I’ve been cutting joinery with hand tools since I began making furniture, when I didn’t have the money or the space for big woodworking machines. Nowadays, I still prefer hand tools—especially for joinery. Machines are fast, but I’ve found that I don’t gain much in time or enjoyment by using them.
Cutting the tenons for this pair of doors, for instance, shouldn’t take too much longer by hand than it does with a stack dado cutter at the tablesaw. You can make the process efficient with a few tricks for cutting crisp, clean tenon shoulders and cheeks that need only minimal trimming for a good fit.
Excerpt from Tenon Shootout from FW #210. Download the full article for more on cutting tenons by hand or machine. Click here to watch video demonstration of Kenney cutting these joints.
And the additional time it does require is time well spent. After all, it’s time spent woodworking.
Head is easy to remove, replace, and lock down; narrowest blade, at 5⁄8 in., made it easier to fit into tight places; hard to read under bright lights.
Achieving my 8th decade on the same day as Robert Zimmerman and having to "Downsize" my efforts to fit within my diminished shop, I've embraced the techniques and definitions used by our forbears ["Forbearer's" where I come from - New England] and have rediscovered the pleasures of "Hand Toolery" and finding out, "What is Sharp", and how to get there, takes on a whole new, personal responsibility and meaning.
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Achieving my 8th decade on the same day as Robert Zimmerman and having to "Downsize" my efforts to fit within my diminished shop, I've embraced the techniques and definitions used by our forbears ["Forbearer's" where I come from - New England] and have rediscovered the pleasures of "Hand Toolery" and finding out, "What is Sharp", and how to get there, takes on a whole new, personal responsibility and meaning.
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