Replies

1. 
   _snl_ | Jul 08, 2022 02:39am | #1

   My suggestion would be a sharp shoulder plane or a router table. I have found the router table better for removing the exact same amount of material from each side of the tenon, especially if keeping the piece centered is important. You could also use a really sharp wide chisel as it looks like the fit is close. This will depend though on your experience as good chisel work takes some practise. Regardless what tools you use the most important one is patience. I’m still learning this skill!

1. 
   rob_ss | Jul 08, 2022 03:15am | #2

   Great answer. I'd only add that you can also use a table saw with the 'speed tenoning' technique.

2. 
   john_c2 | Jul 08, 2022 03:19am | #3

   If I have a lot of material to take off a tenon cheek, I like a router plane. Quiet, quick, and precise. Work from the reference face and all the tenons will be the same.

   If I have a teeny bit to remove I have a Shinto saw rasp. It has safe edges, so it won't mar the shoulder.

   I don't like shoulder planes for thinning tenon cheeks. It's easy to remove material unevenly, and then you have a part twisted in the mortise. Shoulder planes aren't for removing material from a tenon cheek, but from the shoulder. Hence the name and the low angle on the blade.

3. 
   pantalones868 | Jul 08, 2022 03:27am | #4

   I would probably use a router plane to register my final thickness each side (and a router could do the same) then I'd clean up the faces using a chisel.
   How did you produce your tenon in the first place? I have a tenoning rig for my table saw, if my tenons were too tight I would readjust and and recut. Probably on my first pass they would be too tight by design anyway.

4. 
   spamisnotham | Jul 08, 2022 03:35am | #5

   It sounds like you need a low-tech option - my suggestion is to glue some #120 sandpaper to a block of wood something about 6" x 1". Then trim off the extra sandpaper.

   Then working carefully sand/remove any excess and test regularly.

   This method will be more accurate to remove such little material. Use a square to test if you are staying square and flat and adjust as needed.

5. 
   _mj_ | Jul 08, 2022 03:49am | #6

   If you are talking about the .02 diff on the mortise bit just clean up the walls of the mortises with a chisel to get back to where you wanted to be in the first place. Same result with no risk to the show surfaces.

1. 
   EdWeber | Jul 08, 2022 06:35pm | #9

   My thoughts exactly, just use a chisel and stop over thinking it.

6. 
   Kurt_Battles | Jul 08, 2022 10:27am | #7

   Thanks all! I will trim these down with my table saw tenoning jig, or buy a router plane. I also like the looks of the Shinto saw rasp.

7. 
   tbonetim | Jul 08, 2022 02:09pm | #8

   I like my Shinto rasp, but for this task I find it a little too aggressive, even the fine side.

   The router plane is great for this and has so many other uses that it is worth the investment. Used ones are plentiful, reasonably priced, and fun to use. Patrick Leach is a reliable source for these ([email protected]).

   I have also found a regular flat rasp to be great for this task. Marc Adams has a great You Tube video that shows how to fine-tune your tenon with a rasp (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik9S2qqCsgw).

   And I in fact do find my shoulder plane very useful for cheeks as well as shoulders. A good trick for keeping the cheeks square and flat with rasp or shoulder plane is to cover each cheek with pencil marks, and rasp or plane just enough to "erase" the lead. Test fit and repeat until you have your perfect fit.

   So, there are many good and enjoyable options for the task in front of you. No surprise, how well they work depends on how much practice time you put in dialing in your favorite method(s).

1. 
   Kurt_Battles | Jul 10, 2022 10:48am | #10

   Thanks for all the thoughts. I used the Marc Adams method which eventually I got reasonably good at. It is pretty controllable. He is using Poplar and I am using Hickory which rasps very differently. I tried re-cutting with my tenonning jig on the table saw but you can cut too much real fast. I subscribed to the Patrick Leach newsletter to locate a shoulder plane, and who knows what else.

   If you take a little too much off a tenon is there a good way to compensate for that when you glue up or before? This occured during the learning curve. :)

1. 
   tbonetim | Jul 10, 2022 11:08am | #11

   Yes, KCBatboy, it is possible, without much difficulty, to revise a tenon that has been cut too thin. I always have some thin little piece of hardwood scrap lying around that can be trimmed and glued to the skinny tenon cheeks; then I just start the final fitting process afresh.

   Gary Rogowski makes his initial tenon cheek cuts on the bandsaw---leaving a little thick---and saves the offcuts for just that purpose.
   See 3:18 into his video at https://www.finewoodworking.com/2007/07/23/the-complete-mortise-and-tenon-joint

8. 
   stantheman | Jul 10, 2022 05:42pm | #12

   to add thickness, if I dont have appropriate scraps, I use brown paper, glue on both sides

9. 
   chancito | Jul 10, 2022 05:46pm | #13

   If the tenon is just a little loose you can also use five minute epoxy instead of yellow glue a fill a small gap.

10. 
    DRBWWing | Jul 10, 2022 06:15pm | #14

    Router plane is investment in the future, or make a poor man’s $ Paul Sellers.

    80 grit paper glued to a block of wood.