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I’m about to undertake my first “serious” project: a baby cradle. I have come up with a design I like (and I think I’m capable of) that would have the sides made up of flat horizontal top and bottom rails, with flat vertical slats spaced 2 inches apart. I’ll be using some nice white oak, so it seems I should keep the dimensions on the small side both to keep the total weight down and to provide some visual delicacy to match the subject. I was thinking the horizontal rails would be 2 inches wide by 1/2 inch thick, and the vertical slats would be 2 inches wide by 1/4 inch thick, using some nice quartersawn pieces to insure dimensional stability in the slats. What I’m particularly uncertain about is the best measurements for the mortise and tenon joints to join the vertical slats to the rails. If I go by the “book” the tenon should be half the thickness of the wood; that would make the tenon on the vertical slats 1/8 inch thick which seems like a bad idea. Would it be reasonable to use the full thickness of the vertical slats into the horizontal rails? That would leave only 1/8 inch on each side of the mortise, but that seems OK to me, as long as I’m careful creating the mortises. The drawback I see with that idea is that a less than perfect joint might be very ugly. In either case, does anyone have a recommendation for the width of the tenons? Or should I just change my dimensions altogether? Also, I’m so new to this I don’t yet have a sense of whether this design — in which the horizontal rails are the same width as both the vertical slats and the space between the slats — will look “right.” Any suggestions?
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Replies
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Richard,
While it is a little difficult for me to visualize your project, I'll do my best to offer up a suggestion or two. It is possible to make mortise and tenon joints using the dimensions that you describe but, they would be a challenge. I am not aware of anyone who manufactures a 1/8" hollow square mortise chisel/bit. You could use a 1/8" brad point bit (on the drill press) to drill out the mortise and use a 1/8" mortise chisel (Garrett Wade sells them) for clean up. If you go this route, I fear you will have some drift problems considering the oak unless you bore very slowly. Or you could chop the mortises out by hand. Both of these methods would be pretty time consuming, IMO. Because oak has such an open grain, it does have a tendency to split, especially in view of the dimensions we are talking about, so you wouldn't want to make the tenons too long and strength would be a concern. If you decide to go either of the above mentioned routes I would advise using an off set tenon.
If I were building this cradle, I would make the mortises 1/4" wide and at least 1/2" deep to accept the slats. If the slats are a hair over sized they can be relieved with a block plane or paring chisel.
Regardless of the method you choose, accuracy is going to be crucial. The smaller the detail, the tighter the tolerances. I would suggest that in laying out, you use a marking knife in place of a pencil. Also, set up your milling operations in a logical sequence to insure consistency and accuracy. If you work methodically and carefully in all phases from set up to finish, I think that you will derive a great deal of satisfaction and pride in the end results of the project. Good luck and if you have any further questions feel free to contact me at my personal e-mail address.
Dano
*Dan,Thanks so much for your advice. Considering the options you pointed out for creating the mortise, I think I'll keep them at 1/4 inch wide and mill the slats so they are a bit thicker. That way, I can have at least a small shoulder.I'll also be sure to use your advice on tight tolerances and a logical sequence for the milling operations. (My day job is computer software, so logical works very well for me).Thanks again for sharing your expertise.Dick
*Consider providing no shoulder at all, i.e., a double barefaced tenon. Run a groove in your rails, and machine the timber slats to suit. Cut infill pieces 2" long for the space between each slat; similar to doing stair bulusters. Sliante.
*That would work, tedious and not as clean looking, but it would work. By the by, here in the good ol' US of A we refer to a "timber" as anything over a 4 x 4, 1/4 x 2 would be a "stick", methinks.;)Dano
*Interesting variances.*Lumber= rough stuff.*Timber1= good enough to make something useful.*TIMBER!2= stand clear.*Wood= chuck it on the fire. ;-) Sliante.
*Here in the good ol' Pacific NW "timber" is one 200 year old Doug Fir of course in Bahston "timbre" is used to describe the sound of an oboe;-)Dano
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