to wood in the joint.Cadiddlehopper
thank you very much, I'll give that a try. Mine is about 10 years old.
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