Thread: Unskilled worker (Me)

Hi Bill,

Practi......another way is to cut short of the line on the waste side and clean up with a router plane.

Good luck,

Sam

Hi Bill,
I'm not very experienced either but when I want inspiration for beginner/intermediate projects I often browse this US website: Ana White | Free and Easy DIY Furniture Plans to Save You Money
She makes all of her household furniture and gives a lot of tips on that sort of thing. Some of her "farmhouse" style tables use tenon joins so take a look at those for ideas. Unfortunately everything is in imperial rather than metrics, but I mainly view the site to learn how things are done and inspire me for my next project rather than copying the plans.

Sorry, I double checked and it was actually notches used for the farmhouse table rather than tenons.
Ana White | Build a Farmhouse Table | Free and Easy DIY Project and Furniture Plans

Concur with Sam. For that kind of joint I would cut just short of the line and clean out with a very sharp chisel.

A much easier approach would have been to use a double biscuit joint ... or even dowels. One quick and dirty approach I sometimes use is to make a simple butt joint held temporarily in place with one or two screws after gluing. Then drill and glue in a couple of dowels. This method is strong and is fine so long as you do not want the dowels completely hidden.

If you use a good gap filling glue (perhaps epoxy or polyurethane), you should get a good joint that will sand up well and look good under lacquer or paint.

Thanks for the help gents. I have a Biscuit Joiner on my wish-list..... not to mention a band saw (nothing huge) and a Triton Router for my Triton table, but when retired, it all takes time. First of all I will get a sharpening kit to tidy up my chisels.... They are old and look like I have been using them as cold chisels.

Bill

As you have mention taking your time when cutting should improve your cuts. Then using a chisel to pare away the waste to the line will clean up any valleys and hills. I might also suggest using a shoulder plane to help in the clean up. I can go on but when do you stop purchasing tools and get to making.

As a hobbyist I am still finding my way around to determine the best way that I can make my mortice and tenon joints. You might also be the similar situation to determine what would be the best way for your working practice.

Bill,
I reckon you should have bought all the toys before you retired.
Mark