Thread: Square the mortices or round the tenons?

Yeah but your opinion doesn't count

I do most of my mortise and tenon joints using darkside methods - mortice chisels, handsaws, shoulder plane(s).

I occasionally use an electric router for the mortises.

At all times I square the mortises and the tenons.


As has been stated many times before, I do woodwork as a most enjoyable pastime so the little extra effort is all part of the pleasure for me.

If I was making pieces commercially, I would take shortcuts that hurry the job along but don't compromise the quality.

Originally Posted by outback

Silent and Driver, the accounting counters, counting counts countingly.

but counts are useful!

Originally Posted by silentc

I beg your pardon, what did you just call me?!!

Darren don't start that yankie phobia all over again or we'll have another rash of Outback wondering if he's one.

Originally Posted by silentC

How can a mortice and tenon be there simply for looks? You can't see it!! ....

True, in most cases, Silent. But what about a through tennon, maybe with a wedge in it for a knockdown bench or just for decoration in a coffee table etc? how many of you will round the tennon in this case.

for the record,i used to be a "round the tennon" man, following George's advice on the triton dvd, but now i follow martin's advice and square the tennon, cos its far more accurate to do, and nearly as quick. it results in a much better joint

True, in most cases, Silent. But what about a through tennon, maybe with a wedge in it for a knockdown bench or just for decoration in a coffee table etc? how many of you will round the tennon in this case.

Yes but it's not just there for looks is it? It's a practical joint that has been prettied up.

Rocker said:

I merely maintain that it is rarely necessary for the joint to have the maximum possible theoretical strength; and that, if a rounded or chamfered tenon has only, say, 85% of the strength of a square one, it is normally speaking still plenty strong enough for its purpose.

And Lou said:

Totally agree if the joinery is there simply for looks its a no brainer.

Which, as far as I'm concerned, makes no sense at all because you can't see the tenon in the situation that was being discussed. But I don't know why that surprises me.

And yes I have seen through tenons that have been rounded

I am currently in the process of making two loft beds for my young lads and have nearly finished the ends which consisted of 48 mortice & tennon joints. As I am lazy I have made the mortices on a jig and used a 19mm router bit to make through mortices, I then made the tennons the correct size for a squared off tennon and then rounded them off with a 7.5mm round over bit. There is a small amount of rasp work to do but a hell of a lot less than cleaning out the mortices with a chisel. To add some strength and add a decorative touch to the beds, I am going to wedge the joints. Standby for photos of the finished product in the next couple of years.

Corbs

Definitely square for me. IF i do it then i do it properly.