Thread: Beadlock floating tenon - thought

Rots of ruck - I bought one some years ago & have had no luck getting satisfactory results.

I'm going to try 6mm loose tennons next in a DIY jig, unless I win the lottery, when I would give the Festool Domino a try.

I bought one some years ago and it is too fiddly to set up so I havent used it, I also got the router bit to make my own stock and have used that a few times to make decorative beading.

Al

I've used beadlock for a few projects..great for rails into posts. Its quick and accurate. The shims are not much good, but they are easily replaced with wood stock. Its important that you use a strong glue if you want the best results.

I just picked one up yesterday with some tenon stock from Carbatec, I was very dissapointed when I got home to see that they run the stock out of Radiata Pine, they charge more than any distributor in the world (double the US price) for their stock and they don't even have the decency to use a proper timber.

I've used it for 4 or five small projects. Works like a treat for me. I havent bought any tenon stock for a while but Carbatec used to make it out of tassie oak at about $13/lm i think.

I've found that you need to be very careful to avoid any burnishing of the fibres when you drill the holes. I use a really sharp bit on a lowish speed setting with a good depth stop.

Also, make sure that the fit is not too tight, if the glue scrapes down to the bottom of the joint then you're stuff. The tenon stock can be shrunk in the microwave or chucked out.

A good tip (that I've never followed) is to take in a mortice piece and test fit the tennon stock before you buy it.

Finally, theres a tip on the net somewhere which involves filing an edge on the little window. This gives you a more accurate view of the pencil line.

Heres me giving tips when I havent stepped inside the shed for 1.5 years!

By the way, I've noticed a user called CarbatecWa is viewing this thread. I hope they respond to the criticism of their shoddy quality, exorbitantly priced tenon stock!

Adam

That tip is on woodshop demos

http://www.woodshopdemos.com./prod-bdl.htm

I make heavy use of the Beadlock jig but not as intended. I bolt the Beadlock drilling guide to a piece of plywood in line with a fence on the plywood. I use clamps to hold the face frame against the Beadlock and drill holes using only the two outer holes. (The center hole is almost never used for drilling in this manner.) I drill the mating piece in the same manner. The imperial 3/8" holes are not a problem as I use fluted 3/8" dowels. You'll need to scratch lines in the Beadlock for alignment purposes.

It may sound wierd but I've been using this as a poor man's horizontal drilling machine for about 5 years.

A tip is to ALWAYS position the good side down in the jig.

Originally Posted by havenoideaatall

Before I make Rocker's Mortice Jig I thought I'd give the Beadlock system a go.
Haveno

Havenoidea, forget beadlock; either build my precision jig. or if that is overkill for you, build the lite version. You can find plans for both on my blog. See below.

Rocker

Im with Rocker, I made his jig after buying the Beadlock, and the mortice jig is far easier to use than the Beadlock.

Al