Always wondered how difficult a mortise and tenon joint was, so I tried one recently. I now understand why most folks cut the tenon on a table saw. I cut mine on a portable router table. Mortise is 1/2" wide x 1-3/8" long x 1-1/2" deep. Also recently cut and fit my first dado joint (on a 10° angle), something I will be using in an upcoming project. Learned a few things by practising both joints.
Using the fence as a width guide and a block clamped at the correct length, makes it easy to make the cuts length wise. Then, using the fence as a width guide and a stop block, I make all the crosscuts. These were "after the fact" photos, so no stop block was shown:
Thanks, but dovetails aren't needed for the projects I plan to tackle in the near term. If and when I do need dovetails, I'm not going to try to cut them by hand. I'll rely on mechanical guides and spacings.
Thank you. YouTube is a fabulous source for all sorts of instruction and guidance. Watched several videos and did not rely on just one man's directions. Learning the proper sequence for drilling with a Forstner bit was good. Also, chiseling the long sides in several passes so the drilled surfaces serve as a depth gauge of sorts made a lot of sense. Then cutting the tenon AFTER forming the mortise was an “ah-ha” moment for me. Took my time with it, and "scary sharp" chisels made the task easier. Yep! Learned a lot about sharpening chisels on YouTube, too.
Those are nicely-made joints. Wish my last experiment with mortise and tenon joints had come out that well.
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