Thread: Tenon Shoulder Jig

very smart jig.
now I s'pose sumwun will redesign it for a router.

JChappo,

I find the easiest way to cut tenon shoulders is using a crosscut sled with a clamped-on stop block on the table saw. This automatically ensures that they are even all round, and they need no further paring; hence my contention - so infuriating to the dark-siders - that a shoulder plane is redundant if you have a crosscut sled.

Rocker

Originally Posted by jchappo

I am in the middle of a project with 11 M&T joints.

I have cut all my mortices with the router, cut the cheeks of the tenons on a tenoning jig on the table, and I am now trimming the tongues and finishing the shoulders of the tenons for a good fit.

Trouble is, the shoulders are only 5mm wide, and I am finding it difficult to pare them square all round.

Hence this jig.

Concept is simple - a flat table surrounding the tenon allowing the chisel to remain flat whilst paring. A vertical fence keeps it square, and a backboard allows it all to be clamped in the vice.

Adjustment of the shoulder to table height is effected with a few taps from a mallet before final tightening of the vice.

The mortice piece can be dropped on at any time to check fit.

Top is 12mm MDF, fence and backboard 18mm tassie oak.

John

Nice idea John!

I'll be borrowing that Thanks!

Originally Posted by Rocker

JChappo,

I find the easiest way to cut tenon shoulders is using a crosscut sled with a clamped-on stop block on the table saw. This automatically ensures that they are even all round, and they need no further paring; hence my contention - so infuriating to the dark-siders - that a shoulder plane is redundant if you have a crosscut sled.

Rocker

G'day Rocker!

I don't find your contention in the least infuriating - but I do love to feel a properly sharpened shoulder plane do its stuff in cross-grain - even get shavings - providing that I only have one or two to make, else it's the noisy way.

Cheers!

Originally Posted by Rocker

JChappo,

I find the easiest way to cut tenon shoulders is using a crosscut sled with a clamped-on stop block on the table saw. This automatically ensures that they are even all round, and they need no further paring; hence my contention - so infuriating to the dark-siders - that a shoulder plane is redundant if you have a crosscut sled.

Rocker

Hi Rocker--no contention really, and no frustration. Just different means to the same end.

One needs a shoulder plane, that wonderful jig John made or another means of trimming shoulders if one *is* a dark-sider. Ideally, if one is steady enough with a tenon saw, there also is no need to pare. That would be the dark-sider equivilent to the tablesaw.

That said, I find undercutting the shoulders with a chisel makes both a better, cleaner fit as well as providing a little space for excess glue to go should there be squeeze out. I did this even when cutting tenons with the tablesaw or the bandsaw [my preference for motorized tenon cutting on long stock].

Now days when I make the typical things I make, if I go motorized I use the WoodRat, which takes about as little time to set for the tenons as a tablesaw, but cuts them much faster.

Take care, Mike

Nice jig, John!

Very simple. Simple is what often eludes me. Thank you for posting it.

Take care, Mike

John
Nice jig mate. This forum is great for learning all new ideas on woodworking.
At present this is the way I do the tenons. I leave it a smidgen thick and do the final fitting with a small LN rabbit plane.

Cheers
Woody1

John

Well done.

What we are reminded is that there are many ways to skin a cat, and that this is important since it is sometimes necessary to find a suitable method for different circumstances. Or, simply to satisfy a desire to work in a particular manner at that particular time. There is no one correct method.

Regards from Perth

Derek (who uses a tenon saw, a router plane, a chisel, a shoulder plane, a skew block plane, a tablesaw - in two different ways, and even a router table at times).

Thanks for the comments.

I was trying to do as much by hand in this project (small router table) as practical.

M&Ts are probably overkill for the job as the frame (see pic) will be skinned with MDF, which would almost be sufficient without the frame - but I wanted to do M&Ts for the challenge.

Cutting 14 mortices by hand was a bit onerous, so I developed a system with an existing jig for the router - I haven't got round to Rocker's jig yet, but was able to apply some of the principals.

My jig gave me a +/- .5mm deviation in the position of the mortices ( I used to be happy with +/- 1/4" ), so I only cut the cheeks on the table saw, relying on trimming each tenon to fit.

So far, I have completed 8 out of the 14, and the fit is quite good.

The jig took me about 4 hours to make ( yes, I know it should have been about half an hour but I am not very efficient), but I find making jigs worthwhile if only to exercise the creative braincells and to build up my joinery and hand tool skills.

John