Ok so here’s a rookie question from a rookie. I have a few projects coming up that require mortise and tennon joints (which I have been avoiding till now). I’m new to this whole thing and M&Ts are kind of scarey. I have NO tablesaw or other big tools. I do have a router though. Anyway, I like doing things by hand so last night I made my first handmade mortise and tennon joint in some scrap oak (yeah). I feel confident that I could repeat this process several times, however I’m not quite so comfortable doing it in wood that is a final project, not yet anyway. I saw floating tennon stock in the Lee Valley acatalog and designed a jig to make mortises with my router in long or end grain. This now seems like a fairly easy venture, however I’m wondering if I’m compromising anything if I use floating tennons. There is plenty of glue surface area, but I’m conflicted. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!!
-Art
Replies
Art,
A tenon as a continuation of the rail has superior strength compared to other joinery options since the only point of failure is from shear. With few exceptions, floating tenon will provide you with excellent results and is a tried and true joinery technique. There are good shop-made jig designs for routers to produce dead-on mortises and you can easily shape the floating tenons. You might want to go to your local woodworking store and browse through several to get a better idea of your options.
Congratulations on your efforts and willingness to learn to new skills.
Doug
Art,
I'm a rookie too and vote for cutting my own M&T by hand at least initially. I have found when I do it by hand I understand more fully the requirements for doing it correctly. In other words, I make lots of mistakes but I remove the mystery and understand the process as well as the technical (execution) requirements.
That helps me in two ways: first, doing it by hand first it gives me a better understanding of the setup and execution using power equipment, and, second, gives me some hand skills for repairing my mistakes...like thin pieces of stock because I cut my tennons too thin, etc.
I too am new to M&T and started chopping a few by hand. It was satisfying but time intensive. I picked up on using power tools to remove most of the stock and then finishing with hand tools. Kind of the best of both worlds.
There have been numerous tests done and floating tenons are not weaker than a traditional tenon by any discernable degree. The fit is the critical factor.
Yes.
Rich
Peter,
To follow up, I make "traditional" tenons most of the time when I make M&T joints, mostly on the table saw. I don't find them that hard to do right. I have my jigs set up, and it's almost "plug and play" any more.
But I have also made many, many pieces with "floating" M&T joints, mortising both pieces with a router and fitting carefully-milled splines. FWIW, the splines never fit the mortise in the end-grain pieces like they do in the long-grain pieces, and I usually clamp the cheeks of the end-grain members for good measure.
I have seen some "tests" of various joint construction and don't think they are valid at all (they are filled with inconsistencies and uncontroled variables). But my experience with my own "floating" spline joints leads me to believe that under any conceivable, appropriate use of the furniture, the joints will last long, long after I am no longer around.
I believe that properly-designed tests will show that a traditional tenon is actually stronger than a spline joint, but I don't think that the difference matters in any way that relates to real-world joints, if they are made well.
Rich
Yes.
Like you, I like M & T joints too. Those and dovetails, I think, show real craftsmanship. Something that might get you going sooner than later, though, is the beadLOCK, which uses a drill bit and a jig. Check it out at http://www.beadlock.com. Good luck with the projects.
With smallish ones, I opted to cut them by hand; excellent excuse for a tool buying spree. Bigger ones caused me tofall back on the router and jig to rough out the bulk of the waste, with fine tuning done with chisels and a shoulder plane.
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
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