Replies

1. 
   SVSander | Feb 17, 2003 10:56am | #1

   I had the Craftsman Universal Jig and found it lacking. I ended up using shop-built jigs that could slide on my rip fence. I now have the Delta 34-184 and find it more than adequate. I have never had an opportunity to compare it to the Delta 34-172, so I can't say if the -172 is worth the increase in price. I get consistent results from the -184.

   Good luck,

   Dick Baker

   Sunnyvale, CA

2. 
   TomT226 | Feb 17, 2003 03:17pm | #2

   Dave,

   Unless you're doing angled tenons, spend your money on a high end dado blade to cut tenons. Set up is quicker and it's easier to adjust.

1. 
   cutittwice | Feb 18, 2003 03:31pm | #3

   Thanks for the reply Tom. I know what a dado blade is (wish I had a high end set!) but you still need something to hold the stock, and you still need to make adjustments for getting the correct size and maintain repeatability. How do you do it?

   Do you own a tenon jig, or have you ever used one? I am more interested in researching the use of tenon jigs than methods of work, but your comment intrigued me. Figured I could learn something. Most days I discover I have forgotten something else. It would be nice to reverse my brain drain.

   Thanks

   Dave

1. 
   Clay | Feb 18, 2003 05:02pm | #4

   I have a tenon jig but more commonly do cut my tenons with the wood laid flat on the table and clamped in a miter jig.  That's the way you do it with a dado set.  instead of cutting the cheeks of the tenon with the side of your blade facing them you cut them with the top of the teeth riding against the tenon cheeks.  The saw depth then is set to the width of your tenons shoulders.  I actually often use a quicker method where I release the quill on my shopsmith and after cutting the inside of the tenon I remove the waste by slow-feeding while moving the quill back and forth chewing out the waste with the sides of the saw teeth.  I will often follow up this procedure with a bit of chisel paring to refine the smoothness and final fit of the tenons.  I am pretty confident in predicting that even if you own the finest tenon jig made it is likely to fall into disuse when you become accustomed to cutting the tenons in one of the ways I just described, so I would work a bit with these systems before investing any more in tenon jigs if I were you.

2. 
   TomT226 | Feb 18, 2003 10:39pm | #7

   A good dado blade will run you about $200. Get an 8".

   The setup for making tenons is simple. Make your mortises first.

   Install the stacked dado to about 1/2" thickness.

   Take a piece of work with a mortise, lay it on the table, and crank the blade up so the center of one of the outside cutters is just shy of the mortise.

   Make sure all of your work is cut to the proper dimensions plus the length of each tenon.

   Set your rip fence to the depth of your mortise. Be sure and and measure to the outside of the left blade, not the inside where you usually set your rip dimensions.

   Place a piece of test stock in the miter gauge, butt it against the rip fence, and pass it over the dado. This will cut the shoulder.

   make as many passes as it requires to complete the one side, then flip it over and do the same thing. Check the fit . If too tight, crank up the blade a bit until you get a perfect fit.

   If you need four shoulders, adjust the dado to cut those after you've finished the faces.

   If the tenon is too long, trim a hair off the end after you've finished the faces.

   Tenoning jigs are a lot more trouble, but in certain cases you can't do without them. I've made several, and use them occasionally.

1. 
   TomFerreira | Feb 19, 2003 05:03am | #8

   I have a Delta tenoning jig and have had poor results in the couple of times I have used it. For some reason I can not get the stock parallel to the blade so the cheek cut is always angled. I have to get back to it. I got a Powermatic saw last year and the miter slot is in a different place than the Delta so the jig was too far away from the blade. I just got done with the modifications and have to give it another try.

   TDF

3. 
   AlanTurner | Feb 18, 2003 05:37pm | #5

   I don't know the number, but I have the very heavyweigt Delta.  It is quite accurate, but a bit limited in its range.  I have had it for about 20+ years, and it is still about the same price I paid for it in the late 70's.

4. 
   dmt | Feb 18, 2003 10:15pm | #6

   If you have a bandsaw, you can accurately cut tenons using the supplied fence or a homemade version and save some cash.

   Dan T.