Hand cut mortise and tenon joint. How to make a mortise and tenon joint with traditional hand tools. Knife all round the shoulders of the tenon. Find the location of the mortise on a piece of 2 x 4. For a blind mortise you will need to drill a hole on each end of the mortise then chisel the wood out between these two holes with a wood chisel but if the edge of the board you are tenoning into is not exposed you can simply saw out the mortise with a circular saw.
Weve compiled 10 of our favorite articles from authors like. With a little practice you should be able to make a mortise and tenon joint in under 10 minutes. Its completely natural to worry especially if you have never constructed a mortise and tenon joint before and may have never used the hand tools for this project. A well marked out joint is the first step toward a successful hand cut mortise and tenon.
But there are a few things you should be aware of when cutting this joint in order to achieve maximum strength. To cut the mortise with a benchtop mortiser. It should be wide enough for the tenon to fit into it but not loosely. The jig limits the movement of the router during the cut.
The horn helps prevent the mortise from splitting once glue is applied to an already tight joint. This above video and article will simplify the process of cutting mortise and tenon joints with only a few traditional hand tools. Theres also seemingly no end of commercial and shopmade jigs that make it easier to cut mortises tenons or both. Choose a mortising bit that matches the width of your mortise as closely as possible without going over.
For more free woodworking videos please consider subscribing to my channel. One of the versatile joints the mortise and tenon joint lends itself to being cut with hand tools power tools or combinations of the two. You cut the horn off after the glue is cured. Paul sellers shows how to cut a mortise and tenon joint in oak using hand tools.
Mark your mortise on the second board. Mark the mortise on your board. The last step will be to miter the tenons. Mortice and tenons another staple joint of a furniture makers arsenal.
A mortise and tenon joint seems to look a bit complicated however this is easy when you have the right tools and a good knowledge of how to proceed with the project.