How do you fix a loose mortise and tenon joint?
To repair a loose mortise and tenon joint, it is best if you can completely separate the two pieces. Try and pull them apart with your hands, or use a small rubber mallet to gently knock them apart. Use a scraper or light sandpaper to remove all of the old glue from both the mortise and the tenon.
What is a blind mortise?
: a mortise that does not extend entirely through the material in which it is cut.
What size should a mortise and tenon be?
Over time craftsman have developed general rules for properly sizing their mortise and tenon joints, they are: Tenon length: A tenon’s length should be at least five times its thickness. So, a 1/4″-thick tenon should be 1-1/4″ long.
How tight should loose tenons be?
Fitting a mortise and tenon joint together should not be a CTSBTF operation. That’s “Cut To Size, Beat To Fit”. You should be able to fit them together with just normal hand pressure, no white knuckles, no bulging vein in the forehead. The pressure points between the mortise and tenon will crush the grain on the tenon.
What’s the best way to drill a mortise?
Set the depth stop on your drill press to match the depth of the mortise. With a sharp pencil, mark the position of the mortise on your work piece. Then, align the bit with the layout lines at one end of the mortise and clamp the work piece to the drill-press table. Drill the first hole.
What’s the best way to make mortise and tenon?
For the ends and side walls, keep the flat face of the chisel against the mortise wall as you work. Mortise and Tenon Methods. Method #1: Drill the mortise. If you cut mortises only occasionally, simply rough them out using a drill press to make a series of overlapping holes. Then square the mortise walls with chisels.
What kind of chisel do you use to cut mortise?
No matter how you cut a mortise, you’ll need chisels to smooth and square its walls and corners. Start with a chisel as wide (or nearly as wide) as the mortise ends and use it to square both ends of the hole. Then, clean up the side walls with the widest chisel that fits into the mortise.
Can a plunge router be used to cut mortises?
If you own a plunge router you can use it to cut mortises with flat and straight side walls requiring no cleanup. However, the mortise ends will be round, meaning you have to either square them with a chisel or use a “floating” tenon with rounded edges that fit into two identical, mating mortises.