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Being a complete woodworking novice (ok, I’m working on my first project), can anyone tell me how to remedy a loose fitting tenon. I’m in the process of making a table and one of my mortise and tenon joints is just a bit loose, not overly so but enough to concern me if I were to glue it up as is. Also, is there any preferrence on the type of glue to use in a M&T joint? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
mike
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Glue some veneer to the faces of the tenon and use a rasp or a block plane to bring them back down to the correct thickness.
Type of glue? Assuming this is not an exterior application, white, yellow or hide glue will all work fine and should give you enough setup time to get the project clamped up.
*Use epoxy glue with a silica thickener added to obtain a mayonnaise-like consistency. West System by Gougeon Bros. is my favorite. If you're going to use an irreversible glue in a situation like this, it might as well be epoxy. If you intend to use a reversible (hide) glue, then shim with veneer as has already been mentioned. Either method should work since the joint is "just a bit loose"; happens to all of us from time to time, believe me.
*Another method is to make a kerf in the tenon with a backsaw, and then cut a wedge-shaped shim that is the same width as the tenon, and the same depth as the kerf. Make the shim just thick enough that when you push the tenon into the mortise, the wedge will expand the shoulders of the tenon snug against the mortise.If the tenon is large, you may need to make two kerfs and wedges, and place each about 1/2 inch from opposite shoulders of the tenon.BTW, if you make the mortise with angled sides, so it's wider at the bottom than at the opening, this method can make a tight joint with no glue at all. Just be sure to get it right the first time, because once it's wedged in there, it's in there.
*With all due respect to CStanford, using epoxy glue should be limited to exotic woods, exterior applications and man made products. All furniture needs to be repaired eventually, that is if it's worth the effort. I would hate to try to repair a joint that is glued with epoxy. To boot, epoxy is expensive and only an excuse for a bad joint. Steve's sugestion is ok if you are building a blind mortice and tennon joint but you should stick with your initial intentions. If you intended to make the joint fit snug and you cut the tennon too thin, then go with Jed C's sugestion. This is the most respectable way to fix this joint. And this is how the pro's do it. Any white, yellow or hide glue will do.TC
*TC--Just a note to comment on the helpfulness and quality of your response to the "slightly loose" tennon joint... It was well done and helpful! I am a new guy and have been following the chats for several weeks. I am generally very impressed with the way the more experienced share their knowledge with those of us who are just starting out. I suspect that there are a bunch of us who benefit from such ideas without being "seen" since we are just reading. Just wanted to say thanks from all of us!!Scott
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